ECU broken!!!

[GaryCT]

Its been well over a week now of accusations and theories. We have heard them all....dodgy soldering, bad checksums, cracked, hacked and out of date software, the worst tuned file anybody has ever seen. We have had them all but lets be honest all the above mentioned problems can be fixed within an hour without the need for a new or second hand ECU..... So this gets me to wondering.

What exactly is ECU Evolutions diagnosis ? They have had your ECU for a week now and they still haven't told you what was to blame for your ECU failure? Surely ECU Evolutions or their "file writing guru" must know by now.

If your going to slander people and damage their business by accusing them in forums its only right that you should have good solid facts to back this up, which by the way we have yet to see or hear.

I understand the need for forum members to to have their input but again the input is based on theories and assumptions and not facts. So in effect we have been judged,found guilty and sentenced without one single scrap of evidence to say we have done anything wrong.

[Guest westallc]

lets face it there is no evidence at the moment to say it was your fault...

but the way you are putting your self across is really bad and is infact damaging your company profile more than 1 ecu possibly gone wrong......

i think you will look back at your comments and realise they are not the comments of a good buisness man and with so many vag tuners out there a quick way to go down hill..

i can see from your view it must be annoying someone saying its your fault but has no proof it is..

but surely you could have come to some sort of agreement that stopped it turning into this as i have now seen that this has been linked to most vag forums and has become very damaging but only through your comments and the way you have handled the whole thing..

good luck in the future ( maybe take a customer care course) :P

[tartanarmy]

Its been well over a week now of accusations and theories. We have heard them all....dodgy soldering, bad checksums, cracked, hacked and out of date software, the worst tuned file anybody has ever seen. We have had them all but lets be honest all the above mentioned problems can be fixed within an hour without the need for a new or second hand ECU..... So this gets me to wondering.

What exactly is ECU Evolutions diagnosis ? They have had your ECU for a week now and they still haven't told you what was to blame for your ECU failure? Surely ECU Evolutions or their "file writing guru" must know by now.

If your going to slander people and damage their business by accusing them in forums its only right that you should have good solid facts to back this up, which by the way we have yet to see or hear.

I understand the need for forum members to to have their input but again the input is based on theories and assumptions and not facts. So in effect we have been judged,found guilty and sentenced without one single scrap of evidence to say we have done anything wrong.

Ok gary if your after facts here is one or two!!

The only quote i can find that accuses you of anything is as follows

"On the upside, Chris from ECU evolutions phoned me today to say his file writer has looked at the map Custom tuning put on, and he said it is one of the worst maps he has seen in a long time. He reckons is it about 4 years out of date, and has used hacked software,"

Now if you read that carefully i'm sure it says ECU Evolutions told him that. Now if you have a problem with that take it up with ECU Evolutions not the messenger.

Also in the email to you from john he is quoting a 3rd party ..... as above if you aint happy with the info given to john then go speak to whoever told him.

Another fact for you follows

"So in effect we have been judged,found guilty and sentenced without one single scrap of evidence to say we have done anything wrong."

You amaze me gary because the fact here is you still do not understand what you DID do wrong. I will give you a hint - It has everything to do with you and nothing to do with the car.

"They have had your ECU for a week now and they still haven't told you what was to blame for your ECU failure?" Is this (ECU Failure) your professional opinion? If this is the case then surely its a huge coincedence that the ECU failed after your map was flashed to it.

And before you claim it ...No the above is not an accusation of anything or slanderous

"If your going to slander people and damage their business by accusing them in forums its only right that you should have good solid facts to back this up"

I cant see any slanderous comments made by anyone on this forum rather they came from a 3rd party discussed above...and as for damaging your business you are managing that quite well all by yourself.

[GaryCT]

So in effect even though we believe we have done nothing wrong we should just bow to public pressure and pay for or repair the OP's ECU. If we thought for a single minute we had damaged the ECU that is exactly what we would have done without hesitation.

