Engine Arning Light

[babus]

My toyota avensis (1.8 VVti Auto- Y plate) came out of warranty on 1st of March 2004 and the engine warning light came on 15 days later. Took it to a Toyota service center and they said that this a problm with the ECU(engine control Unit) which apparently controls the timing of the gears (sounded greek and latin to me). To replace it -cost would b £700/-. They suggsted that this is known problem in Avensis and they would contact Toyota and request whether they would provide a new ECU free of cost as a) the car was only 15 days out of the warranty and 2) this is a software problem and nothing to do with mileage of wear and tear. Guess what? Toyota bluntly declined the option of providing a free new ECU or a discounted one. Decided never to go for a Toyota again. Does anyone know as to how I can solve my problem? I am not keen on spending £700 on a part as the car runs fine now. However the warning light does bother me.

[PAB]

Did the dealer tell you what diagnostic fault codes were stored in the ECU?

Whenever a engine check light comes on (vehicle sold after 1st Jan 2001) the ECU stores a diagnostic trouble code. It is very unlikely that the ECU is faulty, gebnerally it is a wiring fault or a sensor failure.

Get the code from your dealer to prove they say it needs a new ECU.

[themadscotsman]

Don't know if it helps but you can also buy diagnostic code readers in Halfords with books that tell you what each code means for under £20.

The other option would be to see if you can get a superchip for it - that'd replace the ECU and give you improved performance - I don't know if one's available for it but might be worth looking if it does