Any alternatives to $240 ecu flash? Please Advise (Kinda long)
05-10-2006, 03:44 PM
#1
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Any alternatives to $240 ecu flash? Please Advise (Kinda long)
I have a 'new to me' 01 allroad, I only had it a few weeks and the check engine light came on. The dealer said it was because the catalytic converter was not pre-heating enough, and that Audi had released an ECU software upgrade to correct the problem (not actually fix the problem, but make the window larger so the sensor won't though an error).
However, it was not covered under my warranty and it will cost $240 in labor to make the software upgrade.
I've been thinking about getting an ARP chip. I was told that upgrading to the ARP chip would also solve my problem and turn off the check engine light.
$240 seems like a lot for nothing but turning off the light, but I'm also hesitant to buy a ARP chip just because I plan on having the car for a while and I don't want to hurt the longevity or the reliability. I know I've read in the forums that the chips are pretty safe, but I can't imagine why Audi would not ship the cars with more power!? And if your making more power, your making more heat, everything will wear faster, simple.
Anyway, I'm wondering if there are any alternatives... Can I do anything with the Vag-com to fix the problem? (besides just clearing the error code and waiting a day for it to come back..., I don't have a vag-com yet, but plan on buying soon) Is there anyway I can flash the ECU with the update myself? Has anyone had the same problem? Is $240 a fair price or is my dealer just ripping me off? Any tips or advice would be sweet. I'm new to the forum, and new to Audi's, sorry for all the questions.
This forum is sweet by the way; I'm hooked on reading it!
However, it was not covered under my warranty and it will cost $240 in labor to make the software upgrade.
I've been thinking about getting an ARP chip. I was told that upgrading to the ARP chip would also solve my problem and turn off the check engine light.
$240 seems like a lot for nothing but turning off the light, but I'm also hesitant to buy a ARP chip just because I plan on having the car for a while and I don't want to hurt the longevity or the reliability. I know I've read in the forums that the chips are pretty safe, but I can't imagine why Audi would not ship the cars with more power!? And if your making more power, your making more heat, everything will wear faster, simple.
Anyway, I'm wondering if there are any alternatives... Can I do anything with the Vag-com to fix the problem? (besides just clearing the error code and waiting a day for it to come back..., I don't have a vag-com yet, but plan on buying soon) Is there anyway I can flash the ECU with the update myself? Has anyone had the same problem? Is $240 a fair price or is my dealer just ripping me off? Any tips or advice would be sweet. I'm new to the forum, and new to Audi's, sorry for all the questions.
This forum is sweet by the way; I'm hooked on reading it!
05-03-2007, 04:16 AM
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Re: Any alternatives to $240 ecu flash? Please Advise (Kinda long)
My 2001 (92K mi) is experiencing the same problem....the dealer told me about the "flash" fix at $250.00, but he said that they have had issues with the Allroad "brain" being fried sometimes when they apply the flash...of course he did not even know what a flash was....it should be just downloading new software into the chipset..but...
What did you end up doing?
What did you end up doing?
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