Catastrophic ECU failure!

superchargedpolo · Jun 3, 2020

A friend of mine has a 2014 California, well looked after with full VWSH. It’s a 180bhp with DSG AND 4motion. He has owned it from new.
Was driving home on the dual carriageway on Sunday when the van lost all power and had to coast to the hard shoulder. The AA came out after an hour or so and recovered the van to VW dealer as the battery had completely drained itself and was only reading 6v.

VW Edinburgh have diagnosed that the ECU is at fault as it blows a 30a fuse every time it is connected. All other wiring looks fine.
Replacement cost £1900!!!

I’ve never heard of modern ECUs failing in such a catastrophic fashion. Wiring or sensors maybe, but not the ECU.
Has anyone else had a similar issue? Do you think there is any recourse possible with VW for a good will gesture? £2k for an ECU is just madness.
Any thoughts or experiences much appreciated.

soulstyledevon · Jun 3, 2020

It’s 6 years old...
I wouldn’t expect any assistance towards the bill from Volkswagen. They can’t cover the costs forever.

I guess he’s been very unlucky, but that’s the risk with a used vehicle over new.

Goss · Jun 3, 2020

superchargedpolo said:
A friend of mine has a 2014 California, well looked after with full VWSH. It’s a 180bhp with DSG AND 4motion. He has owned it from new.
Was driving home on the dual carriageway on Sunday when the van lost all power and had to coast to the hard shoulder. The AA came out after an hour or so and recovered the van to VW dealer as the battery had completely drained itself and was only reading 6v.

VW Edinburgh have diagnosed that the ECU is at fault as it blows a 30a fuse every time it is connected. All other wiring looks fine.
Replacement cost £1900!!!

I’ve never heard of modern ECUs failing in such a catastrophic fashion. Wiring or sensors maybe, but not the ECU.
Has anyone else had a similar issue? Do you think there is any recourse possible with VW for a good will gesture? £2k for an ECU is just madness.
Any thoughts or experiences much appreciated.

Your friend has a legal right to Compensation towards a replacement part and labour as the ECU is not fit for purpose and should last the life of the vehicle. A small claims court will ensure this will happen (ask me how I know). Hopefully VW will do the right thing but you must be present the case well and quoting the correct consumer law to get what you want.

Good luck!

Regards

Goss

Goss · Jun 3, 2020

soulstyledevon said:
It’s 6 years old...
I wouldn’t expect any assistance towards the bill from Volkswagen. They can’t cover the costs forever.

I guess he’s been very unlucky, but that’s the risk with a used vehicle over new.

OP states his friend has owned it from new so shouldn’t be a problem however even if it was second hand he would still have the same rights against the manufacturer. If they are smart they will fix it for free and hope he buys another new Cali soon.

Regards

Goss

Volkywagen · Jun 3, 2020

Brings back memories of my G60 eating its ECU in the fast lane of the M60 a few years ago. Not good.
ECUs arnt cheap but they can be rebuilt and re mapped for a fraction of the cost by specialist companies

soulstyledevon · Jun 3, 2020

Goss said:
OP states his friend has owned it from new so shouldn’t be a problem however even if it was second hand he would still have the same rights against the manufacturer. If they are smart they will fix it for free and hope he buys another new Cali soon.

Regards

Goss

How long would you expect a vehicle manufacturer to pick up the bills for...?
Surely like anything else on a vehicle, there comes a point where the ECU failure is just general wear and tear...?

kurienp · Jun 4, 2020

It is a failure and after 6 years. Wear and tear.

Check out these guys - https://www.ecutesting.com

Or http://www.clusterrepairsuk.co.uk/

They will fix it for less.

Goss · Jun 5, 2020

soulstyledevon said:
How long would you expect a vehicle manufacturer to pick up the bills for...?
Surely like anything else on a vehicle, there comes a point where the ECU failure is just general wear and tear...?

Legally non moving parts is 10 years, I have successfully done this on a 7 year old XF Jaguar with 70,000 miles and a customers Merc 500SEL that was 6 years old. These parts were supposed to last the life of the vehicle which they didn’, the Jag part was a corroded fuse box that was situated in the drivers footwell but there was no sign of a leak so the £1,000 plus vat part was supplied free of charge but I had to pay the dealer £175 to replace it and the Merc fuel tank baffles were rattling so after complaining they carried out the £4,500 work for 10%.
if you don’t know your rights you will pay for failures that should not happen in the life of the vehicle.

Goss

Goss · Jun 5, 2020

kurienp said:
It is a failure and after 6 years. Wear and tear.

Check out these guys - https://www.ecutesting.com

Or http://www.clusterrepairsuk.co.uk/

They will fix it for less.

6 years for electrical household goods and even then should they fail within the 6 years a refund or credit of proportion is the law so after 3 years then 50%. Its to stop rubbish being sold and the consumer having no come back.

Vehicles 10 years minimum is the law.

