Hi, folks, I am going to get my ECU repaired to fix a harsh 1-2 shift issue. I am trying to figure out which vendor to use. SIA Electronic is a name I have seen over and over in this forum. Others include Tanin, Relentless Motorsports, Foreign Auto Computer Repair and so on. SIA is the cheapest ($130, if purchased on eBay) and Relentless is the most expensive ($350). Looks like SIA sometimes holds onto an ECU for weeks without explanation; their eBay reviews and Yelp(?) reviews are very spotty to say the least.

Does anyone have personal experience with any of them? I am mostly concerned about the turnaround time, communication and successful repair in solving the transmission problem. There are a number of posts on Clublexus forums but I wanted to see if there are more recent feedback. Thank you in advance.

 

I would highly recommend SIA as myself and many others have had positive experience with them, and a quick turn around time. Relentless Motorsports was one of the worst business experiences I've ever had and I waited 2 months to receive my ECU back with no resolution.

 

Hello, we are a trusted vendor and sponsor. We can match the SIA price for you.

 

​​​​​​@Tanin I just followed the link in your post. There are currently no ECU repair services advertised for any year LS430.
The only LS ECU currently offered is a stocked replacement for a 93/94.

 

That is correct. We don't advertise any of our ECU services or pricing.

We have a blog and contact form for ECU issues: https://www.taninautoelectronix.com/...epair-inquiry/

 

Copied from the link provided-
Do you have a 1992-1996 Lexus SC300, SC400, or GS300 (89661-30691) Engine Control Unit (ECU) that is in need of repair? This inquiry is to receive an accurate quote to repair or replacement of your ECU based on issues you are having.
Many of the Toyota and Lexus electronics from the 1990’s used capacitors that failed and leaked over time. This leaking was acidic and ate through the circuit board and other components creating a significant amount of damage and problems. This is coupled with the fact that ECU’s are mounted vertically or on an angle allowing this acid to leak using gravity to damage more surface area.
Typically 1997-2000 SC300 and SC400 ECU’s did not have problems as they switched to an updated capacitor and new design.

We also repair Toyota T100 ECU’s, RAV4, Lexus LS430, and other ECU’s by request.

All the info references early ECU's with leaky caps. 430's do not suffer from this issue. Most forum members are aware of this and I'm sure you are as well.
If you're going to promote a service on the forum, at the very least, please explain to readers why they should choose Tanin over another competitor.

 

People should choose us based on some of your statements in the first post.

None of the others are sponsors or vendors here (that we are aware) which implies a level of trust, customer service, and quality work. We have been helping Club Lexus members for over 10 years. There are no frills, delays, or excuses. You ship the ECU, it gets repaired and shipped back promptly.

 

A skilled guy would fix the harsh 1-2 shift issue just re-soldering cracked points. Use a good magnifier and carefully see bigger SMD resistors.

 

I used SIA and experienced some poor customer service. I called them beforehand to confirm their turnaround time and sent it out before I went out of town for a week hoping with their advertised turnaround I'd receive it before I got back. No dice. I had to get a rental car. I called them almost daily to follow up and always got the same answer "We have a backlog due to the holiday [1 day off for labor day] but we'll have it done this afternoon and ship it out tomorrow." Was a painful process. Finally, 10 days after they received it I told to them to just forego the repair and refund me. Magically it was fixed and sent out that afternoon. So while I can't necessarily recommend them without hesitation, there aren't too many better options out there. Relentless has lots of positive and negative reviews on Facebook as well. There's a smattering of smaller operators across the country, but SIA does offer a lifetime guarantee. Just don't expect it back too soon...

 

Unfortunately, I am not a skilled guy. If the ECUs (even used ones) weren't so expensive, I would have tried it myself and probably would have done OK eventually. BTW, thanks for the many valuable posts on this topic in this forum.

 

oh yes, Relentless is the worst attitude and quality. I pack my ECU with bio-pop corn for cushioning. The owner of relentless create a FB post to scold at me and invite others to laughing at me.

 

Do NOT use flagship. They took until the last day to even say there had grabbed my replacement ECU off the shelf. Then they asked for me to verify the part number, even though I already did it. Then they wanted my VIN to flash to the computer, even though I already have it to them. When I finally got it (3 weeks after I ordered it) it didn’t even start the car. I asked them what was going on, and they asked me what the error codes were. I explained that it didn’t start and had no codes to show. They told me to send them both ECUs and they would work on both of them. The problem I had with this is that the one they sent had the sticker removed and put back on in a different place, and I didn’t trust them to not send mine out elsewhere, especially since they did not respond in a timely manner at any point. Then, when I asked for a refund, I called on the last day they were supposed to have it refunded and said it would take another “3 business days” which ended up being over a week for whatever reason. So I spent money on having to ship it back and I still have a problem with my VVT system. Do not use flagship1!!!

 

​​​​​​​Thanks for the feedback, guys. Exactly kind of stuff i was looking for. Sounds like these companies get overwhelmed with their capacity, and then they don't communicate with the customer. If it weren't such a critical and expensive part, I wouldn’t be so gun shy.

 

As others have said the main problems with these are blown capacitors or poor solder joints caused by changing the solder formula. What you can do if you don't want to do it yourself is contact a local tv repair service and see if they would look and repair the cold solder joints and blown caps if they see them by bulging tops. The only thing they could not do is hook it up and check to make sure it works but this could probably be done in 1 day and guarantee your unit would not be lost. Capacitors can be bad with no physical evidence but most have said they are bulging. Sometimes a shop will replace all caps in question just to be sure. Also note that this could be a transmission issue and not be ecu related.

 

It's sad that so many people have had negative experiences and people still praise him, his entire facebook is just him gloating and putting down other companies for relatively simple work.