Aghhh. Ducato airbag light of death! Any advice?

[Rugbybull]

Hi. Took the motorhome out for its first outing in a couple of months this weekend only to have the airbag light appear on the dash. It’s a Fiat Ducato base and I know from previous posts that this will mean that the ECU will need replacing. Bizarrely my nearest Fiat Professional dealer (Guest Trucks of Coventry) are not taking on any Fiat related work until June at the earliest due to lack of staff! I’ve had a quote of £416 from an independent garage in Warwick but am suspicious as they originally estimated £700 and have asked for £188.61 up front as they are unable to return the part if it turns out to not be needed. They also claim to be in the process of becoming a Fiat Professional garage despite dealing in Fiats since the mid ‘70s! I’m likely going to go with the garage which serviced all of the motorhomes supplied by the dealer I bought mine from. He’s suggested that he will need to check which ECU it is (it could be one of two apparently) and has quoted £465 + VAT as a worse case scenario or £100 less if best case. Does this sound reasonable in terms of price? Is this problem likely to reoccur or are the replacement ECUs more robust? Does Fiat do any ‘goodwill gesture’ to mitigate the cost ? Is there anything else I need to to consider? Apologies for all of the questions. Thanks in advance for your advice on this.

 

[buzz1]

Maybe a Long shot you haven’t caught any wires under any of front seats by any chance , my daughter caught a wire under her passenger seat whilst spin it around and snap a wire ,
My light came on too ,
so I repaired the wire with a bit of (tape as temp fix ) and light went out . That was couple of years ago .

 

[Rugbybull]

Thanks for this. The garage I’m likely to go with mentioned that spinning the captain chairs can cause an issue but suggested it was more to do with people inadvertently stepping on the ECU which is mounted on the floor apparently. I’ll see if they can check out the wire first, though. Thanks for the advice.

 

[f6c]

I have a Ducato 2019 and yes the ECU is in the floor but i cant see anyone stepping on it. Apparently is a known Fiat problem. Had mine replaced at a Fiat car dealership as all the work is done within in the Cab area. £550:00 inclusive of vat.

 

[daveandsan]

I had my ECU replaced by Travelworld based in Stafford in 2023, cost me £248.
Had no trouble with the new one. 2017 Fiat Ducato 2.3.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Rugbybull]

I had my ECU replaced by Travelworld based in Stafford in 2023, cost me £248.
Had no trouble with the new one. 2017 Fiat Ducato 2.3.

Thanks for this. That sounds really reasonable. I may well give them a call as Stafford’s about as far as the garage I have in mind. Do you know if they used genuine Fiat parts?

 

[daveandsan]

Thanks for this. That sounds really reasonable. I may well give them a call as Stafford’s about as far as the garage I have in mind. Do you know if they used genuine Fiat parts?

As far as I know it was a genuine Fiat part but I had to pay up front for the part.

 

[Two on Tour]

Sometimes the airbag ECU failure is terminal, but many just have a corrupted ECU file that can be overwritten with a fresh file by companies like Northern Autotech and returned to you for less than £100.
Removal and refitting of the airbag ECU by yourself is an easy 15 minute job.
As of January last year the new airbag ECU's are being manufactured in the UK and are allegedly far better than the previous ones manufactured in Hungary.
If you need a new airbag ECU, then insist that it is manufactured after January 2024.

 

[Burge]

There's also this place people have used

Devoted Airbag Module Reset and Repair for Fiat, Citroen And Peugeot

Same day Airbag module reset and repair service for. Fiat, Citroen And Peugeot modules with the part number 01388160080 Ducato, Relay and Boxer.

crashdata.co.uk

 

[Chris]

We had this about 5 years ago. I seem to recall it cost about £500.

Fiat should be ashamed of themselves really because this is a common issue.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Poutie57]

If you’re fairly good at using computers I would purchase the multieuscan (about € 50) software and the yellow odb cable and try to clear it yourself. I managed to clear mine 3 times but in the end had to fork out the £450 to have it replaced and as others have said pay % upfront

 

[Two on Tour]

There's also this place people have used

Devoted Airbag Module Reset and Repair for Fiat, Citroen And Peugeot

Same day Airbag module reset and repair service for. Fiat, Citroen And Peugeot modules with the part number 01388160080 Ducato, Relay and Boxer.

crashdata.co.uk

Quite a few Funsters have reported in previous posts that the Crash Data reset ECU's fail again within month and you do not get a guarantee with their service.

