When faced with a bad ECU, I had no clue where to get a replacement. Sure I could go to the local dealer and pay thousands of dollars - yeah, no joke the dealership wanted 2200 USD for the new ECU and then an additional of 375 USD for shop, programming, and other misc charges to replace the old one.
I searched everywhere, I could find several at a local junk yard, but those parts were not the exact replacement and even then I would have to find some one to burn the VIN, odometer reading, and programming info into the ECU and hope it works. That was too much of gamble, I googled the part number and low and behold ACR pops up. I tried ordering the part on their web page, that was a waste of time, their webpage based check out system kept error'ing out. So I called them, and with in minutes had my ECU ordered 479 USD.
First they wanted to charge me shipping and handling, but when I told them about the web site saying free shipping and handling, they said ohh yeah, we'll honor that. So I waited and true to their word it took 3 business days to ship it out, they even used UPS ground, guaranteeing me a full week to wait while my truck couldn't move on account of the odometer having to match with the ECU, otherwise some type of theft prevention or programming prevents the engine from starting.
Second, once the box arrived, I quickly and carefully installed the "plug and play" ECU from ACR, following the ECU directions included with the ECU, unplug the battery, then unplug the ECU, installation is opposite of the uninstalling. I hop in my car and try to start it up - nothing, the truck just sits there and tries to turn over. I call them up, I get "Roxie" who apparently used to work for the DMV and is a telephone sadist; "unplug and plug them again and call me back if that doesn't work!" Followed by a click and then dial tone, so foolish me, I do, and wait for it........ NOTHING, I call back, I get Fernando, (apparently Roxie couldn't answer the phone on account of her laughing so hard from giving me hope that this would actually help). Fernando is your central casting asshole that doesn't give a rats ass if the car starts, or blows up. In fact from his supercilious tone (something that all of the staff I dealt with a this boiler room like parts hell hole have in common) states, "well fill out the card enclosed with the ECU and fax or mail it back" and guess what came after that - click! So apparently the phrase "goodbye" is foreign to these lost souls, I look through the box, and there's this page/form that says (with multiple stop sign icons across the page) If for some reason the part malfunctions within the warranty period, the defected unit must be shipped back and another unit will be programmed and returned to you quickly. If the wrong part is ordered there will be a 20% restocking fee minus any shipping charges and refund will be issued timely.
So I know they've screwed me; if I ask for a replacement, that nullifies the option of ever getting my money back, and God only knows if these fools can actually do it right, they've already failed once. So I go for option 2 - the ole, ship it back, we'll screw you over the shipping and 20% restocking fee, I feebly tried to get them to waive that as I called back to Roxie and explain to them the part never worked, she said "fax or mail the form back - we'll let you know what to do next." Oh Roxie, you sadistic bitch! So three business days go by, no email, fax, or phone call. I call back and get Fernando, he doesn't miss a beat "well, ship it back already!" scoffing with righteous indignation. So I ship it back, two weeks go by, I call, Fernando, (oh you can only imagine how I breathed a sigh of relief hearing his voice on the other end), states "yeah, that uhh, ohh wait. (brief hold of 6 minutes) 'yeah the new one is on it's way." What! so I refresh his memory of how our last conversation ended, and then he says "yeah your fax came back illegible" insert WTF moment from me. Fernando then goes on to inform me of the "charges 20+ USD for shipping and handling, 20% restocking fee, for a total charge of 120 USD. I couldn't believe it, these guys must not sleep laughing at night knowing they are selling the same pieces of shit ECU's only to have them returned and refund only part of the original purchase price. So here I am, going on at nauseam about how this crap hole has screwed me out of my 120 USD. I have filed a dispute with the credit card company, hoping they'll issue the other 120 bucks back, but have no high hopes for that.
Oh yeah, the ECU? I called Sia Electronics in Illinois and was charged half the price of ACR and got a ECU a few days later that to this day is working perfectly. As Darren H. says "SCAM!.... Don't use them." well said Darren, well said..... read more