BMW DSC/ABS Unit - Don't Replace ..... Repair !!!
Discussion
Hi All
I think this has been covered in various forums - but it's worth covering again as it saves a LOT of money.
The DSC/ABS unit in our BMW 130i has failed (you get various lights up on the dash), so I took it to BMW to get them to verify and of course they quoted me for a new unit which they could fit the next day - at a cost of £2,300 .........
Before I took it in however, I did my homework on this and discovered it is quite a common problem in the 1, 3 and Z series from 2004 onwards.
Several/many have had the unit fail for a second time later in the cars life (one guy had it fail 3 times !!!!).
I also discovered a few places offering rebuild of the unit at a fraction of the cost. One of them "ECU Testing" in Derby, also offer a lifetime guarantee of the unit with their rebuild !
So I got a local BMW specialist indy to take the unit out and send it off to them (you can do this yourself fairly easily - I didn't as it would need to be recoded anyway - plus bleeding the brakes etc.) - and to refit it when returned.
Total cost was just £415 - the ECU rebuild was £245, £30 posting and the rest about for removal/re-fitting/brakes/coding.
So saving just shy of £2000 - and you get a lifetime guarantee.
The only consideration being you have to have the car off the road for a week (which may be problematic for some I know).
As said - thought it would be worth sharing.......
Mark
I think this has been covered in various forums - but it's worth covering again as it saves a LOT of money.
The DSC/ABS unit in our BMW 130i has failed (you get various lights up on the dash), so I took it to BMW to get them to verify and of course they quoted me for a new unit which they could fit the next day - at a cost of £2,300 .........
Before I took it in however, I did my homework on this and discovered it is quite a common problem in the 1, 3 and Z series from 2004 onwards.
Several/many have had the unit fail for a second time later in the cars life (one guy had it fail 3 times !!!!).
I also discovered a few places offering rebuild of the unit at a fraction of the cost. One of them "ECU Testing" in Derby, also offer a lifetime guarantee of the unit with their rebuild !
So I got a local BMW specialist indy to take the unit out and send it off to them (you can do this yourself fairly easily - I didn't as it would need to be recoded anyway - plus bleeding the brakes etc.) - and to refit it when returned.
Total cost was just £415 - the ECU rebuild was £245, £30 posting and the rest about for removal/re-fitting/brakes/coding.
So saving just shy of £2000 - and you get a lifetime guarantee.
The only consideration being you have to have the car off the road for a week (which may be problematic for some I know).
As said - thought it would be worth sharing.......
Mark
ECU testing are the dogs great comms during the repair inc receiving item etc, recently sorted out a design flaw (Blown component known problem) on my daughters Golf 7 speed DSG gearbox in her golf I stripped out the ECM from the mechatronic unit expecting it to come back the same way (component form screws etc) but it came back fully assembled inc oil 
all I at to do was fit the whole unit reset adaption and I was good to go , they have just moved into a bigger premises too no surprise there 
make other companies in this field I have used in the past seem like rank amateurs in comparison, all my stuff goes to ECU Testing now, oh and that lifetime guarantee sweetens the deal too 
all I at to do was fit the whole unit reset adaption and I was good to go , they have just moved into a bigger premises too no surprise there make other companies in this field I have used in the past seem like rank amateurs in comparison, all my stuff goes to ECU Testing now, oh and that lifetime guarantee sweetens the deal too Edited by Sardonicus on Monday 2nd October 15:03
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