Does anyone know what is the average service life of an automotive ECU? Just curious about it. I once read somewhere that they are built to a very high standard, even higher than "mil spec". Anyone here driving a early 1980s car with the original 30 year old ECU?
Average Service Life of ECU ?
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If you have a mid 90s Chrysler product 5-10 years. Everyone else seems to have reasonably good luck with ECUs.
Should last a very long time. Engine, trans, rust problems may get to it sooner.
The longest we've owned a car with an ECU is about 16-17 years.
Anecdotally speaking my 94 Geo Prizm (Corolla) had it's factory ECU when I sold it in 2010.
The ECU was still going on my '87 Buick when I sold it in '03, so again, about 16-17 years.
Anecdotally speaking my 94 Geo Prizm (Corolla) had it's factory ECU when I sold it in 2010.
The ECU was still going on my '87 Buick when I sold it in '03, so again, about 16-17 years.
Originally Posted By: SubLGT
Does anyone know what is the average service life of an automotive ECU? Just curious about it. I once read somewhere that they are built to a very high standard, even higher than "mil spec". Anyone here driving a early 1980s car with the original 30 year old ECU?
Its rare to get one that genuinely failed.
I see a few cars that people have swapped the ECU but that was not the problem, they usually had electrical issues or a bad sensor and changing the ECU was a hail Mary pass.
I know of quite few early 80's cars running around with the original ECU.
Does anyone know what is the average service life of an automotive ECU? Just curious about it. I once read somewhere that they are built to a very high standard, even higher than "mil spec". Anyone here driving a early 1980s car with the original 30 year old ECU?
Its rare to get one that genuinely failed.
I see a few cars that people have swapped the ECU but that was not the problem, they usually had electrical issues or a bad sensor and changing the ECU was a hail Mary pass.
I know of quite few early 80's cars running around with the original ECU.
Never had one fail on me.
Originally Posted By: Miller88
If you have a mid 90s Chrysler product 5-10 years. Everyone else seems to have reasonably good luck with ECUs.
The Neon still has its original one and it doesn't seem to be a common problem on the Neons atleast. The odd time it would have a high pitch whine you could hear when you shut the car off, but even that didn't seem to be related to a problem with them from what I read on the forums.
If you have a mid 90s Chrysler product 5-10 years. Everyone else seems to have reasonably good luck with ECUs.
The Neon still has its original one and it doesn't seem to be a common problem on the Neons atleast. The odd time it would have a high pitch whine you could hear when you shut the car off, but even that didn't seem to be related to a problem with them from what I read on the forums.
My brother's old G20 made it about 14 years before it started flaking out. That's pretty good IMO.
Never had an ECU go bad personally, so I'd say indefinitely.
Low quality capacitors seem to be a weak point in consumer electronics. Right now I have a 4 year old D>A Converter (for my analog TV) that is already failing because of cheap capacitors. I had a computer power supply with the same issue.
I also once owned a turbo Mistusbishi about ten years ago that had a known issue with failing capacitors in the ECU. I took the proactive step of replacing the suspect capacitors before they destroyed the ECU
I also once owned a turbo Mistusbishi about ten years ago that had a known issue with failing capacitors in the ECU. I took the proactive step of replacing the suspect capacitors before they destroyed the ECU
Originally Posted By: SubLGT
Low quality capacitors seem to be a weak point in consumer electronics. Right now I have a 4 year old D>A Converter (for my analog TV) that is already failing because of cheap capacitors. I had a computer power supply with the same issue.
I also once owned a turbo Mistusbishi about ten years ago that had a known issue with failing capacitors in the ECU. I took the proactive step of replacing the suspect capacitors before they destroyed the ECU
Low quality capacitors have affected pretty much every industry, unfortunately.
Low quality capacitors seem to be a weak point in consumer electronics. Right now I have a 4 year old D>A Converter (for my analog TV) that is already failing because of cheap capacitors. I had a computer power supply with the same issue.
I also once owned a turbo Mistusbishi about ten years ago that had a known issue with failing capacitors in the ECU. I took the proactive step of replacing the suspect capacitors before they destroyed the ECU
Low quality capacitors have affected pretty much every industry, unfortunately.
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The ECU and ABS brain in my 91 BMW 318i are still doing fine (knock on wood).
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The '89 ECM in my Town Car (that I recently gave away) is still working perfectly. I've never had an EEC-IV ECM fail.
Originally Posted By: Miller88
Originally Posted By: SubLGT
Low quality capacitors seem to be a weak point in consumer electronics. Right now I have a 4 year old D>A Converter (for my analog TV) that is already failing because of cheap capacitors. I had a computer power supply with the same issue.
I also once owned a turbo Mistusbishi about ten years ago that had a known issue with failing capacitors in the ECU. I took the proactive step of replacing the suspect capacitors before they destroyed the ECU
Low quality capacitors have affected pretty much every industry, unfortunately.
MADE IN CHINA (or in that area) is the issue with a lot of out sourced parts and equipment these days unfortunately.
Originally Posted By: SubLGT
Low quality capacitors seem to be a weak point in consumer electronics. Right now I have a 4 year old D>A Converter (for my analog TV) that is already failing because of cheap capacitors. I had a computer power supply with the same issue.
I also once owned a turbo Mistusbishi about ten years ago that had a known issue with failing capacitors in the ECU. I took the proactive step of replacing the suspect capacitors before they destroyed the ECU
Low quality capacitors have affected pretty much every industry, unfortunately.
MADE IN CHINA (or in that area) is the issue with a lot of out sourced parts and equipment these days unfortunately.
It's something I would expect to last the life of the vehicle, unless it gets water in it or has some other external failure.
They seem to last pretty well. My Jeep ECU is still original, and there's also an 88 Jag and 90 Mustang in the family (both fairly low mileage) with original ECUs.
After many years and heat cycles, The solder joints can crack and cause a no start or intermittent performance issues. For my 1985 BMW it is good to have a tested spare on hand. Only $25 at the parts yard and about double that from another yard hound. Swapping in the "known good" ECU is part of my troubleshooting kit.
Still on the original ECUs in my 92 Accord and 94 Explorer.
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