Fried ECU, difficult shop, switching software.

There is only one dealer for this tuner in my area and in case I need to go there for service I would rather not say and burn britches. PM me if your curious. Again it wasn't the tuners fault but the shop. This tuner has a handheld switcher though. I could sell that for $100 and pay for the depreciation of an AccessPort right there.

Oh I would never take my car to the dealership again. It was just at the time when I had my first hickup with the ECU I took it to the dealership. Also the ECU is technically covered by the federal emissions warranty but the shop screwed it up not VW. Funny if they were so confident that it was VW's fault I don't know why they didn't suggest putting the stock downpipe on and tow it to the dealership.

The shop quoted me $1500 for a new ECU installed and $850 for used. I went used and then I got a call saying the steering wheel ignition lock went out and that was an additional $650. I was in a bind and needed my car to go to meetings to make money. I feel I got taken advantage of. I actually called another shop that has a big presence and they said they could help source me a used for $200.

That shop is a COBB, APR, and maybe one other dealer. They said about the same thing as you are. While COBB has many great qualities, the OTS tunes are going to make less power than every other tuner. I running a downpipe, intake, R8 coils. I'm going to do a little more research about Stratified tunes and also the custom maps this shop can do for $200 I think on the dyno.

I remember the shop using a shitload of sealant when flashinf my 2010.

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lukesGTI said:

I remember the shop using a shitload of sealant when flashinf my 2010.

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Luke did you ever have any issues with your ECU after them opening it and tuning?

All the sealant they used to prevent water from entering which did fry quite a few, and then the other issue was the stress on the board when they opened it.

If there were any stress fractures in the board, vibrations later caused the ECU to fail.

If you never had any issues, good for you, many had problems.

find a new shop and tuner. simple as that. you need to be able to trust and work with your tuner, mechanic, etc... you pay them for a service and it is not unreasonable for them to stand behind their work. if they flinch at doing so, that'd be the first any only strike needed for me to switch shops, personally.

uglybastard said:

find a new shop and tuner. simple as that. you need to be able to trust and work with your tuner, mechanic, etc... you pay them for a service and it is not unreasonable for them to stand behind their work. if they flinch at doing so, that'd be the first any only strike needed for me to switch shops, personally.

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Absolutely agree. Honestly just thinking of keeping the ECU stock and getting a small motorcycle/vespa to get me the 2.5 miles to work.

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GertieGTI said:

Just the hesitation of tuning it again with the fear of another $1500 bill although I know it wasn't the tune that caused it rather the shop.

Trying to justify $650 and in my head with, "well I can sell the AP for at least $500 and I have to smog my car soon so that would be $100 right there and its $50 to put it back on my car now so that pays the difference in switching tuners."

This is how my brain works with most things [un]fortunate?

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lilonespaz said:

So whats stopping you? And yes all the major brands.. APR, Unitronic, COBB, Eurodyne etc are port flash now.

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Port flashing electronically is NOT the best way to flash an ECU but it is the most convenient and there are more failures than with bench flashing. Removing and connecting the ECU directly is the best way of flashing it; and the way to recover it as well. Most professional Tuners do a backup of the ECU before they flash; chances the guy who did your stage 1 flash may have a copy of your ECU and would be able to recover it back to stock.

If you want you can send your old ECU to me and I will bench flash it with a matching version, and send it back to you. The only charge will be the shipping cost back to you. PM if you are interested.

uglybastard said:

find a new shop and tuner. simple as that. you need to be able to trust and work with your tuner, mechanic, etc... you pay them for a service and it is not unreasonable for them to stand behind their work. if they flinch at doing so, that'd be the first any only strike needed for me to switch shops, personally.

Click to expand...

+1

ECUs can fail for different reasons including water getting in if the ECU cause it was not sealed properly, which is suspect is not always the case.

Here are a couple of things anyone getting a Tune should Do ! There maybe others but these are fundamental and often overlooked.

1) When you first contact the Tuner, ask for a copy of your original tune. Most Professional Tuners will do a back up of your ECU before they start flashing, so it should not be additional work and only takes 10 to 15 minutes to do.
If they don't do a backup you have to as yourself some questions!

2) Ask the tuner if he uses a supplementary voltage supply during the flash, this is important for port flashing as both radiator fans will come on and run for a long time during port flashing. Bench flashing does not require this as the ECU is removed from the car.

3) Make sure your battery is in good condition, alway, especially if you have big Sound Equipment that draws alot of power, they can drag the voltage down. The ECU needs good power all the time, garbage-in = garbage-out.

