ECM Reflash for Fault P2201

tdigorilla

Member
Joined
May 12, 2012
Location
Philadelphia
TDI
'12 TDI SE DSG (Black/Beige)
I searched the forum and found one thread back in June on this. Yesterday my check engine light came on (steady light). I spoke with a local VW dealer as I was away from my home dealership and they looked at the car today.

They indicated it was fault code p2201 - nox sensor circuit. They also stated that per Tech Bulletin 2030453 that the car required an ECM reflash (software update) to correct the issue.

Picked up this afternoon and all seems to be OK.

Just wanted to see if anyone else has experienced this issue as the car has just passed 5,000 miles since I purchased it in May 2012.
 

Ace Deprave

Veteran Member
Joined
May 29, 2012
Location
Louisiana
TDI
Former owner of a 2012 Passat SE TDI (traded for a 2015 Golf R)
I searched the forum and found one thread back in June on this. Yesterday my check engine light came on (steady light). I spoke with a local VW dealer as I was away from my home dealership and they looked at the car today.
They indicated it was fault code p2201 - nox sensor circuit. They also stated that per Tech Bulletin 2030453 that the car required an ECM reflash (software update) to correct the issue.
Picked up this afternoon and all seems to be OK.
Just wanted to see if anyone else has experienced this issue as the car has just passed 5,000 miles since I purchased it in May 2012.
I bought mine in May 2012 also. I haven't had any CELs or anything...I wonder if they are reflashing all ECMs, or only if there is an issue.
 

VtdiW

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Location
NY
TDI
2012 Passat TDI SEL
p2201

I searched the forum and found one thread back in June on this. Yesterday my check engine light came on (steady light). I spoke with a local VW dealer as I was away from my home dealership and they looked at the car today.

They indicated it was fault code p2201 - nox sensor circuit. They also stated that per Tech Bulletin 2030453 that the car required an ECM reflash (software update) to correct the issue.

Picked up this afternoon and all seems to be OK.

Just wanted to see if anyone else has experienced this issue as the car has just passed 5,000 miles since I purchased it in May 2012.
Thanks for the heads up on the nox sensor. That was one of the issues that I brought my car in to dearler last week. They new nothing about the Tech bulletin. I'll enlighten them this week.
 

VtdiW

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Location
NY
TDI
2012 Passat TDI SEL
nox sensor

I bought mine in May 2012 also. I haven't had any CELs or anything...I wonder if they are reflashing all ECMs, or only if there is an issue.
Have you checked with vcds? I had 21 faults & never had a CEL go on.

Dan
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
I suspect that the factory NOx sensor range on a certain production date range of vehicles is too narrow, allowing for a small deviation to trigger a CEL for NOx being out of spec. VW is reflashing to widen the acceptable range slightly, thus preventing false triggers.

I could be totally wrong, but that's my initial thought on the matter.
 

Ace Deprave

Veteran Member
Joined
May 29, 2012
Location
Louisiana
TDI
Former owner of a 2012 Passat SE TDI (traded for a 2015 Golf R)
Have you checked with vcds? I had 21 faults & never had a CEL go on.

Dan
No, I haven't ordered the cable yet, so there could very well be faults that I don't know about.
 

r11

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2012
Location
NJ
TDI
2012 Passat TDI SE 6MT (BB'd), 2015 Passat TDI SE 6MT
When they replaced my EGR, they indicated no advisories on the VIN. So I guess they are only flashing when there is an issue with NOX sensor.

It is a PZEV car, I wonder just how low our NOX emissions are.
 

JARED_LA

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2011
Location
Baton Rouge
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SEL
Just received my VCDS cable and have the same error code without the CEL coming on. Shouldn't the dealer scan for any codes or do they only scan if CEL comes on? Been to the dealer at least 3 times including 2 service visits......
 

mattfrayage

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2013
Location
southeastern wisconsin
TDI
2015 passat NMS TDI SEL Premium
sorry to resurrect a thread but after clearing this code once with it turned to all zeros like this
18648 - NOx Sensor 1 Bank 1
P2201 00 [096] - Implausible Signal
Intermittent - Not Confirmed - Tested Since Memory Clear
Freeze Frame:
Fault Status: 01100000
Fault Priority: 0
Fault Frequency: 0
Reset counter: 0
Mileage: 0 km
Date: 2000.00.00
Time: 00:00:00
all other codes clear out- all HVAC flap related this one however just doesn't go away!
so if i take it to the dealer will their machines even see it or should i tell them that i cleared it out and then this happened:confused:
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
Which code do you want them to address? The NOx sensor one or the HVAC one? Sorry for not getting it... been a long day at work. :eek:
 

mattfrayage

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2013
Location
southeastern wisconsin
TDI
2015 passat NMS TDI SEL Premium
Which code do you want them to address? The NOx sensor one or the HVAC one? Sorry for not getting it... been a long day at work. :eek:
the STRANGE all zero ecu code mutation
being it shows up as readiness 0000 i wonder if a VAS505X will even register the fault- if vcds cannot fix it then perhaps the only way to fix it is to request the re-flash at 20K?
BTW i think the flaps are winter temp related, none have shown up since April and we all now how COLD Wisconsin can get!
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
Is it throwing a check engine light or something? If not, I wouldn't worry about it (but that's just me).
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
Stop looking for faults and you'll be fine! ;)
 

rustycat

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2012
Location
seattle
TDI
2015 passat sel
I searched the forum and found one thread back in June on this. Yesterday my check engine light came on (steady light). I spoke with a local VW dealer as I was away from my home dealership and they looked at the car today.

