Auto Computer Specialist — Local services in Orange City

I had bought a refurbished unit from a major supplier that soon started giving issues. Instead of returning an already hard to find ECM under that supplier’s warranty I decided to have ACS repair the described issue. The turn around was relatively quick and the ECM allowed my truck to run well until it warmed up. I returned the ECM under warranty to ACS. Again the turn around was quick. The truck once again started, but failed to stay running once warmed up.

I contacted ACS again regarding the warranty.

ACS: “At this point you either need to Replace the Unit or tell us exactly what Pin is not providing what. We've basically Rebuilt the entire Unit, so either the Unit is just no good or there are Vehicle Faults still.“

My reply: “Do you have a replacement unit or can you attain a replacement unit?”

ACS: “Yes, $548.88 and we can credit $100.00 of your previous payment.“

Original Payment was $199.99

My Reply: “That will fine. I will start packing up the ECM I have to send back this evening.”

Meanwhile ACS: “Please CLICK HERE to prepay for your Service ($448.88 plus Tax and Shipping if applicable). “

My reply: “I forgot that I had the computer in my possession repaired and not replaced. It works while the vehicle isn’t warmed up. I’m thinking it’s a cracked solder joint and when the PCB warms up it breaks connection. If you’d like I can inspect it.”

ACS: “No, if you are replacing the Unit and using that Unit as a Core, do not open it.”

My reply: “So the unit is currently not covered under warranty?”

ACS: “The Unit is under Warranty. If you're sending the Unit back under Warranty or Replacing the Unit, you cannot open the Unit.”

My reply: “So is this previously repaired part being covered as a core or as a warranty exchange?”

ACS: “Here are your options Option 1 (Remanufactured Unit): $548.88 Core Charge: $100.00 or you can use your original as a Core (cannot be opened) Subtotal: $648.88 or $548.88 (w/ Core exchange) Minus Previous Payment: $100.00 Total Due: $548.88 or $448.88 (w/ Core exchange)

Option 2 (Send Unit back in under Warranty.”

My reply: “Previous payment was $199.99.”

ACS: “Correct; however, we have since Warrantied the Unit and can only credit a prorated amount.”

At this point I decided that they do not truly stand behind their work and sent the unit to another company.

Turns out the unit had loose solder joints. The other company found this and confirmed my suspicion. I can’t say that ACS doesn’t know what they are doing, but I can say they are not as good at diagnostic as other companies.

Update(10/29/24):

“We never received anything stating any Tests or Repairs were made and we Warrantied the Unit anyway.” -ACS

“As for us not diagnosing ECU as good as other companies, that may be true as we do not diagnose ECUs and if a company tells you they do and do not have the Vehicle, I would be suspicious.” -ACS

ACS Email (01/15/24): “SERVICE NOTES Below

Customer Complaints / Problem Description: Under Acceleration the Vehicle Intermittently shuts engine down. Happens with the engine cold or at temp only observed at speed under 30 mph.

ACS Inspections, Diagnostics and Faults Found: Low volt reference from capacitors Capacitors out of variance Cold solder joints

Repairs Performed: ALL Test Passed after Testing (No Codes Stored) with FULL Communication! Replaced 2x 220uf at 35 v capacitors Replaced 1x 470uf at 35 v capacitor Resoldered CPU Resoldered 2x Processor Resoldered 2x EEPROM Replaced overdrive and transmission output circuits Replaced alternator circuit Replaced a/c circuit Replaced cruise control circuit”

The unit was never ACS’s, they only have claim on the service which they only stand halfway behind.

As for returning the unit, why? Failing to repair an item twice, stating it had “Full Communication” after the first repair, it would make no sense to return it for another repair. It was best to cut my loses and go with another company and now I have a properly running truck.

Nothing exists in a vacuum. I wish I had read the reviews here and seen the...

Where do I begin. Let me start by saying that I was referred to this company and was told that they would be great to fix my ABS module for my Jeep Wrangler.

