Bosch EDC17CP14 Guide: Audi A4 and A6, VW Transporter, Passat, Touareg and Hyundai/Kia Files
A typical EDC17CP14 job looks like this. An Audi A4 comes in, the owner wants the remap taken off before the car is sold, and the ECU on your bench has a Bosch label reading 0281015583 with a VAG sticker showing 03L906022MK. The previous tuner kept no backup. Nobody knows which software revision the car left the factory with. You need a clean original to compare against and write back, and it has to match the software that’s actually in the flash, not just the part number on the sticker.
That job, or the Transporter and Touareg versions of it, is most of what we see for this ECU. There are 1,150 published EDC17CP14 files in our catalogue right now, and 1,130 of them are original files. This guide covers how to identify the unit, which vehicles and engines show up in the catalogue, how people read and write it, and the bench faults that come back again and again. Every count below comes from the catalogue itself, so it describes what we hold, not every car Bosch ever fitted with this ECU.
Recognising an EDC17CP14 on the car and on the bench
Start with a scan before you pull anything. On the VAG cars a diagnostic tool such as VCDS or ODIS will show the VAG part number and the four-digit software revision in the engine control module identification, for example 03L906022MK with revision 8441. That alone often narrows the file down to a handful of candidates. What it won’t give you is the Bosch hardware number, and that’s the number that tells you which read method your tool supports and which files are even candidates.
Once the unit is out, the Bosch label is the reference. Many labels also print the type designation EDC17CP14, which saves a lot of guessing, because several EDC17 variants share very similar housings. If you haven’t worked through Bosch labels before, our guide on how to read ECU label numbers explains each field. For this family, these are the numbers that matter:
- Bosch hardware number. Ten digits starting with 0281. In our catalogue they run from the 0281014 range (0281014262 on Tiguan files) through 0281015, 0281016, 0281017, 0281018 and 0281019, up to the later 0281030 series (0281030179 on ix35, 0281030251 on Jetta, 0281030382 on Sportage). The most frequent one is 0281015029 with 15 files, followed by 0281015583 and 0281016545 with 6 each.
- Bosch software number. On older units this is a ten-digit number starting 1037, such as 1037527107 or 1037519246. Later units use the 10SW format, for example 10SW021845, 10SW021906 and 10SW035454. It isn’t always printed on the label, but it’s always in the read.
- Vehicle manufacturer part number. On the four-cylinder VAG diesels it’s 03L906022 or 03L906019 plus a two-letter suffix (03L906022CL, 03L906022MK, 03L906019AN, 03L906019AS). You’ll also see 03L997016A, 03L997016H, 03L997016J and 03L997030N. On V6 applications the part number follows the car: 8R0907401J and 8R0907401L on Audi Q5 and A5, 7L0907401AB on the Touareg, 7L5907401 on the Cayenne.
- Software revision. The four digits after the VAG part number: 6222, 6225, 8441, 9977, 9983 and so on. Two ECUs with the same part number and different revisions are running different software and need different originals.
- Hyundai and Kia part number. The Korean cars use a 39100 or 39103 prefix with a 2F suffix, such as 39100-2F205 on Tucson, 39100-2F701 on Sportage, 39100-2F100 on Sorento and 39103-2F440 or 39103-2F340 on Santa Fe.
Why the hardware number alone isn’t enough
Take 0281015029. In our catalogue that one hardware number carries Passat files with 03L906022QG and 03L906022CL, Passat CC files with 03L906022CM, a Golf file with 03L906022LF and another Passat with 03L906022BL. Same board, completely different calibrations. If you match on hardware alone you’ll end up writing a file from a different car, and the best case is a fault code and a car that runs badly.
The same goes the other way. Revision 9977 turns up on 03L906022CM, 03L906022AG, 03L906022C, 03L906022GA, 03L906022R, 03L906022LF and 03L906019AS files. The revision number on its own identifies nothing; it only means something next to its part number.
Titles with two 1037 numbers
Some of our titles list two Bosch software numbers, for example the Tucson file with 1037522579 and 1037527103, or the Golf file with 1037507639 and 1037397810. Both identifiers were seen for that unit, typically where the label and the read don’t agree or the car has had a software update since it was built. Match against what your tool reports from the actual read. If only one of the two numbers agrees with your ECU, send us the read before you buy anything.
