ECM/PCM fault code..

ANX

ANX

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Yippie, another issue with the car...

Pulled up to traffic lights, I know the junction takes a good while to change again, so put the handbrake on and the gearbox in neutral. Stop start kicked in so the engine wasn't running.

Preparing to go again, changed the car from neutral to drive, pressed the accelerator expecting the start bit of stop start to work as you do.. instead got something along the lines of 'ignition system error please contact workshop'. Being stuck in the middle of a particularly busy junction I didn't get chance to check the exact wording, rather spent the next few minutes furiously swearing and trying to start the car, which did eventually come back to life.

After getting home, I now have a new fault code...

01 Engine

System description: R4 2.0l TDI
Software number: 04L906026AG
Software version: 1969
Hardware number: 04L907309L
Hardware version: H34
ODX name: EV_ECM20TDI01104L906026AG
ODX version: 001006
Long coding: 0A254032232605083408

Trouble codes:
P060600 - ECM/PCM Processor
static

Googling P060600 - ECM/PCM Processor does not sound very good, some kind of generic ECU issue.

Anyone had any experience of this type of fault code? I saw some other references to dodgy sensors or software updates around on other threads but can tie them up.

Obviously I've contacted Audi, they've got a mobile tech coming this evening but that was only after much wrangling and chasing around.

After initially contacting Liverpool Audi where I bought the car from, I was referred to Jardine's national booking service who's initial attempt at customer services was to advise a two week wait, likely longer if I needed a loaner, back on to the local garage and they can take the car in, but cant look at it straight away or sort a loaner for a week. Advised to speak to roadside assistance, who whilst initially reluctant to send someone out as the car appears to be 'driveable' where finally persuaded to send an Audi tech to see if the car is infact safe to drive.

Not really sure why I should be doing the chasing for an issue with a two week old car and be told to wait weeks if I want to remain mobile, pretty tragic for a brand that supposedly strives for 'extremely satisfied' customers.

I don't expect cars to be faultless, that would be naïve - I am an IT tech for some very big old 'big iron' systems I know the law of averages when technology is mass produced will inevitably lead to teething troubles with a small percentage of components. What I do expect is that when buying from a reputable brand, when an issue is encountered, that someone owns that problem and I don't spend half my day organising someone to look at it - even us IT nerds have learned that level of basic customer service these days.. well some of us at least!

Not sure if this relates to my earlier judder thread here http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/s-tronic-stationary-juddering.310230/, there was no fault code at the time with that, and no further reoccurrence - so starting a separate e thread for specific issue/query.
 
So Audi tech has been and gone, picked up the same fault code as I did - he went online to audi using the same facilities as the workshop have and couldn't find any direction for the issue, or relevant software updates.

We discussed it and both left a little confused - looks like a generic 'something's gone wrong and I don't understand what' type error - I guess a program abend in ye olde IT language. Could just be one of those one off issues that may never show up again, could be intermittent going forward, or it could be the signs of something worse to come.

Seems to think it safe to drive at the moment as he would expect some further diagnostics/symptoms to be generated if the ECU really was terminal.

Tech offered to clear the code to see if it was just a one off, but given the age of the car I want it back to the dealer to complete their own diagnosis. So its going in Thursday and the mobile tech insists they can book a car through and app called mobex if there are no local pool cars available. I will be extremely disappointed if that's the case and I've just been fobbed off to avoid the local garage having to pay a short term rental cost.
 
cuke2u said:
You should have contacted here https://www.audi.co.uk/owners-area/...es-and-service-plans/roadside-assistance.html They are very good and when my car was imobilised they had a replacement car to me the very next day.
Click to expand...

Yep, that's who came out, the roadside package arrived in the post only yesterday with their details on... that's nice I thought, hopefully I'll never need to call them..!

Cant fault the guy who turned up, just somewhat disappointing at the local dealers relative disinterest in issues on a two week old car. Hopefully their second attempt at customer service when the car goes in on Thursday will be better than the first.... at least if I don't need to call on roadside again in the meantime..!
 
I just let the roadside assistance deal with my breakdown, never contacted the dealership direct until the day after I sent the car to them..
 