MLue1 said:

Port flashing electronically is NOT the best way to flash an ECU but it is the most convenient and there are more failures than with bench flashing. Removing and connecting the ECU directly is the best way of flashing it; and the way to recover it as well. Most professional Tuners do a backup of the ECU before they flash; chances the guy who did your stage 1 flash may have a copy of your ECU and would be able to recover it back to stock.

If you want you can send your old ECU to me and I will bench flash it with a matching version, and send it back to you. The only charge will be the shipping cost back to you. PM if you are interested.

Click to expand...

I assume your are referring to bench flashing where the ECU is removed from the vehicle and hooked up via a harness to a computer to complete the flashing process. Traditionally, "bench flashing" for MKVI's tuners used to have to open the lid of the ECU and ground a pin to bypass the encryption.

From what I have read from tuners on here and Vortex as well as the software company I had on my vehicle, it is the removing of the lid from the ECU process that accelerates the likelihood of the ECU failing by stressing a MOSFET? chip. I spoke to a rep from the software company and said my fans are running constantly and he immediately replied he knew exactly what it is and if the car is still running it most likely can be repaired. Stock ECU's can fail as well but opening the lid most likely stresses this chip and accelerates the issue.

This MOSFET chip fails on these MED17 ECU's and maybe be more prevelant with -AT part number ECU's, which mine is, and a software flash can not repair them. The shop I went to took the ECU out of the car to try and communicate with it on the bench since all the other components in the car can sometimes get in the way of communicating with the ECU, so I was told. It did not communicate on the bench and that is why they said a new/used ECU was needed.

If you still would like to give it a shot I can send my old ECU to you since it's not doing me much good. I am curious actually to see how well it was sealed and if there are any glaringly apparent issues.

MLue1 said:

+1

ECUs can fail for different reasons including water getting in if the ECU cause it was not sealed properly, which is suspect is not always the case.

Here are a couple of things anyone getting a Tune should Do ! There maybe others but these are fundamental and often overlooked.

1) When you first contact the Tuner, ask for a copy of your original tune. Most Professional Tuners will do a back up of your ECU before they start flashing, so it should not be additional work and only takes 10 to 15 minutes to do.
If they don't do a backup you have to as yourself some questions!

2) Ask the tuner if he uses a supplementary voltage supply during the flash, this is important for port flashing as both radiator fans will come on and run for a long time during port flashing. Bench flashing does not require this as the ECU is removed from the car.

3) Make sure your battery is in good condition, alway, especially if you have big Sound Equipment that draws alot of power, they can drag the voltage down. The ECU needs good power all the time, garbage-in = garbage-out.

Click to expand...

I know the shop I use is very good about hooking up a battery charger on the vehicle anytime the ECU flashing is handled.

My real question is what is the risk of port flashing now with COBB and will it be safe? I really don't want to go through this again. Although I can effectively "rent" a COBB Accessport for $0-50 if I buy a used AP because they can be sold for nearly what you buy a used one for.

GertieGTI said:

I know the shop I use is very good about hooking up a battery charger on the vehicle anytime the ECU flashing is handled.

My real question is what is the risk of port flashing now with COBB and will it be safe? I really don't want to go through this again. Although I can effectively "rent" a COBB Accessport for $0-50 if I buy a used AP because they can be sold for nearly what you buy a used one for.

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I only have European Tuning tools and electronic tools, sorry I don't have any experience with COBB their AP suff is proprietary, there is a flash counter on the ECU, I can't say how the get around it, when stuff go bad they have you by the short and curlys.

My way of thinking is modify you car the way you want with whatever hardware you want, then take it to a Tuner like United Motorsports and let that guy Jeff do a custom tune for you. I looked at some his tunes and he is a major talent.

I'm semi retired so I have the time, my offer still stands to try to recover your ECU, I'll PM you my cordinates but won't be returning the Bad ECU if not sucessfull.

Carbon Steel said:

Luke did you ever have any issues with your ECU after them opening it and tuning?

All the sealant they used to prevent water from entering which did fry quite a few, and then the other issue was the stress on the board when they opened it.

If there were any stress fractures in the board, vibrations later caused the ECU to fail.

If you never had any issues, good for you, many had problems.

Click to expand...

No issues since flashing 4 years ago. I guess the sealant and screws they used are holding up. Still reading your experience and many other does raise hairs..

Btw I had the work done by TyrolSport Queens NY