16,000KM VW Service & a New ECM

[AWD-FLY-GUY]

whos wheels?

[CalgaryB5]

Which ECM you got replaced?

[bart]

Originally posted by CalgaryB5
Which ECM you got replaced?

the one that controls the level of fluid in your headlights!

lol

[CalgaryB5]

Originally posted by suffeks
the one that controls the level of fluid in your headlights!

lol

? I have no clue what are you talking about? Bart

[R_Ethug]

ECM - engine control module? i'm assuming.. or ECU - engine control unit.. so in other words if they swapped his out for a new one and he was chipped he is screwed..I guess I'm definetely buying a swap one this summer.

[Canadian Turbo]

So does that mean you are unchipped now? So when did you get those wheels from where, 17s right you swapped your tires?

[Kor]

Holy cow Peter. Wheels look good, but I need close-ups!

This is the first I have heard about them replacing the ECU as a standard practice! That must be expensive for Volkswagen. They didn't give you any better reason why they did it, example a specific failure or recall or something?

I am guessing that they will only do this once for each person, not every 16,000kms of course. Probably to fix some issue with the current ECU. So maybe everyone should remove their chips (if they're already chipped) then all of us should just go have our cars serviced immediately and see if they will do the replacements. Then put the chips back.

I am glad I didn't get chipped yet, maybe I should go the spare ECU route as well to protect any investment.

[Kor]

Ahhh I didn't know you'd gone through so many coils! I can see why that would make them want to 'examine' the ECU.

I got a Forge DV and a VAG-COM board on order, I will be chipping this coming month for sure. But I still haven't decided which chip or where. It was going to depend on whether I can get a week off so I can go without my car while sending away the ECU... But now I am back to considering ordering a pre-chipped ECU and trying to swap it in...

[Canadian Turbo]

You did not have to pay for this did you Peter, adn did they say anything about the chip to you? And obviously you are getting chipped again right?

[Kor]

Local is good, but I also like the idea of being able to either turn it on/off or swap it in/out by myself when going to the dealership (call me nuts). Yeah, I know Simon would probably help me by removing the chip if I needed to, but I don't want to rely on that forever, or if I move out of town, or he does, etc.

I am still considering it though. I have no issues with the quality of the chip, Upsolute makes good stuff and satisfies lots of people... I think that the difference between the Upsolute Chip and the others for me would be zero.

[Smartiepants]

Well the only thing I worry about a chip is that there goes your warranty out the window.

[Kor]

Well yes... not void on everything though, just on chip-related things. This is the same for any mod right? VW will no longer warranty your suspension with the Eibach pro-kit installed...

They may claim that a lot of stuff is chip-related, but thats on a dealer to dealer basis and I think that we are building friendly contacts with our Calgary dealerships through this club. At least I hope so.

Lastly, if you can swap in/out your ECU or chip I think this is very good. Not specifically to 'hide' anything, but just in case the dealer needs to flash or replace your ECU as part of their maintenance then no one is the worse, right? Dealer maintenance departments are just following VW orders when they do this, they are not out to get you.

In the last month the number of ECU/dealer trouble reports seems to be going up on all the forums, I admit this is cause to think carefully (which is what I am still doing).

At the end of the day though, a chipped car is wicked-fast

[Kor]

Just realized we kind of hijacked Peter's thread, sorry man Chipping is a controversial topic!

[Reflex1.8T]

Were can you get a good priced spare ECU then ?
And how much are they ?

[Kor]

No idea... I posted on vortex one time and a couple of people told me they had it working.

Here is how I think it works if you choose to go the spare ECU route.

1. You get the spare ECU online. APRs page says they have them, other people say they got theirs on other websites for about $400 US. This is a bit steep for we Canucks...

2. You get the spare ECU chipped.

3. You need a VAG-COM tool and a laptop to swap ECUs. You can build one or buy one online, they are pretty common.

4. You need the SKC for your car from your dealership to swap ECUs. You can get this by asking for it, its typically used to program remote control keyfobs.

5. You can swap the ECUs in and out using the free Immobilizer software on APRs page (even if you arent APR chipped).

The cost of all this is pretty crazy compared to say, getting chipped by Simon. Its going to be like $1200 Canadian. That would buy something like coilovers if you wanted them. Or a lot of nachos.