While in traffic, my 2003 Mini S with 32,000 miles, was hit from behind and then I hit the car in front. Although the double impact was not strong enough to activate the airbags, both bumpers and the hatchback door had to be replaced. The insurance company paid for the repair. However, the following day after getting the car back from the body shop, the "EML" light came on accompanied with loss of engine power. I took the car to the dealership and the diagnosis found the gas pedal module ($210) to be faulty. The insurance company initially hesitated to pay for the repair, but later agreed to cover the expense. But the problem reoccurred while driving the Mini home from the dealership. I returned the car back to them for further analysis. This time they found a faulty DME/ECU main computer ($1,536). The insurance company refused to cover this repair because they claim that the ECU failure couldn't have been caused by the accident. I disagree. The Mini was running perfectly before this accident. Something happened during the double-impact and/or during the repair of the car that caused this malfunction. I'm trying to gather some data on Mini ECU failures so I can present a good case to the State Insurance Commisioner and maybe to a small claim court judge, if necessary. Does anyone know the answer to any of the followings:

1. Can a malfunction or fault of an ECU subsystem, such as the gas pedal module, cause a failure of the ECU?
2. Can the re-wiring or mis-wiring of components within the bumpers and hatchback door (lights, switches, sensors, etc.) cause a power surge strong enough to cause a fault of the ECU?
3. Has anyone had ECU faults after an accident or after any body-shop work?
4. What's the service life expectancy of an ECU?
5. Who makes the ECU for the Mini? (Is it Bosch?)
6. Any suggestions or ideas on how to make my case ? I'm I missing something "obvious"?

Thanks

 

Just about any electrical fault could cause the ECU to fry. All it would take is a pinched wire, or a crossed wire. .
As for as service life of the ECU, it should far exceed the life of the car. It's not something that should go out after x miles...

You need to get the dealership behind you on this one. They need to track down the root cause and hand it to the insurance company. If they cannot do that, you may want to find another dealer. Regardless, a root cause analysis needs to be completed. You may have to pay for this repair up front and after you gather all the info then get compensation from the insurance company.

 

I was told by the service people that even a failure of the "auto up" accessory available for the windows, could cause the ECU failure. I agree that getting the dealership behind you is key.

 

Call them every day and ask to speak to the next person up the food chain. IF they are local, sit in the office and let them know you won't leave without satisfaction. They can't prove it didn't happen due to the accident. The ECU is made by Seimens. Lots can cook it, but it should be very robust. The pedal going could be because you slammed it when the accident happened. But this shouldn't cause the ECU to fail per se, there are two potentiomenters in the pedal, and it's supplied with 5 volts from the ECU. The position is read via the two pots (for reduncancy and safety) and the ECU is capable of seeing 5 volts on the pedal outputs and reporting the fault via diagnostics.

Root cause analysis isn't easy or cheap. Just be a pest until the realize that saying No to you will cost more than saying Yes!

Matt

 

any welding done to the chassis CAN cause issues with electrical components in any car. The gerneral rule of thumb is disconnect battery before welding in general and if welding is being done near any multiple groundingpoints, disconnect them as well. If this DID turn out to be the case, the Ins company still won't cover it, they will blame the repair shop and expect them to pay up.

 

Thanks, everyone. The dealership was no help. They were the first to say it was not accident related. The way I understand it, once the old ECU is removed, there is no way to go back and try to track the previous faults. All your responses add more validity that the ECU fault was not just "bad luck" or just "pure coincidence", but something more probable, like a "short" or some mishandling of the repair.