[Hidesy]

I know that this is a known and ongoing problem for N13-based BMWs (probably Mini too)... but here goes...

I have owned a 2013 118i for about 18 months now. I love driving it and don't want to part with it but I've gone through two ECUs in less than 6 months and I've had enough. ECU dies, causes a horrible vibration through the vehicle, and throws a drivetrain malfunction error and puts the car in limp mode. Upon inspection, there are also fault codes indicating misfire on two cylinders. Further inspection by the mechanic indicated that whatever went wrong with the ECU both times actually damaged the coil packs on the cylinders that registered the misfire.
I have had the most recent mechanic research and fault-find. All evidence points to the ECU malfunctioning both times. It was replaced with remapped with secondhand units both times alongside the coil packs and spark plugs. Injectors haven't been replaced yet but that's on the cards for the next service. The wiring harness has been point-to-point tested and seems to be fine.

Anyone got any ideas on what could be causing the ECU to burn out like this? ... apart from the ECUs being badly manufactured I mean????

I've been told by BMW, Bosch and two different mechanics that the ECUs are no longer replaceable with new units so the only replacements available, in Australia at least, come from wrecked vehicles and may have the same inherent manufacturing faults.
I refuse to accept defeat on this one as I still see plenty of identical vehicles still on the road in my area and I still love driving the car...

...So... my question to the forum is this:
Does anyone on this forum have experience with removing and having their ECU repaired, reconditioned and remapped? Is it achievable? What does it cost? Does anyone know of any Bimmer-heads in Australia that can do it if I can post the damaged ECU to them?

Alternatively: Are there any robust after-market ECUs that can be flashed and mapped to replicate the F20 N13 ECU?

Thanks in advance for any help or guidance from the forum on this one.

-Hidesy.

[Tjololo]

Hello from Greece....

I experienced the exact same problem about a year ago....the ECU was sent in the UK to be repaired by a specialized company named ECUTESTING.

The overall cost was about 400$....since the repair took place the ECU works smoothly...problem gone!