S-Line 2.0TDi PRNDS Problem - All letters highlighted

Hi

I have an A4 Avant 2.0TDi Auto S-Line on a 55 plate with 127k on the clock. It has been serviced by Audi since day one, and I have recently noticed on my dash that all the letters on the PRNDS transmission indicator are often highlighted in red. I should say that nothing is flashing at this point (which I believe is another problem owners have experienced and has proved to be an expensive repair). This issue is an intermittent one and often the display reverts to the correct display - i.e. 'D' for drive.

Just really wanting to know if anyone else has experienced the same problem, and what the likely cause of this is. I am wary about putting it into a garage (especially at this time of year) until I have some background on the problem, as I suspect they may tell me the worst case scenario and charge me a fortune (£1500ish in some cases) to repair it.

Is there software available that I can install on my laptop, where if I purchased the cable it to connect it to my car would tell me the exact problem?


Thanks in advance


Pat

Had my car in to get checked out today at 'A for Audi' just outside Glasgow. As suspected it's the ECU with the fault code G196 referring to Speed Sensor 2. The gave me a quote of £1,112.73 to replace the ECU. This is broken down as follows:

£647 +VAT for the ECU
£100 + VAT for the Gearbox Oil
£200 +VAT for the labour

Anyone had to replace one of these before? Is this a typical quote for this type of repair? It's a bit stiff the week after new year to get a bill like that, so any cost saving advice would be appreciated.


Thanks


Pst

Not sure. They told me I needed a new ECU as they tried to reset it several times to no avail. When I asked for a fault code they told me that it flagged up 'G196' which is the code for Speed Sensor 2.

I'm confused!

ok, the 2nd user ECU thing is something i have thought of as that is the bulk of the cost. This might be a really silly question but are all ECU's on B7 2.0TDi's the same?

Also - I know it's a complete lottery, but would anyone use ebay to purchase something like a a 2nd user ECU? Found this one on there - says it's only done 20K:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/AUDI-A4-ABS-P...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item35a60e23e3


Let me know


Pat

A year and a half later, and this problem has come to a head. Despite the PRNDS light intermittently flashing the car has been driving ok, but now the symptomatic effects are starting to happen. I've been occasionally losing reverse gear and sometimes all power in the accelerator goes. Had it rescanned and the same fault codes are appearing - G195 & G196 which are errors coming from the speed sensors. So still not even sure if its the ECU or just the speed sensors. Is there any way to tell? And can speed sensors be replaced or even just cleaned?

Anyway, looked into a replacement ECU and managed to get the part number for my ECU from the supplier of parts for Glasgow Audi (Glasgow Audi said they werent allowed to give me the part number but their parts supplier might be able to). So I called them and they asked for my reg number and from that were able to tell me that my multitronic gearbox ECU part number is 8e0910157h. Is it this number that i need to match up with any replacement ECU? If i get a replacement ECU with this part number will it still need recoded?

I'm not keen on getting my own ECU taken out and sent away to a repairer and have it rebuilt/refurbished as this will result in my car being off the road for 1-2 weeks which would be a real inconvenience, so looking for an 'out and in' solution if possible by sourcing a replacement. Just need to know all the pitfalls before I make a decision. There are a few companies out there selling ECU's with matching part numbers but I need to know if this is as straight forward (out and in) as it sounds.