Car won't stop!

ECU went on a Vito I used to own, that was close to a grand 😥

unreliable, expensive German shitheap

You own a Focus don’t you Peter? They are made in Germany. Granted they arn’t unreliable expensive or shitheaps, well mine isnt, but German all the same.

In my case the water got in the car and filled the passenger footwell….. Unfortunately that’s where Audi put a lot of the electrics on an a6 as I found out.

Yeah, ECU was inside the car, but under the dash behind the glovebox. It’s an old 5 series, so not sure if the Passat is the same config.

EDIT: My mechanic also managed to source a second-hand ECU for around half of the new price, and significantly less than an after-market jobby. Could yours do similar, or is it too late now?

This is a second hand one afaik. I know of no reason not to trust the guy, he’s also waived his own callout fee and labour.

I know of no reason, but of course there might still be one. The fact that he is waiving his fee means that either a) he’s really nice (there wasn’t much time spent to be honest) or b) he’s actually getting a kickback from the specialist which I’m paying for….

Uh oh….

luffy105 – Member
In my case the water got in the car and filled the passenger footwell….. Unfortunately that’s where Audi put a lot of the electrics on an a6 as I found out.

What model A6 was/is it please and where was the blockage?

I had a similar problem with an Omega (you listening Poddy?). Footwell filled with water after a blockage and every time I braked or went round a bend, there was a tsunami…! Luckily a company motah so their problem not mine.

Ow, yer fighter!
If it makes you feel any better we have just had a six month old Skoda Octavia VRs spend two months at the main UK Skoda trying to diagnose a persistent engine management light. they tried three new inlet manifolds, one used (known to be good), one wiring loom and finally, hey prsto,a new ECU-problem solved!!!!!

I had a very similar problem in a 2000 1.9tdi passat. Turned out to be a brake light indicator switch. Bit of a head wrecker that something so simple could create so many problems.

Can I just say: this is a great thread. 🙂

I think its quite a gamble to know exactly when to get rid of a car to save on the big bills. I don’t think VW/Audi cars are any more or less reliable than other makes, but like a lot of Japanese marks I think they are still living of the reputation they had in the 80’s and early 90’s when every other manufacturer were piss poor. If you like the car and you know what’s been done and replaced lots of stuff then it may be worth a punt and get the ECU done. Always fancied a diesel auto. I know that the Audi tiptronic box was designed for the 4.2 Quattro engine so is really strong, don’t know what the reliability is like on the 2wd auto box. 120k mileage has been mentioned by mates in the trade then big probs.Think I would go for a Mercedes 220CDI auto.

I’m not going to get rid of the car. I’d have to fork out five grand odd to get another one, that’s a lot more than £700! Given that there’s no guarantee whatsoever that a new car wouldn’t go wrong in some horrible way, it’d be utterly pointless.

ECU failure is a random event. It’s absolutely not an indicator that anything else will go wrong with it down the line.

You own a Focus don’t you Peter? They are made in Germany. Granted they arn’t unreliable expensive or shitheaps, well mine isnt, but German all the same.

What’s your point, caller?

Didn’t you mention a salt water tide mark where the ECU is? Owned the car from new or possible that its been flooded?! Could be worth inspecting the rest of the electricals before going too mad with the cash.

molgrips – Member
I’m not going to get rid of the car. I’d have to fork out five grand odd to get another one, that’s a lot more than £700! Given that there’s no guarantee whatsoever that a new car wouldn’t go wrong in some horrible way, it’d be utterly pointless.

ECU failure is a random event. It’s absolutely not an indicator that anything else will go wrong with it down the line.

True but if/when big bills mount up on an older car that you’ve had for some time, you start to question the rationale. I don’t known the current value of your car but if the ECU is say ~10% of the value then it needs another ‘big’ spend, is it sensible to put big bucks into something that is at the point where more big things are likely to go wrong?

I got rid of my last A6 when it was due a cambelt (which is very expensive) and the aircon was constantly loosing pressure (expensive). The car was worth £7k and the repairs likely more than 20% of its value. I preferred to put the 20% into a new car with warranty.

Not saying your wrong, but there’s obviously a ‘sensible’ limit on what to throw at an older car unless it’s a classic or you’re emotionally attached to it.

True but if/when big bills mount up on an older car that you’ve had for some time, you start to question the rationale.

I’ve thought about this quite a bit.

If I buy a car of similar value, there’s absoultely no guarantee that it’ll be any more reliable than the one I have. In fact there’s a risk someone’s getting rid of it because of some impending issue.

If I buy a new or newer car, then it costs far far more than the repairs to this one. So I’d be spending £5,000 to save £700.

That’s all true Moly and my cunning plan only works if you reinvest the £700 in a newer car that is *much* less likely to have expensive problems. I.e. possibly one under warranty.

I’m never sure when the crossover is. I got rid of MrsB’s Focus last year as it needed another new clutch. It had already had clutch, EGR, alternator, DMF and wanted another (£700) clutch/DMF combo. The car was 5 years old, 60k miles on it and worth ~£4k. I couldn’t see the point of sticking 20% of it’s value into it when it was probably due the dreaded turbo/injector problems.

Thing with cars is they are not really one off purchases. You end up buying into a refresh schedule trying your best to minimise cost/depreciation whilst maximising comfort/efficiency/life/reliability. This means new or nearly new and replacement every ~5 years for my cars.

My dad’s keen to buy almost new cars with warranties on them. Which I think is daft, because the extra cost of newness is way way more than even the worst fix you’d have to pay for yourself, and those are unlikely.

I would like to buy 3 year old cars if money permits. There are plenty around due to people getting rid of them after warranty. They are still mostly just run-in at that point and are almost half the new price. The money I saved from a new Passat would have paid for two new engines at least.

I did a lot of work on my previous car myself, spent maybe as much as the car cost (about £600) but I knew it had a whole slew of new parts and was running sweet as a nut, and I also knew the essentials were in good shape. So I got a car I knew was very sound for £1200, and buying a different car for £1200 would not have been anything like as sound I reckon.