To me its pretty logical that the first point of call is to go back to the point of purchase if a fault develops within a couple of weeks.

All that would need to happen in this case for me to have been extremely satisfied (you will notice those words in bold a lot on Audi correspondence) would be for the dealership to take ownership locally, and provide me with a drop off time and loaner within 48hours, instead I've been ping ponged between the dealership/booking desks/counties and was told I'd need to wait one or two weeks for a loaner depending on who I was talking to.

I got better service when I bought a 6 year old beater of a Qashqai for my wife last year which developed a fault within a similar time frame - contacted the dealership and they collected and returned the car whist dropping off and picking up the loaner the next day.
 
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I got better service when I bought a 6 year old beater of a Qashqai for my wife last year which developed a fault within a similar time frame - contacted the dealership and they collected and returned the car whist dropping off and picking up the loner the next day.[/QUOTE]

Now THAT'S what I call Customer Service.
 
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ANX said:
To me its pretty logical that the first point of call is to go back to the point of purchase if a fault develops within a couple of weeks.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately where I purchased the car was further away from my local dealership so it was a waste of time dealing with them, plus there're not open 24 hours a day and by the time the technician arrived it was the evening. I can only say the service I received from the roadside assist was extremely satisfied.
As they had my car removed to the nearest dealership the next morning, as it was imobilised in my driveway, and a replacement car delivered to my house.
 
Yes... I guess if my car had been several months old, if I was immobile and if I had not ordered locally then I would have proceeded differently. In this case none of those things are true, and whilst I appreciate the input I didn't post this thread to gather feedback for Audi after sales service in various scenarios.

To hear someone talk of being extremely satisfied after a catastrophic failure such as yours and your concerns with paint swirls and what not afterwards... Well I'm glad you had a good experience with the road side assistace and are able to keep your faith in the car and brand.

Back to the point.. 35 miles so far Today and no thankfully no repeat as yet. Still waiting on promised call back to sort drop off/loaner for tomorrow.
 
Yes my issues are with how the dealership returned the car, not with the breakdown or repair. Good to hear you've had no further issues fingers crossed for you....
 
Better start from the dealership this morning. Dropped the car off, loaner waiting... had my 2yr old daughter in tow so they gave us an audi colouring book while we waited to book in (no car like daddy's in it tho :astonished:) and some Parma Violets. Nice touch - she's buzzing off the violets tho :blink:

Let's see what they make of the ECU fault code!
 
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Good luck, I am begining to more and mire think I made an error in changing my A3 for this car. Its thrown yet another wheel nut cover they keep sending replacements out to me, first time I have cleaned the piano black interior and I see there are a couple of scratches in it not done by me. I know to other owners these might be silly little things for someone else but for me I just keep dwelling on things. I am not blaming Audi but I do seem to be having bad luck with this one.
 
Good luck to the dealership with this fault code I think, already braced for them not to understand the issue and suggest clearing the code and checking for reoccurrence. Sometimes that's the nature of these things... but not great when it leaves you stuck in the middle of a junction. Sorry to hear of your continuing issues.. personally after having cars vandalised/stolen and more recently acquiring a dog and a small child I don't get so attached to my cars or worry about the small things anymore... they rarely even get washed (the cars, not the child/dog!).

I find leasing/PCP buying helps with that as it just becomes a very nice car I have the facility to use while I can afford to but keeps the car at arms length.
 
Spoke to dealership - as suspected, not an easy fault code for them to interpret - no record of previous occurrence in the database and they need to discuss in detail with Audi tomorrow. Some talk of ECU replacement but we will see - 1.4 a3 loaner is going to get a pasting on the mway tomorrow :sob:
 
Sigh. No contact from the dealership today despite a promised update and leaving a message. Guessing no news is not good news in this case.... majority of people I've spoken to think I should be rejecting the car given it's only a few weeks old... no where near that yet, but a contuning lack of communication will certainly push me closer.
 
Really sorry to hear you are having all these issues with the B9. It does worry me a bit about my new B9. But I will say that my current B8.5 was not perfect from new.

I had serious cabin rattle issue with the B pillars and also the front seats. My local dealership ended up stripping the B pillar trim off completely and installing additional velvet cloth strips. I also had new front seats after only a few hundred miles!

