So..I was driving around the other day and when I hit some bumps in the road, occasionally my car will stall. Took it to get checked out and apparently my ECU went bad. They say a new ECU will run $1800. Seeing as though my car is a 2001, I'm not sure it's worth investing into a car I might only keep for another year. Is it true that you can't put a used ECU from another car of the same make/model in without having it reprogrammed?

 

1800 bucks lmfao. They run about 100 for a used one from a junkyard or on the classifieds. Just make sure you buy one with the same code on the box and also make sure you get one from a manual if yours is manual or automatic if yours is automatic. Plus if your car is a 1.8 then I'd grab a chipped ecu from the classifieds for a couple hundred more.

 

^what he said...

 

SO...then once I grab the ECU, do I need to reprogram it? I thought the $1800 was crazy, but they said it's a dealer only part and they wouldn't install used parts that they couldn't guarantee for 12 months. Sucks!

 

No. You literally just pull the ecu box cover off, unplug your existing ecu, plug in the "new" one and replace the ecu cover and screws. Easy as pie, the only thing you might have to do beyond that is pull the driver side windshield wiper and rain tray off if your hands are big and/or dont have the right tools to fit in that area.

 

^what he said, again...

 

Thanks 4 your help, I appreciate that. Now, if only I could find a used chipped ECU on the forum!

 

Passats have the same ecu's FYI

 

VWVortex.com often has guys selling chipped ECUs. Out of curiosity, what's the basis of them saying the ECU is bad? Electronics, unless they get soaked while powered up, overcurrent (rare in a regulated system like a car), or vibrated to extreme degrees (again, very unlikely unless you're shooting the car off an aircraft carrier).

 

****, sorry - unless that stuff happens, electronics very rarely just up and fail.