 

[steve69]

I can't understand why no-one has tried to sue Fiat for what is clearly a design fault.
"Car-financing" issues and the diesel scandals have been hitting headlines but this is just constantly ignored.
Surely there are some lawyers out there who could earn a few bob on this?

 

[DDJC]

Had it last year. The part cost £231 including VAT and an hours labour to fit and calibrate. Total £332.

You definitely do not need to go to Fiat and pay their ridiculous prices.

 

[Solly24]

Is this any good, quotes £60 for Ducato Air Bag repair ECU by post - https://northernautotech.co.uk/airbag-ecu-repair/

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Sleeveless]

I can't understand why no-one has tried to sue Fiat for what is clearly a design fault.
"Car-financing" issues and the diesel scandals have been hitting headlines but this is just constantly ignored.
Surely there are some lawyers out there who could earn a few bob on this?

Really difficult to take legal action against a large manufacturer like Fiat , unless someone has been hurt by a vehicle with a known manufacturing defect being the cause of the incident, and in the absence of a safety recall campaign directly related to the issue.

 

[jess12]

[QhiUOTE="Rugbybull, post: 6512241, member: 99633"]
Hi. Took the motorhome out for its first outing in a couple of months this weekend only to have the airbag light appear on the dash. It’s a Fiat Ducato base and I know from previous posts that this will mean that the ECU will need replacing. Bizarrely my nearest Fiat Professional dealer (Guest Trucks of Coventry) are not taking on any Fiat related work until June at the earliest due to lack of staff! I’ve had a quote of £416 from an independent garage in Warwick but am suspicious as they originally estimated £700 and have asked for £188.61 up front as they are unable to return the part if it turns out to not be needed. They also claim to be in the process of becoming a Fiat Professional garage despite dealing in Fiats since the mid ‘70s! I’m likely going to go with the garage which serviced all of the motorhomes supplied by the dealer I bought mine from. He’s suggested that he will need to check which ECU it is (it could be one of two apparently) and has quoted £465 + VAT as a worse case scenario or £100 less if best case. Does this sound reasonable in terms of price? Is this problem likely to reoccur or are the replacement ECUs more robust? Does Fiat do any ‘goodwill gesture’ to mitigate the cost ? Is there anything else I need to to consider? Apologies for all of the questions. Thanks in advance for your advice on this.
[/QUOTE]

Really difficult to take legal action against a large manufacturer like Fiat , unless someone has been hurt by a vehicle with a known manufacturing defect being the cause of the incident, and in the absence of a related safety recall campaign.

Good morning it is a well documented problem with fiat i had same problem a couple of years back i dont know were you are located but i used a garage in gloucester just of the bristol road garage called motus cost me about 400 fitted with 2 year warranty hope this helps a little

 

[UKkiwi]

I’ve got the same problem found a few YouTube videos on replacement diy looks easy enough

 

[Paddlers]

Had the same last year . Only took a few moments to fit the new ECU myself but then the unit had to be matched to the Ducato 'brain' by a specialist with his computer . All been ok so far.

 

[swiftsteve]

I had this a while ago. I sent it to northern autotech, who sent it back saying it was fried. I bought a replacement and fitted it in 5 minutes, I then had to take it to a fiat service centre for proxy realignment. That took 20 minutes and cost £60.

The fault is caused by flat starter battery, and jump starting fries the circuit. So make sure you keep your battery maintained during winter.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Klooid]

Based on my recent experience I would happily recommend Northern Autotech, as the communication was excellent and although I had to have a new Airbag ECU, this came back fully programmed, and with only 10 minutes of receiving in the next day post, I was able to refit the unit back in the van and the light of death was gone.

 

[Larby]

I have come across ECU testing. My sons use them for repairs to main ECUs.
Twice the price of repair, half the cost of new but rebuilt, not reset.