Edited 2 May, 2009 by GaryCT

[karlbar2k]

I understand that this thread has caused you to get upset Gary, but you need to temper your reaction to limit any further damage to your reputation. You have not "been judged,found guilty and sentenced without one single scrap of evidence " What people on here are judging you on is the way you respond to the posts of the OP and the other members(right or wrong in their factual accuracy). Being in the business of IT services I often (for often read 99 out of 100) have to deal with customers who "believe" that their IT problem is my responsibility/fault, but I try to make sure that by the end of the call they are happy that I have done everything I can to help as it is their perception of the support they have received that will have them signing on the dotted line again next year, ECU remaping is similar in that most of the business is generated by word of mouth and forum induced confidence (I searched on here and lots of other VW forums for a long time before opting to have a postal map with ECU Evolutions). the original map I had was not right and even though I only paid £99 for it, ECU Evo arranged to meet in Cardiff to reflash, their correspondance was clear and timely, their attitude was very helpful. This is why their customers on here are happy to recomend them when people ask "is a £99 remap any good?" The same can be said of any mapper with happy customers. What you need to do is "help" the OP to resolve his problem, note I said "help" not "pay", that way you may be able to repair some of the damage "You" have done to your good name.

The issues of costs will be dependant on the final outcome.

[tartanarmy]

So in effect even though we believe we have done nothing wrong we should just bow to public pressure and pay for or repair the OP's ECU. If we thought for a single minute we had damaged the ECU that is exactly what we would have done without hesitation.

What you need to do is "help" the OP to resolve his problem, note I said "help" not "pay", that way you may be able to repair some of the damage "You" have done to your good name.

:iagree:

I don't reckon many are of that opinion you posted Gary untill there is a definitive answer. It says about customer satisfaction on your website, That has not been fulfilled here and (my opinion) thats all down to you Gary. So much more could have been offered by your company than was given, Even sticking to your point of not paying something more could have still been done.

At the end of the day you have shown your true colours where your customers are concerned i reckon, And you cant blame anyone here inc OP for business lost as looking back over the posts we have all said why we are now put off from CT.

read back posts 128, 126, 107,my personal fav 78 they outline what i think pretty well.

Edited 3 May, 2009 by tartanarmy

[mannyo]

but the way you are putting your self across is really bad and is infact damaging your company profile more than 1 ecu possibly gone wrong......

This is possibly true, I dont know if you can see what I can at the bottom of this thread. We have several other forums cross linking to this thread where they are also discussing no longer using this company for remaps. This thread will be cached on google, and anyone searching for his company will find his company and all these negative comments posted across multiple forums.

[tony_82]

I understand the need for forum members to to have their input but again the input is based on theories and assumptions and not facts. So in effect we have been judged,found guilty and sentenced without one single scrap of evidence to say we have done anything wrong.

As you quite rightly say, 99% of us on here are not in possession of all of the facts. The one fact that I am in possession of is that your personal conduct and attitude towards customers leaves a lot to be desired. I work, and have done so for ten years now, in a customer facing environment. I can safely say that if you spoke to customers in the business that I am in, you would be out on your 4rse within seconds.

You are the only contact that most of the people reading this thread have had. I can tell you now that you have done irreparable damage to the image of your company in my eyes. I certainly wouldn't consider using you, and I certainly wouldn't recommend any I know use you. And that is based solely on your posts on here. So far there have been 3750+ reads of this thread. That is potentially 3000+ lost sales for you. How much do you charge? £200 a time? If so that's potentially £600000 worth of sales. All due to your attitude.

[tartanarmy]

This is possibly true, I dont know if you can see what I can at the bottom of this thread. We have several other forums cross linking to this thread where they are also discussing no longer using this company for remaps. This thread will be cached on google, and anyone searching for his company will find his company and all these negative comments posted across multiple forums.

Also this thread is 5th on page 1 of google just 4 under CT's main site

[jonnycatbiscuit]

Ok, in response to many requests; here is an update.

ECU evolutions file man spent a day trying to re write some broken thingy in my ecu (can't say exactly what as I don't know until I get the written report)

He couldn't fix it, so my only option was a replacement ECU.