The car is still not 100% rattle free but it is alot better, I kinda think my B8.5 was a Friday afternoon special :p I have had it nearly three years now and tbf I still love the car even with it's little problems. They give the car some character!!

Although I am expecting the B9 to be built alot better than my B8.5, if it does have issues I shall be alot more confident to tell the dealership to sort it asap!
 
Thanks for the feels!

I accept that when things are mass produced, inevitably a small percentage will have issues. I'm sure I'm in the minority, that's part of the issue in that nothing like this fault has been recorded on their database.

I accept that the service department is busy... I actually feel sorry for the guy who's dealing with it...I certainly wouldn't want his job and I'm sure he deals with a lot more irate customers than me. As I've alluded to, I'm not paricluarly hard to please.. if it rattles I don't hear it over the music... if it's got swirls in the paint mway dirt will cover it... so on and so forth.

What I don't accept is the basic lack of communication and ownership of my issue on a two week old car. Not because I've spent a good amount money on an Audi and they should cover my path with Palm leaves and grovel at my feet or some such nonsense... but because thats basic common decency.. never mind customer service 101.

Just a 2min phone call, or an email.. even if it was to tell me they where too busy to get round to it today. You don't have to call me Mr ANX when you do speak to me, just speak to me!

Sigh.
 
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You're having an awful time with this, Mate. I do feel for you. Wish I could suggest a solution for you.
 
Picked the car up this evening, bit of a last minute arrangement and the service dept was closed when I arrived, so wasn't able to get much information as to what the fault is/was or what has been done to fix it. Brief phone call prior to collection noted some 'parameters' had been reset. Earlier conversations said Audi had requested a terminal 30 reset be performed, which sounded like an overly technical term for turn it off and on again. I did note that stop/start didn't kick in at all on the way home, where it was previously trigger happy - but that could just be due to a less than optimum charge on the battery having being hooked up to diagnostics for a while.

So skeptical me thinks they have pulled the battery and cleared the fault codes and I'm left to hope it doesn't happen again... Let's see what the formal report says in the morning.

At least I have the car back for now!
 
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Fingers crossed.....
 
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Hope it is now all sorted ANX. It does seem like you are having a really crappy time with the service department at your local dealer, which is obviously adding to the issue.

I have experienced really bad service from different Audi dealerships in the past and it really does knock your own faith in the Audi brand.

Lets hope it was just a new build gremlin and it is sorted now.

Keep us updated :)
 
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Picked up an email from the service dept today... Sceptical me was right, terminal 30 reset (pull the battery) and cleared fault codes. So I'm left to hope there was some kind of latent voltage issue - the car was left a the dealers for over a month before collection *shrugs* - if not then I'm just being asked to hope it doesn't happen again... I'm a pragmatic kind of guy... I've cleared dozens of fault codes on previous out of warranty cars in the same hope... some come back some don't. Not exactly full of confidence and just mailed the dealer back stating the same.

Stop start didn't kick in once during 70+ miles in the car today - all conditions being typical of when it has in the past - engine didn't even shutdown when I pulled up and put it in park. Honestly I wouldn't shed any tears if stop start has become less sensitive or even given up, but strange none the less - and impossible to try and reproduce the issue.
 
That really does not fill you with much confidence in the technical ability of the Audi Tech's with these new models. All the amazing technology you could ask for and they do a simple turn it off and turn it on again!! I know it does indeed fix 99% of all technical problems with tech as I work with computers every day of the week but still, come on Audi a little more troubleshooting would not go a miss!

Out of interest what dealership did you purchase the car from??
 
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Liverpool Audi - Just doing what Audi tells us m'lord so they say - shame, I would have thought being an Audi tech was a good profession and require some level of understanding over and above computer says no.

Didn't bother to respond to my contact noting lack of faith in their 'fix' - got Audi UK ringing me back to discuss the handling of the issue as they called to do a satisfaction survey on the road side assistance...which was fine... just the rest wasn't.

Stop start is back now, it does seem a little more refined it its operation. Not as quick to kick in, some control over weather it does or not based on brake pedal input/gearbox mode. Maybe there was a voltage issue and the 'terminal 30 reset' did clear something and they figured I wouldn't understand a proper explanation, or didn't truly understand it themselves. I just leave the box in manual mode now most of the time as that's generally how I drive and stop start doesn't seem to kick in at all.
 