Fiat Ducato Airbag ECU Rebuild

Resolve B0100-49 Fiat Ducato fault code and airbag warnings. Our rebuild service fixes the faulty TRW D219 airbag ECU, ensuring safety with a swift and cost-effective solution

www.ecutesting.com

 

[Woodburner]

Check out this thread: https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/more-airbag-control-unit-woes.312853/
Contains all the info you need. I used Northern Autotech to replace mine.

 

[BobbyJ]

Hi. Took the motorhome out for its first outing in a couple of months this weekend only to have the airbag light appear on the dash. It’s a Fiat Ducato base and I know from previous posts that this will mean that the ECU will need replacing. Bizarrely my nearest Fiat Professional dealer (Guest Trucks of Coventry) are not taking on any Fiat related work until June at the earliest due to lack of staff! I’ve had a quote of £416 from an independent garage in Warwick but am suspicious as they originally estimated £700 and have asked for £188.61 up front as they are unable to return the part if it turns out to not be needed. They also claim to be in the process of becoming a Fiat Professional garage despite dealing in Fiats since the mid ‘70s! I’m likely going to go with the garage which serviced all of the motorhomes supplied by the dealer I bought mine from. He’s suggested that he will need to check which ECU it is (it could be one of two apparently) and has quoted £465 + VAT as a worse case scenario or £100 less if best case. Does this sound reasonable in terms of price? Is this problem likely to reoccur or are the replacement ECUs more robust? Does Fiat do any ‘goodwill gesture’ to mitigate the cost ? Is there anything else I need to to consider? Apologies for all of the questions. Thanks in advance for your advice on this.

Just had mine done. Get in touch with Northern Autotech. £320+vat. I went in the van but hell definately sort you out even remotely. Good luck

 

[peterc10]

My airbag ECU failed in lockdown in 2020. At then there were no replacement units to buy because of world shortages etc.. So we sent it to Crash Data who fixed it for about £100 and then sent it back. I took the unit out and replaced it myself, with advice from Funsters.

That fix worked until January 2025, when we got the red light again along with intermittent seat belt warnings. This time we took it into Adams Morey in Portsmouth to replace at a lot more cost.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[PlacidoD]

Now let me just take stock:
Airbag problems, steering rack failures and limp mode problem with Ducatos
Chassis recalls, wet belt and injector failures on Fords

Hmnn! I think I will stick with my reliable relatively old Duatorq powered Mk 7 Ford chassis. It would be nice to have a shinny new Euro 6 van but I am not about to rush out to spend circa £80k to buy problems like those described here and in other threads recounting problems in my list above.

You all have my sympathy. Fiat should not only be picking up the cost for sorting this but should also compensate you all for you inconvenience but about as much chance of that as hearing nothing from Trump for the rest of this month!
P.S. I have had problems with ECU systems on my DS4 so Stellantis are already off my Christmas Card list!

 

[The Rum Runners]

I had the same problem a couple of years ago. Having had to research the problem and rectify my opinion is that the airbag ecu fails primarily due to a low voltage engine start battery and starting the engine immediately on turning the key. My starting procedure now is to ensure the engine start battery is charged, turn the ignition key and wait for the airbag light to go out, depress the clutch and start the engine. This of course is only my opinion.
I bought a new ecu from Coastal Motorhomes at a very reasonable cost and fitted myself. I also bought Multiecuscan for £50 to do the proxi alignment which is very easy. I now have Multiecuscan to diagnose any faults and clear codes which is very handy.

 

[Rugbybull]

Thanks for all of the advice so far. Much appreciated. I was aware that it’s an all too common on Fiats. What’s frustrating is that the battery seemed fine when I came to start the van.

 

[Antique]

Mine sadly went south a couple of weeks back.
Mate put me on to a company in Notts he has used numerous times.
£219inc vat and postage with lifetime warranty, a simple enough job to remove and refit. (I am unsure if I had his trade discount but it was the price quoted on their web page)

All the best

 

[Antique]

As a foot note
Engine started fine as usual but I had just lifted e&p Jack's and inflated suspension both of which run off 5+ year old engine battery, and that's been replaced also !!