Vauxhall Meriva - Easytronic Gearbox "F" on dash HELP!!

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Sat 5 Jul 2014 20:22
Vauxhall Meriva - Easytronic Gearbox "F" on dash HELP!! - nems

Good Evening all,

I hope somebody can give a bit of advice. We've had our Meriva 04 for just over a year. At the first MOT everything started to go wrong. Gaitors needed replacing so failed MOT. We took the car to a lovely recommend local garage and they replaced the gaitors and passed the MOT. So 120 later we had our car back! Until Thursday when the dreaded F appeared on the dash. Car was towed to nice garage and this morning they got back to us to let us know what was going on. I'm going to have to ask you to bare with me because I'm totally stupid when it comes to cars but as far as I know the actuator needs replacing but he also mentioned something about the boards which was going to cost 2000-2500. We bought the car for 2950 last year and will be paying off until next sept so as you can imagine this wasn't great news. Then I remembered that during my googling about the dreaded F I had seen something about ecu solutions that fix the existing actuator. Made my husband call back and the mechanic said that it could be an answer and would obviously be cheaper.

So the question I wanted to ask is how much is will cost for the mechanic to take the part out we will send it off and the mechanic will refit. I know the fix of the part will be about 130 but got no idea of the labour costs. Can anybody help? Sorry for the long msg. I always ramble.

Nems xx

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Sat 5 Jul 2014 21:28
Vauxhall Meriva - Easytronic Gearbox "F" on dash HELP!! - Cyd

There are several firms who repair ECUs. The only one I can think of ottomh is BBE Reman. Look through th eHJ FAQ pages, there's info in there.

No idea how hard or easy it is to get at the relevant ECU, but tops I'd have thought half a day each for removal and replacement, so £350 labour (top end I'd have thought). Be careful though, there might be some reprogramming required. Others (esp Elekie) will have a more accurate idea.

Even Rolls Royces break down occasionally. It's the way of things automotive. Sure, it's a pain in the wallet, but don't let it eat you up.

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Sat 5 Jul 2014 21:35
Vauxhall Meriva - Easytronic Gearbox "F" on dash HELP!! - elekie&a/c doctor

Unfortunately ,these robotised auto/manual gearbox systems when they fail ,usually means an uneconomic repair to an otherwise perfectly good car.There are companies out there that are able to repair the actuators,but I am not sure for how long.Labour time to do the job is around 2-3 hours and will probably need a set up procedure on re-fitting of parts.

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Sun 6 Jul 2014 10:59
Vauxhall Meriva - Easytronic Gearbox "F" on dash HELP!! - nems

Thank you both for your help. Unfortunately being first time buyers when we bought this one we weren't aware of how expensive this sort of gearbox could be. We just went on some bad advice from a friend. I think if we can get the car sorted now and keep it going at least until next September then we can look at getting something else. We just want take sure we've paid it off first.

Really appreciate the advice though. I love this forum, it makes me seems like I am at least a little bit clued up!

Nems xx

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Sun 6 Jul 2014 11:19
Vauxhall Meriva - Easytronic Gearbox "F" on dash HELP!! - gordonbennet

It seems your mechanic wasn't aware that control units can be repaired, with the greatest of respect to your mechanic ECU repair/overhaul workshops have been going for many years now, so i'd be wanting a second opinion on the fault before doing anything.

I suggest you spend several hours online searching Vx owners and any other forums for similar problems, someone somewhere will have been through this, and hopefully their experience will point you to a solution or points of call.

Its unfortunate for you, but these gearboxes and other electronic fitments (such as electric parking brakes) are the work of satan and should be avoided at all costs if you intend owning well out of makers (usually short) warranty.

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