If a diagnostic doesn't give a fault code what can they do. The start/stop system is a complex system of sensors, wiring and other components. They could be days and days working in the dark substituting one part for another and its not like a computer where you have far more diagnostics and a lesser number of components to test. They could in fact make it worse.
 
cuke2u said:
If a diagnostic doesn't give a fault code what can they do. The start/stop system is a complex system of sensors, wiring and other components. They could be days and days working in the dark substituting one part for another and its not like a computer where you have far more diagnostics and a lesser number of components to test. They could in fact make it worse.
Click to expand...

The fault code is noted in my first post... and yes modern car control systems are very much like a computers, rather a network of multiple computers running proprietary firmware on their own proprietary network! Being an IT engineer myself, I know full well the limitations of computer diagnostics, they can only tell you if a pre programed condition is apparent (for the moment at least), otherwise you get a generic error - an abnormal end if you like. Typically in such a situation you need to work through the problem, understand the coding, perhaps add some debugging and come to an informed judgement.. or if you cant be bothered or consider it not to be important, switch it off and on again and hope for the best...
 
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ANX said:
The fault code is noted in my first post... and yes modern car control systems are very much like a computers, rather a network of multiple computers running proprietary firmware on their own proprietary network! Being an IT engineer myself, I know full well the limitations of computer diagnostics, they can only tell you if a pre programed condition is apparent (for the moment at least), otherwise you get a generic error - an abnormal end if you like. Typically in such a situation you need to work through the problem, understand the coding, perhaps add some debugging and come to an informed judgement.. or if you cant be bothered or consider it not to be important, switch it off and on again and hope for the best...
Click to expand...

I would have to agree with you ANX! You actually beat me to it!

The more and more advanced hardware and software is being used in all sectors including cars, then the more complex issues are created. In my 15 years of experience there is never nothing better than a bit of old fashioned troubleshooting.

Although most modern technicians will see what sensors say and if it does not give them any ideas and they have a very small understanding of the technology they are stumped!

It all boils down to technicians understanding the technology properly, so they can diagnose at what point the issue is being presented etc....
 
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ANX said:
The fault code is noted in my first post... and yes modern car control systems are very much like a computers, rather a network of multiple computers running proprietary firmware on their own proprietary network! Being an IT engineer myself, I know full well the limitations of computer diagnostics, they can only tell you if a pre programed condition is apparent (for the moment at least), otherwise you get a generic error - an abnormal end if you like. Typically in such a situation you need to work through the problem, understand the coding, perhaps add some debugging and come to an informed judgement.. or if you cant be bothered or consider it not to be important, switch it off and on again and hope for the best...
Click to expand...
Maybe, but it techies don't debug, that is for software programmers and I am surprised you don't know that. You cannot expect any car technician to work at that level...
 
lord_lorin said:
I would have to agree with you ANX! You actually beat me to it!

The more and more advanced hardware and software is being used in all sectors including cars, then the more complex issues are created. In my 15 years of experience there is never nothing better than a bit of old fashioned troubleshooting.

Although most modern technicians will see what sensors say and if it does not give them any ideas and they have a very small understanding of the technology they are stumped!

It all boils down to technicians understanding the technology properly, so they can diagnose at what point the issue is being presented etc....
Click to expand...
To which old fashioned troubleshooting are you referring to? A hammer, maybe a piece of silver foil to set the points with? I don't think a 'common sense' attitude applies to a modern cars technology these days. It is easy to be cynical without knowing what actually is going on within a audi workshop, how they are trained and how compkex the systems actually are...
 
cuke2u said:
Maybe, but it techies don't debug, that is for software programmers and I am surprised you don't know that. You cannot expect any car technician to work at that level...
Click to expand...

I absolutely can expect Audi technicians to be able to diagnose and correct issues with their cars. On thier own and in isolation? No, i didnt take the car to a one man band based out of a shed - we live in a highly connected world, of course I expect them to make use of Audis central support functions. I dont expect anything more from them than i do from myself, own the issue, communicate, persue it with back office functions and have some professional pride - if all else fails be honest and say root cause unexplained dont give me some half baked explanation. Thanks for telling me what I should and shouldn't think though, very constructive.
 