Vehicles and engines in our EDC17CP14 catalogue
This is mostly a VAG diesel ECU in our data. VW has 658 files and another 7 are filed under Volkswagen, so 665 Volkswagen files in total. Audi follows with 440. Then there’s a much smaller group from Hyundai (21) and Kia (18), and a handful from Skoda (4), Porsche (1) and SEAT (1).
By model, the Audi A4 is well ahead with 274 files, followed by the A6 with 127 and the VW Transporter with 71. Not every file in the catalogue carries a model tag, so the model counts don’t add up to the brand counts. Treat them as a guide to where the volume is.
| Brand | Models in our catalogue (files) | Engine codes seen on example files | Files in our catalogue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Volkswagen (VW) | Transporter (71), Passat (31), Touareg (24), Tiguan (15), Golf (10), Passat CC (9), Scirocco (4), Jetta (2) | CASA (Touareg), CBAB (Golf, Tiguan), CJAA (Jetta), CMEA | 665 |
| Audi | A4 (274), A6 (127), Q5 (26), A5 (13) | CAGA (A5), CAHA (A6), CCWA (A5, Q5) | 440 |
| Hyundai | ix35 (15), Santa Fe (4), Tucson (2) | Not tagged, identify by part number | 21 |
| Kia | Sportage (14), Sorento (4) | Not tagged, identify by part number | 18 |
| Skoda | Octavia (3), Yeti (1) | Not tagged | 4 |
| Porsche | Cayenne (1) | Not tagged | 1 |
| SEAT | Exeo (1) | Not tagged | 1 |
Engine codes
The engine tags are dominated by the CAG and CAH codes, the four-cylinder 2.0 TDI common-rail engines from the Audi range: CAGA with 100 files, CAHA with 82, CAGB with 65, CAHB with 50 and CAGC with 21. CBAB, the 2.0 TDI you’ll know from the Golf and Tiguan, has 6.
The V6 side is smaller but it’s there. CCWA has 21 files and appears on our A5 and Q5 examples. CASA has 13 and sits on the Touareg files, with CASB and CASC at 6 and 5. Beyond that the list includes CANA (11), CGKA, CGKB and CDYA (9 each), CANC and CAND (8 each), CCWB and CANB (7 each), CMEA, CDYB and CDYC (5 each) and CJAA (2). For those less common codes, go by the engine code on the car and the identifiers in the file title rather than assuming a displacement or power figure from the code alone.
The Hyundai and Kia files don’t carry engine tags in our catalogue. On those cars the 39100 or 39103 part number together with the Bosch hardware and software numbers is what you match on.
Example EDC17CP14 files from the catalogue
These are real files from the shop, picked to show the spread of vehicles, number formats and file types. Titles and numbers are copied as they are listed. Where the hardware number isn’t in the title, the column says so; that doesn’t mean the file is incomplete, only that the listing was made from the part number and software identifiers.
A few things stand out in that list. The Passat and Passat CC rows share hardware 0281015029 but carry different part numbers and revisions. The A4 and A5 rows share 0281015583 and 03L906022MK 8441, which is why a tuned A5 file and an A4 original can be compared directly. And the Jetta row is one of the later 0281030 units with a 03L997030N part number, a reminder that the family ran for a long time and the number formats changed along the way.
File types for EDC17CP14 and when each one makes sense
The split in our catalogue is lopsided, and that tells you what this ECU is mostly used for in the trade: Original File 1,130, Immo Off 14, DPF Off 4, EGR Off 4 and Chip Tuning 3.
Original files
This is the bulk of it, and the reasons are practical. You need an original when a car has been tuned and has to go back to stock for a sale, an inspection or a warranty conversation. You need one when an OBD flash failed halfway and the backup you took is incomplete or doesn’t exist. You need one as a reference before you touch a file from a customer who swears it’s stock but won’t say who had the car last. And you need one when a used ECU from a breaker has to run a different car: the original for the target car’s part number and revision is where you start, although the immobiliser side still has to be dealt with separately (more on that below).
