VCU Life

Just curious to see how long various VCU's have lasted

- please note when i say failure i mean failure (it was going wrong) rather than it just being changed for peace of mind when the old one might still have been ok.

Mine dunt fit in the poll but it "went" (taking my ird and a driveshaft with it) at 76k.

i've polled at up to 70k

Interesting topic this. Good idea to start a fred on it to collect data.

It would be good to know the mileage vcu’s have covered before failure is detected, either through diagnosis or catastrophic failure. We should also keep in mind that vcu lifetime is dependent on many factors, which can easily reduce the lifetime of a vcu. Hence some of the results above will be best case scenarios.

mine on my old one had done 165000 or there abouts took my auto gearbox had a replace ment from freelandspares and had to have another replacement of them then sold the car

teddywood1: is that in miles? What exactly did it do to your autobox?

63000 miles, 11 years on mine, 1.8 2001 model year


DD

Diesel Do said:

63000 miles, 11 years on mine, 1.8 2001 model year


DD

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I think they should be considered a service item and as such should be changed @ 60,000.

Nodge68 said:

I think they should be considered a service item and as such should be changed @ 60,000.

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Inclined to agree! It's far cheaper than waiting for an explosion! Of freelander goo!


DD

Hippo said:

Interesting topic this. Good idea to start a fred on it to collect data.

It would be good to know the mileage vcu’s have covered before failure is detected, either through diagnosis or catastrophic failure. We should also keep in mind that vcu lifetime is dependent on many factors, which can easily reduce the lifetime of a vcu. Hence some of the results above will be best case scenarios.

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In retrospect i could have made the distance range options a little better, but this should suffice to get an idea what's going on.

Also many in the poll don't know that the vcu that failed on them is the original one, so it didn't do 150k. It probly did 2 x 75k.

Freelaner said:

Also many in the poll don't know that the vcu that failed on them is the original one, so it didn't do 150k. It probly did 2 x 75k.

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Then blew up!


DD

Freebie guts on the floor


DD

True - i'm 100% sure mine is still original, having had the car from new. At 130000 miles i'm getting a little nervous, since although i can't find any signs of failure or strain on the drivetrain, because of what people here have said / experienced, i'm given to understand it could fail at any moment now (possibly overdue?).

Some do seem to keep on going! No idea why?


DD

Mines on 83k miles. I check it weekly in the local supermarket car park on full lock forwards and reversing at tick over.............I may bottle it after Xmas and change it anyway

Mines on 141,000 miles
It doesn`t feel that tight.I have done the wheel up tests etc.
I often check the temperature after a run and it is only just warm,mostly transmitted from the front prop shaft.
I wonder if the fluid inside either degrades gradually, or is cooked when the gearing alters drastically,after tyre changes etc.
Does this quickly ruin the VCU ?
Does a lot of town driving with lots of tight turns wear the VCU quicker?
Mines been used for a lot of long distance commutes on fairly straight roads.
Does this kind of use prolong the life ?

I shall soon be changing mine as I feel its worth the reassurance after 141,000
miles,not that I am paranoid or anything.

2003 td4 had it from new 171600 still on original vcu and auto gearbox

171600 miles that is

Nodge68 said:

I think they should be considered a service item and as such should be changed @ 60,000.

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read somewhere that the recommended change is at 70k, can't remember where I saw it though.

tincan said:

171600 miles that is

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Nice! I hope mine lasts that long