They indicated it was fault code p2201 - nox sensor circuit. They also stated that per Tech Bulletin 2030453 that the car required an ECM reflash (software update) to correct the issue.

Picked up this afternoon and all seems to be OK.

Just wanted to see if anyone else has experienced this issue as the car has just passed 5,000 miles since I purchased it in May 2012.
This was a code that I threw with the CEL. The CEL cleared itself on the way to the dealer. The dealer did a scan, saw the p2201, and saw that it had self cleared. His comment was the car just sort of "farted". No problems since then.
 

tdiatlast

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 21, 2009
Location
Fort Worth, Texas
TDI
2009 Sportwagen (boughtback); 2014 Passat TDI SEL (boughtback)
Add me to the list. At 32k miles, engine light on. P2201. I cleared it with my VCDS. Two weeks later, engine light on again.
Dealer just performed the flash, my invoice shows:
TSB Flash Update 01-13-04.
 

IXLR8

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2003
Location
Cushing, ME
TDI
12 Passat Platinum Gray, 02 Golf Black, 01 Jetta Black
I recently had my car in for it's 20K service. No CEL, but I pulled the codes, it had the NOx error code, I printed them and showed them to the dealer. He said they checked it out, no issues and sent me on my way.
 

VeeDubTDI

Wanderluster, Traveler, TDIClub Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 2, 2000
Location
Springfield, VA
TDI
‘18 Tesla Model 3D+, ‘14 Cadillac ELR, ‘13 Fiat 500e
I suspect that the factory NOx sensor range on a certain production date range of vehicles is too narrow, allowing for a small deviation to trigger a CEL for NOx being out of spec. VW is reflashing to widen the acceptable range slightly, thus preventing false triggers.

I could be totally wrong, but that's my initial thought on the matter.
Talking to tdiatlast on the phone last night about his experienced has reinforce my believe that they're just widening the acceptable NOx range in the computer under certain operating conditions (warmup, perhaps?).

Either that or they're tweaking the engine's operating parameters a bit to prevent the excess NOx from being created in the first place.

For non-technical people or newbies who don't know, this is not an indication of a mechanical issue or problem with the vehicle; just a minor software tweak to get engine operations dialed in a little tighter.
 

Ramairetransam

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2013
Location
Upstate NY
TDI
2012 Passat TDI
i had the p2201 , i notified the dealer of the tsb and they did whatever , so they checked it and i did need a new nox sensor and module .
 

tdiatlast

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 21, 2009
Location
Fort Worth, Texas
TDI
2009 Sportwagen (boughtback); 2014 Passat TDI SEL (boughtback)
Ramairetransam: Are you sure they replaced the nox sensor and module? The TSB that VWoA has issued instructs the tech to flash the ECM. I preferred the flash to having any dealer tech paw around under the hood of my car.
Could you confirm exactly what was done?
 

Ramairetransam

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2013
Location
Upstate NY
TDI
2012 Passat TDI
i have the paper work in the car but yes they replaced the nox sensor and module . I know this bc i checked to see how much the part was if i had to buy it . but ill check my paperwork to see exactly what it says .
 

smackdownTDI

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 26, 2013
Location
Right Here
TDI
None
I was going to bring mine in, but the light went off. I'd say after approx 5 key cycles/driving. No doubt it's still stored in there.
 

Nebelwerfer

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2012
Location
Canuckistan
TDI
2012 Passat TDI
Had my CEL pop on the other day in the middle of a highway run to Halifax, about 300km into it.

Got it checked out and sure enough, same issue as described in this thread. Kinda surprising it popping up while going 110km/h.

Meh, it's fixed and not the end of the world. Just needed an update.

Regards
 

jumpinjoe

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 12, 2011
Location
long island new york
TDI
2012 passat tdi
My car is at vw service waiting for nox sensor and module to arrive. the car was driving fine,but had cel and I needed to pass inspection this month.
 

Passatman

Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2014
Location
Michigan
TDI
'12 Passat SE, 6M
CEL and Code P2201 leads to ECU reflash

A week ago, my CEL came on and the code was P2201, Nox sensor. I did some research and found there to be a TSB out there where the sensor was too sensitive and the ECU had to be reflashed. I ended up paying $90 for it. In May 2014, my turbo was replaced at about 34,000 miles with the new part number. This was the second turbo failure. Everything was fine until the Michigan weather changed and it started to get colder. Then the car threw the code. I cleared it and it came back. After about 8 key cycles it cleared for a day, then came back again. wouldn't it make sense that the original ECU program is not compatible with the new turbo to the extent needed to keep the CEL from coming on? i have to believe that the new turbo must be different than the old turbo, so that there could be some reprogramming required?
 

Passatman

Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2014
Location
Michigan
TDI
'12 Passat SE, 6M
Well, I am off to the dealer. The CEL came on again last week and I had the code read by AutoZone. Same P2201 code. I guess the ECU reflash did not fix the problem.
 

no-blue-screen

TDI Nut
Joined
Feb 9, 2006
Location
Maryland
TDI
TDI
My light isn't on and I am not worried about a flash. Took delivery of mine in 11/11. Haven't had the VAG-COM hooked up in a while. I am nearing 45k so I guess I should do an auto scan for faults to satisfy my OCD.

Maybe this will help me talk the wife into getting me a 15 TDI beetle....wish me luck folks :)
 
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