Am I getting F'D by the dealer?? Smells fishy?

PLEASE HELP!!!

As some of you might know from reading my post in troubleshooting forum my VX died of electrical problems. The dealer Cerami in Paramus NJ diagnosed it and told me its the ECM and it would cost $1200. to install a new one!!! I called Isuzu parts dept in St. Charles and they said the ECM is about $640. and installed with diagnostics and calibrating $1200 sounded about right. So I told the NJ dealer to go ahead. They called me to tell me it was installed and set but that my ABS light was on. They diagnosed that and said it was some sensor (Maybe the G sensor?) and that part is $190 and with diagnostic and install they are charging me $680.
When my vx was brought in there was no ABS light on at all!

My questions to any one who has any knowledge with this stuff....

Is there any crossover/connection between the ABS system and the ECM where one could have shorted the other out causing my original problem?

Is it possible that when the were trying to diagnose my original problem or installing my new ECM module they shorted out my ABS sensor?

Does that sound possible...?

What would you do now...

Once the VX is in the dealer's hands they can rape you daily!!!

PLEASE HELP!!!:eek:

I'd ask them specifically what sensor, and take it home. ABS is over-rated and under used. It's not that hard to do it yourself ( unless you are a novice...and I assume by your tag you are) You don't need it.

i think its strange that your ecm was the problem in the first place.. you couldnt get your lights to turn off right? i dont think the light circuits go anywhere near the ecm

abs has its own separate computer as far as i know.. and yea i would find a shop you trust to do the abs i bet it will be cheaper... isuzu quoted me 3,000 to fix my abs.. ive been driving without abs for about 4 months now.. and fixing the problem will have costed me a grand total of about $115 (100 for the part and 15 for brake fluid to flush the system) and if i were to take it to a shop to have the part put in... id guess it would be under 100 bucks for the install... so $215 compared to $3000

Make sure you get the old ecm back. Its probably not faulty. They may not even have changed it.

1200 installed sounds high, its just underneath the cd changer in that bump. a few screws, 3 connectors, done. Calibrate it? doubtful, the ecu should self calibrate. Once the engine warms up theres built in diagnostic tests that the ecm performs.

John C.

I'm going to have to agree with John on the ECM - it should recalibrate itself without intervention - I think you can buy a used unit for around $100-150. It really sounds to me that they misdiagnosed the orignal problem and that the ECM wasn't bad - rarther the CEL was caused by the ABS sensor. I would call BS on this, get the original ECM and have it tested.

About the ABS - there's a sensor on each wheel and they shouldn't be difficult to replace. If they know it's bad, then the diagnostic has already been done and you shouldn't be charged for it - in any case most dealers charge $80-100 for a reading to get what code is being thrown. Once you know which is bad you can have it replaced or do it yourself.

-- John

This possibly falls into the flipside of owning a VX. Since people hardly ever see one, most assume it's some sort of exotic, and that as it's owner, you automatically have piles of cash on hand for them to liberate at their whims.

I parked near a Sears Auto shop at a mall one time, and came back an hour or so later with a tire that was almost flat. I'd never had problems with a leak before that, but you never know. I pulled into their garage and we aired up the tire and check for leaks with it still on the vehicle, all the while with them saying they could repair it and have me back on my way in no time. I never spotted any leak so I just told them I'd take my chances on making it home and keep watching it. It never went low again. Did they let the air out themselves (it was a couple of teenagers manning the shop that day) thinking they could make a quick $20 in the process? I guess I'll never know for sure. But it did make we wonder.

The history some VX's seem to have with wiring harnesses becoming shorted because of bad routing seems more likely than an ecu going bad, but other than that, I don't think I can add more than what's already been suggested.

Thanks for all the help....but can anyone actually tell me for sure if there
is any crossover/connection between the ABS system and the ECM where one could have shorted the other out causing my original problem?

Thanks

Dave

Let me share with you my experience with this. One day my ABS light came on and off she went to the mechanic. He tested the ABS hydraulic module - it was bad. I purchased another module (used) and brought it to mechanic. Module good.. ECM unit had a problem. The partition of the ECM that signals to the ABS system was out. I purchased another ECM (used). He put in the new ECM with the old ABS module -- still no ABS. My truck needed both parts to correct the problem entirely. I asked the same question, whether something happened between the two parts that caused them both to malcfunction. My ECM in every other way was fine. Just the ABS signal was affected.