new owner :)

[sam919]

Hi everyone
I'm from Australia but have really enjoyed reading the posts and advice you give on this board so I decided I would join up. I am 19 and have just brought my second car which is a 2007 206cc with 35,000km. We brought it from a damaged auction site here in Aus, as it had been hit in the rear at a service station. My dad has heaps of contacts and was able to have it completely repaired and back on the road within a month. I currently cant drive it by myself- as it is a manual and I only have my auto license, ( I am going next week for my manual test!).

So far to drive it has been amazing, never thought driving could be so fun! However it seems maybe some of the sensors were affected by the crash. the date/time and Radio stations reset itself each time I turn it on, it has also displayed faults such as anti-pollution, airbag and lost power at one point after filling it up with premium fuel. A mechanic said that may have been because of the fuel, however just wondering whether anyone else has had something similar happen and if it is a good idea to take to a dealer who can reset the computers?

thanks heaps

[52nd of February]

Hi sam919! I'm 18 and from Aus too

It might be worth taking it to a dealer to get the ECU's reset but just know that a reset of ECU's typically costs $75, and $40 of that is just to get the computer out! An auto mechanic was able to reset mine for free (but I paid $40 for a transmission oil top up and labour)

The good news is that resetting the ECU's can totally fix the problem - it cured my phantom "Airbag fault" and jerky gearbox, but the bad news is that if resetting doesn't solve the problem, the ECU's are insanely expensive to replace...

Not sure about rear impact but I've been told to walk away from any of these cars that have been in an accident as their frames can be bent out of alignment and roof operation can therefore suffer, later on if not right away. You should be alright though if the boot's been all fixed up.


In any case, I hope you really enjoy your new car - I absolutely love mine, they are fantastic little cars and endless fun!
Hope it all works out!

[sam919]

thanks heaps for your help! another thing- my mum and i went to take it for a drive this arvy and it is making a constant beeping sound- sometimes no faults come up, other times its anti-pollution and air-bag fault. do you think this is also because it needs restarting!
Cant believe we are having problems already, i adore the car but its really frustrating all the faults coming up!

[52nd of February]

What I did to fix the beeping and airbag fault warning was replace the battery. Though your car is only 3 years old, its previous owner may have used the electrics alot with the engine off andnot driven it for any great length of time - but anyway, the way it works is when the battery is low, the alternator kicks in to boost the voltage when starting the car. This causes a spike in the voltage (which causes damage to ECU's) and this spike triggers what's known as 'phantom faults'. It happened to my car, it was only 4 years old at the time but the battery was very low, and I had 'AIRBAG FAULT' display every time I turned the car on. Verrry embarrassing when I was taking friends home :S

There was never anything wrong with the airbag, and after a quick ECU reset and battery change, I've never seen that warning since.


If that doesn't solve it, then ut's probably going to be something wrong with one of the ECU's, a dealer could tell you which one in about 5 mins for a ridiculous fee, then quote an even MORE ridiculous replacement cost. :/

That's as far as my knowledge goes on this sort of thing so failing that, I dunno! Good luck though!

[sam919]

You were exactly right! My dad changed the battery and all the faults have dissapeared. The car was sitting for about 6 months unused at the auction sight so Im guessing that has probably done it. Thanks so much! We are going to see how it goes and if any other faults come up we will take it to the dealer for a check up!

Thanks again for your help really appreciate it!

[52nd of February]

No worries glad to have been able to help! Hopefully that also resolves your power loss issue and clock resetting too

And good luck for your manual test this week!

[rachel.butlerfly]

Im having problems with all sorts of warnings coming up and im sure its either battery or ecu as lots of people in the forum have indicated so I will check the battery connections and take it from there. However, in your experience, the faulty warnings such.... (ABS fault, braking fault, airbag fault, STOP sign, spedometer stopping and coming back again when it feels like it, and also a bit of jerking at low speed. HANDBRAKE ON also comes up on the screen when i put the handbrake on which used to never happen. Sometimes the handbrake on symbol is illuminated while im driving although the handbrake is not on.)....Are these things more likey the battery or ECU?

[Thar]

I replied on your other post but if these faults are displaying whrn you start up, it sounds like a failing battery. However, if they are displaying while the engine is running that could mean something else.