They replaced it with a second hand ECU which was then mapped and adapted to work in

my car. It was posted to my father in law in Cardiff (as the car is still stuck there) and I talked him through refitting it.

The car now works, so I'm going to get it on Tuesday.

I've tried to avoid updating with small updates (like the inability to fix my ECU) because as a few people have commented, I don't know the full facts, and I am not an expert in the field of ECU electronics.

However, I promise that I will post exactly what ECU evolution say in their final report along with any final solution arrived at.

And for the record, I have had no further contact from Gary at Custom tuning...

Thanks to everyone for their support and kind words of encouragement - it really does mean a lot to be reassured!

[Basil]

Glad the car part of this mess is all sorted now.

Cheers

Bas

[mannyo]

The linkbacks currently show 2 threads on seatcupra.net linking back to here one "ECU postal tuning" and another "remap advice please"

[vRS Carl]

Glad you finally got it sorted JCB

Will wait before seeing the Report before making any further comments. However i reckon its safe to say Custom Tuning's reputation is going to be damaged for a while.

Wonder if they are going to become the "Yes Car Credit" of the re-mapping world

As said Gald its sorted JCB hopefully it wasn't too expensive for you

Carl:thumbup:

[karlbar2k]

good news at last JCB. Please give us an update on how the map performs in you car as I am sure some of the 3000+ reads will be keen to know

[richardsfavorit]

Pleased to hear the car is working again now - you must be glad it is sorted. Been following this with interest and hope the car performs as you originally wanted.

[chicken_eyebrow]

Glad to hear you got the car back JCB. I was Octy-less for the last fortnight and it was frustrating to say the least!

[Gunswick]

WOW!

just seen this thread. Shocking service by custom tuning... really really bad.

Its sad that the car went dead, I know I would be so stressed out stranded from home with wife and kids. Imagine what your wife would be saying, I would never have been so cool and calm on the phone and in the emails to Gary about the problem.

Clearly, custom tuning opening up the ECU, resoldering and whatnot had broken the ECU - though ECU Evolutions can confirm that.

bad mapping technique and some very very bad customer service!

At least the OP has it sorted now. Did ECU Evo put a remap on it too? or just a working stock map?

If so, is it any good?

[Lex Dysia]

Clearly, custom tuning opening up the ECU, resoldering and whatnot had broken the ECU

NO NO NO Gary said it couldn't possibly be CT's fault and I for one believe him as he is such a reasonable guy :rofl:

[Leeboy]

Surely this thread is a prime example of why grievances shouldn't be conducted in public. None of us have possession of the facts (particularly those quipping at Custom Tuning posts) and for all we know the ECU could have been sorted second time round by returning to its original state but got damaged in the post.

Yes, this sort of post started usefully in order to seek views as to possible problems and cures and who can help particularly given JCB's predicament of being in Cardiff rather than at home, but there after it should not have descended into blame and counter blame. Sending emails or posting on forums is a faceless way of conducting a dispute and because it is so easy to post up your immediate feelings with no immediate opportunity to reposte, arguments get messy. I've always used the rule not to email or post in the immediate aftermath of feeling you've been wronged.

A better way to conduct such business would be to address your concerns with the culprit in private and once resolved (whether to your liking or not), then you can warn others of your bad experience. I speak from considerable experience having lost a few thousand quid to the FORMER owners of TSR (not to be connected in anyway with the current operators of this business) went the business when into administration with my car and my money a couple of years ago.

I rarely put my thoughts on such threads where contenious issues are being aired (I'll avoid the word "debated" because this thread is mostly one sided) and no doubt I'll wait to be shot down but I felt the need to add two pence.

Importantly though, I'm glad to hear the car is working again, and I guess the other half is none too chuffed with the whole affair!

[Kandy]

He didn't because of the content of the email.

If you want cooperation you don't start off by insulting someones reputation/products and making veiled demands for compensation.

Simples!

[gadgetman]

OK, we've discussed Gary's PR coup more than enough.