I spoke with "Dee" and he was very nice and said all the right things to get me to use them. I sent the part in, filled out the required paperwork. It took about 10 days to get this part returned. Not to bad. Part was installed and it kicked back the same code as before. No problem. They did say that this was a possibility. We sent the part back to replace it with a refurbished one. I paid the difference, filled out the required paperwork and they were off. Here's the problem. This company won't discuss any issues with you over the phone. I will admit that they say they communicate through email. That's usually not a problem, except, when the part doesn't work and the mechanic only communicates through email, nothing can get done. I don't know what mechanic lives by the email while they're in the shop. We asked to have the part shipped to my mechanic, he asked for the address and sent it directly to the wrong address. So, because I was out of town, the part had to sit at my door for a few days until I returned and could drop it off. The part was installed and, uh-oh, it wasn't programmed for my VIN. So, we sent it back, AGAIN! He asked for the address to ship it the new one to, and guess what. Sent it to the wrong address again. We installed it, again. Guess what, it's locked and can't link to my jeep. This was horrible service.

Now let me tell you what "Dee" said during all this. I called him on 3/27 to ask him why he can't answer our questions quickly through a phone call and he said, "his techs don't have time to help on the phone because it would take away from their current customers". I'm pretty sure that the customer you took money from and can't seem to get anything right, should take precedent. When I confronted him about this, he cut me off, yelled at me, and told me that I was being unreasonable. Keep in mind, that I hadn't shown any type of frustration until the third time he screwed up. This is the most un-customer service; I've have ever dealt with. Never had someone that said I was in the wrong, when I was the customer. I'm not the one that can't get their job right.

Now, 2 months later and three attempts for them to correct their mistake, I'm sitting with an ABS module that can't sync to my jeep and no one at Auto Computer Specialist that seems to think that I am important enough to correct their error.

STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY! You'll thank me later. If anyone knows of another company that can fix this companies mistake, please let me know.

UPDATE After leaving this review, I received an email asking me what codes were showing. Again, these idiots don't understand when I say, "i'm not a mechanic"!! I sent them, again, my mechanics email and phone number and they've done nothing to rectify their products inefficiencies. Just another reason to never do business with this company!!!

ANOTHER UPDATE 4/22/25 See the intense response instead of a simple, we will fix the issue. What he isn't saying is, we provided the email he should have been responding too, as well as the phone number, and mailing address. He used none of it! NONE OF IT!!!! I, as of yesterday,sent them a picture of the ABS module leaking fluid and won't sync with my VIN. I've not received any...

I sent these guys ecm, tipm, gauge cluster, and all my harnesses. Had everything back in two weeks. Plus they discounted my bill by almost $600 because I sent them everything! Definitely recommend these guys. Follow up! These guys quoted me a package price for everything, however after after receiving everything back I got notes from the tech that there were no issues with my gauge cluster or my tipm. They mentioned that they had fixed a soldered wire in one of my harnesses. After installing everything I quickly realized that there were in fact still issues with my gauge cluster. So I sent it back to them, noting that my tachometer was still acting erratically. This go around they fixed three things inside the cluster but the tach wasn’t one of them. When I got it back the second time the cluster Still had poor backlight and tach was still acting erratically, and it was so far out of calibration that when I was going 80 mph on the interstate my speedometer only read 55, every gauge was substantially off. Also they charged me for the work. I Thought it was included in the original price quote but I guess not 🤷🏻‍♂️.I ended up getting a working cluster from a different supplier at the price of $560..Also I had more issues than when I started. I just got my truck back from the shop and here’s what they found. 3 ground wires almost completely corroded through. Multiple female spade connectors that were loose and making no contact or intermittent contact. I paid $1700 to have that fixed. Basically they washed my harnesses, fixed one solder joint and wrapped them in new looms and tape. For $1700??? There isn’t $50 worth of new material there. And they didn’t bother with even checking the connections apparently. 5 business days turn around ended up being 14 business days. Also these folks act like they hate costumer service. I did call to discuss this with them, however the guy I spoke to just wanted to argue and act like it was something other than what it was, told me “ I’m just the guy that answers the phone “ told me to email the tech!! Why would I do that? Your tech messed up three times and charged me for it. All in all I gave up a bunch of money for very little effort and nothing fixed. Can’t say I had a good experience here. So I’m going to go with...