Goss

superchargedpolo · Jun 6, 2020

The latest update is VW are 100% sure the ecu is the culprit! They say they have seen a couple fail like this. The ecu isn’t in stock, surprise, so On back order.
I will update with the outcome.

vbk1975 · Jun 6, 2020

Ref the ECU failure topic, do you know what ECU it is, 30A is towards the high end of what modules normally take, unless they are switching other loads.(Lights/Fans/Pumps/Motors etc) ?

To blow a 30A fuse instantly or near instantly it would take 120A, which would suggest a dead short internally or a dead short in something it is switching?

Electronic modules generally fail open circuit, as to say they don't take electrical load at all. Short circuits are rare, water damage is one potential, this can lead to a chemical growth between the power and earth circuits, failed / cracked capacitors is another possibility.

For the cost being quoted, I would certainly ask for the part before committing to a new one, an automotive electronics refurb company would be sensible route (as posted in previous message) or indeed 2nd hand. If you knew someone that was into electronics, they would quickly be able to determine the area of the issue and if it was likely to be repairable.

sidepod · Jun 6, 2020

vbk1975 said:
To blow a 30A fuse instantly or near instantly it would take 120A

Care to show your working on that one?

vbk1975 · Jun 6, 2020

sidepod said:
Care to show your working on that one?

If you have a look at this datasheet: (ATOs are standard blade fuses)
https://www.littelfuse.com/~/media/...cle/blade-fuses/littelfuse_atof_datasheet.pdf

To get an instant blow (say < 0.5sec) , you need to take ~350-400% of the rating. ~200% is 5 secs, although temperature adds more variables. Hence the statement about 120A on a 30A to get an instant blow.

The fuse rating is all a bit of grey area, you can almost sit at 135%-160% of the rating and not necessarily get a blow. (Big variation part to part, so this assumes worse case). Between 160% & 200% of fuse rating (again ambient temperature a factor so worse case assumed) , it can take 10 mins to blow, which is why partial shorts are bad as the wires can get very hot before the fuse pops.

superchargedpolo · Jun 7, 2020

Thanks for the information vbk1975 I presume you work in the automotive industry being Warwick based and having this level of understanding.

I have a VCDS readout which has the part number on it, from a scan I did a few years ago.

Address 01: Engine (J623-CFCA) Labels: 03L-906-022-CFC.clb
Part No SW: 03L 906 019 HM HW: 03L 907 309 L
Component: R4 2,0L EDC H38 5618
Revision: 22H38--- Serial number: 00000000000000
Coding: 0125401A233601080000
Shop #: WSC 02756 790 50316
ASAM Dataset: EV_ECM20BTD01103L906019HM 003003
ROD: EV_ECM20BTD01103L906019HL.rod
VCID: 7DFA316FEC7786F6F01-8028

No fault code found.
Readiness: 0 0 0 0 0

vbk1975 · Jun 7, 2020

superchargedpolo said:
Thanks for the information vbk1975 I presume you work in the automotive industry being Warwick based and having this level of understanding.

I have a VCDS readout which has the part number on it, from a scan I did a few years ago.

Address 01: Engine (J623-CFCA) Labels: 03L-906-022-CFC.clb
Part No SW: 03L 906 019 HM HW: 03L 907 309 L
Component: R4 2,0L EDC H38 5618
Revision: 22H38--- Serial number: 00000000000000
Coding: 0125401A233601080000
Shop #: WSC 02756 790 50316
ASAM Dataset: EV_ECM20BTD01103L906019HM 003003
ROD: EV_ECM20BTD01103L906019HL.rod
VCID: 7DFA316FEC7786F6F01-8028

No fault code found.
Readiness: 0 0 0 0 0

From the part number this appears to be the Engine Management ECU. These are fairly generic Bosch items, there are numerous companies on the web that offer re-manufactured ones for ~£500 and there are also Bosch Car Service (franchises) that used to do a fixed price repair, several around Edinburgh. The part you are looking for appears to be a version of what Bosch call EDC17. I am not an expert, but i suspect the ECU would need to be coded to the immobiliser if it was a new part. The re-furb company might be able to use your old ecu to copy the details.

superchargedpolo · Jun 11, 2020

UPDATE.
New ECU fitted and coded by VW for the princely sum of £1500!

Nothing else at fault.
I'm pretty surprised it actually was the ECU. I will have the old one to open up as soon as I can travel down to Edinburgh to meet my mate with the van.

Not the best outcome but at least the van is running and it's been faultless in the 6 years from new, other than this.

soulstyledevon · Jun 11, 2020

superchargedpolo said:
UPDATE.
New ECU fitted and coded by VW for the princely sum of £1500! Nothing else at fault.
I'm pretty surprised it actually was the ECU. I will have the old one to open up as soon as I can travel down to Edinburgh to meet my mate with the van.

Not the best outcome but at least the van is running and it's been faultless in the 6 years from new, other than this.

Did Volkswagen cover the cost...???