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cuke2u said:
To which old fashioned troubleshooting are you referring to? A hammer, maybe a piece of silver foil to set the points with? I don't think a 'common sense' attitude applies to a modern cars technology these days. It is easy to be cynical without knowing what actually is going on within a audi workshop, how they are trained and how compkex the systems actually are...
Click to expand...


Try Googleing "troubleshooting methodology". So far as training vs complexity, if Audi cannot readily support the systems it implements, it should not implement them.
 
I have to agree with ANX that an Audi Master Technician should have a very good understanding of the powertrain systems in these cars. They have a lot of technical support and information available to them and should regularly undergo training to keep up with new technology and developments.
I often use a "3 pin reset" on our Sky box when it locks up, It works everytime to resolve the issues I have with it. I have not heard of a battery disconnect and reconnect being called a terminal 30 reset before, but then it was a main dealers and they probably think it sounds better than saying they disconnected and reconnected the battery.
 
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ANX said:
Try Googleing "troubleshooting methodology". So far as training vs complexity, if Audi cannot readily support the systems it implements, it should not implement them.
Click to expand...
Seriously, you really want to go there with this? And it is Googling https://www.google.co.uk/?gws_rd=ssl#safe=strict&q=googling I think we'd best beg to differ to stop boring other users of this forum.
I have had excellent service from Audi with all of my vehicles, both in how they dealt with my breakdown or repairs and in how the repair was carried out and cannot fault the knowledge that the technician had.
They debugged your system by performing a power off reboot by the way, you seem not to be able accept that it seems to have worked so maybe you should thank them for their efforts instead of slagging off their ability..
 
desertstorm said:
I have to agree with ANX that an Audi Master Technician should have a very good understanding of the powertrain systems in these cars. They have a lot of technical support and information available to them and should regularly undergo training to keep up with new technology and developments.
I often use a "3 pin reset" on our Sky box when it locks up, It works everytime to resolve the issues I have with it. I have not heard of a battery disconnect and reconnect being called a terminal 30 reset before, but then it was a main dealers and they probably think it sounds better than saying they disconnected and reconnected the battery.
Click to expand...
But did they not fix the issue? I have heard of a terminal 30 reset. Yes it is a technical term but we all use those in IT anyway. Perhaps you should look up where terminal 30 is. However ANX issues are fixed for the moment, yes? So perhaps, instead of running the techies down he should rejoice and congratulate them. As for training, they have what they have to deal with, like any other manufacturers workshops and I doubt whether it'll be different wherever you go.
However I cannot complain about the knowledge the master technician had with my car, they quickly identified the fault with the gearbox, implemented a satisfactory repair without resort to any major surgery to the vehicle.
If ANX has a issue with the manner in his now repaired vehicle was repaired he should really take it up with them because if I was a Audi technician reading his comments I would not be impressed..
 
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Apologies for the interlude, I've ignored cuke2u now so no longer compelled to respond to the trolling.
 
I know what terminal 30 is on a car along with quite a few others that you see on the wiring diagrams when I am helping people out with electrical issues on their cars. Probably because I never ended up at a main dealer I have not heard that particular term before.
I am also well aware of technical terms in IT having worked for BT for nearly 30 years on surveillance , maintenance and repair of our networks some suppliers seem to go out of their way to make life difficult with lots of TLA's and obfuscation.
If I was speaking to somebody who was not technical though I may tell them I had done a terminal 30 reset and if I did I would explain what that was. It's quite amazing how many times Cisco, Alcatel , Huawei, Nokia etc come up with turn it off and back on again to resolve problems.After spending loads of time downloading memory dumps and logs to try and resolve an issue turning it off and back on quite often fixes it . Sometimes it's not so obvious as a card may be changed at the time, but when chasing up the reason for the failure the card changed out is NFF.
 
I agree with you, as a ex-motor vehicle technician, then a social worker and now a senior schools IT technician it is so easy to jargonise things to a point your target audience becomes alienated. But then some use it as a tool...
 
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