So now we await the final verdict on the defective ECU. Over to John...

[cheezemonkhai]

I have to say reading this thread from start to finish just now, OMG what a PR clusterf**k.

It's also obvious that certain people on here and members don't have a clue what they are on about as nearly all the comments regarding how to reprogram flash/eeprom (most eeprom is flash anyway these days) are interesting at best and hilarious at worse.

The boxes in the picture are just electronic adapters and it's the software driving the connection and the person driving the software that are where the skill lives.

Also the boxes shown don't seem to have BGA/DIL/etc connectors on them so I'd be really interested in seeing how they would be used to programme a chip that has been taken out of the ECU.

I can take an expert with a cheapest option hardware and they will do a better job than a random with the best kit you can buy.

I think the OP's communication posted earlier to the tuner is completely reasonable and that's without even getting into distance selling regulations or suitability for purpose.

Still it's going to be interesting to see the report from the other ECU tuner and I do hope you keep an image of the original software provided by the postal update. If the report comes in that it is duff cracked software then surely that has to have certain legal implications in handling stolen goods, copyright law or misuse of a computer if downloaded.

I for one certainly wouldn't consider using any company that have reacted in this way. Coincidence or not I would have expected them to assist in finding the problem and if not their fault at least offer to put the original map back on for a nominal fee. Playing the big not my fault card scores a big zero in terms of customer support in my book.

I really would love to know when the customer is always right became the customer is always wrong/a liar/a thief.

[jonnycatbiscuit]

No update on the broken ECU as yet (need to speak to Chris at ECU Evolutions today...)

What I can say though, is that I drove the car back from Cardiff to Southampton yesterday, and after a 300 mile round trip (up there is my mum's remapped Leon Cupra, then back in my freshly remapped Octy); it was soooooooo much smoother to drive that I went out for a spin around the lanes after I got home.

Thank you ECU evolutions, for a TOP CLASS remap. Much smoother, and more torquey, than the previous remap.

***AND THAT'S A FACT***

[GaryCT]

Thank you ECU evolutions, for a TOP CLASS remap. Much smoother, and more torquey, than the previous remap.

***AND THAT'S A FACT***

ooh im real surprised you said that john, must be true then if you said it.

Thank you to all the people on here who can see sense and have given me some support.

We never started any of the problems that john had, he created all these problems for himself, he never gave us any oppertunity to help him.

Yes i can understand that john was upset when his car stopped working, if that had happened to me i would have been mad too but i would not have started accusing any company in question that they were using stolen software to do the work on my ECU without any proof whatsoever. John is lucky that we haven't started legal proceedings against him for all the slander he has done on here about our company.

Come on john lets have a bit of fairness and admit that you can't just go around acting like you did posting untrue facts about a company, you never gave us a chance to help you, you just shot your mouth off in an email and on this forum.

Also john what never got mentioned and is totally beyond me is that when you sent the ECU back the second time it had chip fat all over it, the bag you put it in had loads of chip fat in it, what was that all about, we had to spend time getting the chip fat off the ECU and out of the grooves, please don't say this didn't happen because you are meant to be a policeman aren't you? and policemen shouldn't tell lies, also if you are a policeman then surely you should have known better than to start judging people without any facts.

In my honest opinion i think that you damaged your own ECU, i think the chances are that you tried putting the plugs in the ECU with the battery connected and probably caused static to damage it, But even if that did happen most people on this forum would still think it's our fault for not giving you a 200 page detailed instructions on exactly how to take it out and refit it, in fact no doubt it would be our fault just for wearing the wrong colour trousers.

So john what is taking so long for this report about your ECU?, i look forward to it and if it states that we are to blame then i can see a court case coming on because i want it proving in court that we damaged it. "somehow i don't think this report will blame us"

Right that's it from me, everybody get your stones out and start pelting, please no stones to the head.

ouch ooh stop it, aargh my leg:)

[jonnycatbiscuit]

:rotz:

It wasn't chip fat - it was a small amount of grease along the runners, to aid removal and refitting...