Clarification Needed with Cryptic Dealer Mileage Report

Malice

I recently attempted to get a car's mileage checked by a main VW dealer. According to the invoice they sent me they were able to read the odometer but where they should have been able to read the ECU I got this note:

Plugged in VW5051 to check ECU for mileage however test equipment cannot verify mileage on this model vehicle.

The car in question is a 2005 VW Passat and so far the dealer has been less than helpful in clarifying what the note means. This is where I hope someone on here can help .

A brief search on the Internet suggests that the dealer may have been using something like this. It may well be that what they meant from the above note was that there was a discrepancy between the odometer and the ECU but regardless, does anyone know for sure whether a VW5051 should be able to read the mileage on a car's ECU?

George Dalton

It's not possible to check ECU mileage with all VW models, only certain engine types. I would imagine that is what they meant. Which engine is in your Passat and is it a B5.5 or a B6?

Malice

George Dalton wrote: »

It's not possible to check ECU mileage with all VW models, only certain engine types. I would imagine that is what they meant. Which engine is in your Passat and is it a B5.5 or a B6?

The ECU mileage had been checked previously using VCDS from Ross-Tech so I would have thought there shouldn't be a problem with a dealer doing the same. How do I go about finding out which engine type is in the car?

-Corkie-

Malice wrote: »

The ECU mileage had been checked previously using VCDS from Ross-Tech so I would have thought there shouldn't be a problem with a dealer doing the same. How do I go about finding out which engine type is in the car?

Is it the older or newer model??

Malice

-Corkie- wrote: »

Is it the older or newer model??

If you mean whether it's the older or newer model of Passat, it's the older model. I don't know what version of the software was used.

George Dalton

Malice wrote: »

The ECU mileage had been checked previously using VCDS from Ross-Tech so I would have thought there shouldn't be a problem with a dealer doing the same. How do I go about finding out which engine type is in the car?

If it was previously checked using VCDS then why did you want the dealer to check it?

Chimaera

VCDS has some capabilities that exceed the official VAG VAS 5051 tool, this may be one of them. Some EDC-15 and EDC-16 ECUs store run time information that can be integrated to give an estimate of the distance the car has covered. It is unlikely to be an exact match for the odometer, but it should be within a few hundred km.

At this point, if you're worried about clocking do a history check.

Malice

George Dalton wrote: »

If it was previously checked using VCDS then why did you want the dealer to check it?

Peace of mind.

Chimaera wrote: »

VCDS has some capabilities that exceed the official VAG VAS 5051 tool, this may be one of them. Some EDC-15 and EDC-16 ECUs store run time information that can be integrated to give an estimate of the distance the car has covered. It is unlikely to be an exact match for the odometer, but it should be within a few hundred km.

That's what I was afraid of. It seems a bit odd that a main dealer would be unable to do something that any Joe Soap can do once they've got the necessary software and cable.

Chimaera wrote:

At this point, if you're worried about clocking do a history check.

Any recommendation of where would be best? I see Cartell, Motorcheck and Car History Check mentioned in a few places but I've never used any of them. Are they all much the same?

-Corkie-

I would go with Motorcheck, he has an account here so if you send him a pm you might get a discount...

George Dalton

Malice wrote: »

Peace of mind.

I don't follow your reasoning. Do you own the car or is it a car that is for sale? If it has been checked using VCDS then surely you know whether the mileage is correct or incorrect. I don't understand how paying a main dealer to check it gives you any more peace of mind than someone with VCDS?

Chimaera

The last time I needed to do a history check was 6 years ago and Cartell were the only show in town back then for Ireland. So I'm afraid I've little experience there. Is there a service history with the car? Old NCT certs? Previous owner's phone number? Have a read through LimerickMan's buying guide on the sticky - some useful tips there on doing a background check.