An original file puts the calibration back. It doesn’t clear a mechanical fault. If the car had a sticking EGR valve or a failing turbo actuator before the tune, it’ll still have it after the stock file goes back on, and the fault codes will be the same.
Immo off files
The immo off files we show as examples are all Hyundai and Kia: ix35, Tucson, Santa Fe and Sportage. The usual reason is a replacement ECU or a lost key situation where the immobiliser data can’t be matched in a reasonable time. An immo off file is a modified read that lets the engine start without the immobiliser handshake. Only do this on a vehicle the customer owns and can prove they own, and check the rules in your country, because in some places disabling the immobiliser affects insurance cover. The file has to match the hardware and software of the ECU exactly, same as an original.
DPF off and EGR off
There are four of each in our catalogue for this family. Removing or disabling the DPF or EGR isn’t road-legal in the EU, the UK and many other countries, and a car running one of these files will usually fail an emissions test. They’re for off-road, export or motorsport use. Also be honest with the customer about what the file does: if the DPF is blocked because an injector is dribbling or the car only ever does short runs, a software change doesn’t fix the cause.
Chip tuning
Three tuned files are listed, including the A5 on 03L906022MK 8441 and a Stage 1 Jetta on 03L997030N 9983. Use them only on an ECU with matching identifiers and a healthy engine. Check boost, fuelling and smoke on the road before and after; a tired turbo or clutch will show up quickly under the extra torque.
There are no virgin files for this family in the catalogue at the moment. If you need one, the request route at the end of this guide applies.
Reading and writing EDC17CP14: OBD, bench and boot
The tool tags on our files give a fair picture of how people read this ECU. PCM Flash is on 685 files and KESS V2 on 370. Well behind those come Flex (23), KTAG (14) and New Trasdata (11), with Galletto and KT200 on one file each and one read from another tool. PCM Flash dominates the recent Transporter, Touareg, Golf, Scirocco and Octavia uploads, many of them on the later 99xx revisions. KESS V2 is tagged mainly on generic VW reads and some Audi and Q5 files. KTAG, Flex and New Trasdata, the tools most people use on the bench or in boot mode, turn up on many of the Audi A4, A6, A5 and Passat reads and on the Kia Sorento and Sportage units.
For a proper explanation of the three access modes, see our article on OBD, bench and boot mode for EDC17 and MED17. Here’s how it plays out on this family.
OBD
Quickest, and fine on a lot of older software. The catch is that on many later VAG EDC17CP14 software versions the OBD protocol in common tools is restricted by tuning protection, so you either can’t write at all or you only get the calibration area rather than a full read. Check your tool’s vehicle list for the exact part number and revision before you start, not the family name. If the list says read only, believe it. Our article on tuning protection (TPROT) on EDC17 and MED17 covers what that means and why a stock file matters when you deal with it.
Bench
With the ECU out of the car and the tool connected to the pins on the connector, most bench tools can read EDC17CP14 more completely than OBD, including the data flash where the immobiliser and adaptation data live. On most EDC17 units there’s no separate EEPROM chip; that data sits in the processor’s own data flash, so a flash-only backup is not a full backup. Bench is the usual starting point for a proper job on this family.
Boot
Boot mode means opening the case and putting the processor into its boot loader using a boot pin or point on the board, with the tool’s documented connection. It’s the fallback when bench access is refused, or when the ECU is already in a bad state after a failed write. Open the case carefully, keep the board clean, and follow your tool’s pinout for your hardware number exactly. A slip with a probe on the wrong point can do more damage than the failed flash did.
Cautions that apply every time
- Use a stabilised power supply that holds its voltage under load, both on the car and on the bench. A battery charger isn’t a power supply, and a voltage dip halfway through a write is one of the most common causes of a dead ECU we hear about.
- Take a full backup before you write anything: the main flash, the data flash, and whatever full backup format your tool offers. Save it off the laptop too.
- Write the tool’s own ID file or log alongside the read. When you ask for help later, the identification data is often more useful than the raw binary.
- Make sure checksums are corrected before writing. Most commercial tools do it automatically on supported protocols. If you edited the file elsewhere, confirm the checksum is correct before it goes back into the ECU.
- Never write a file you can’t trace back to the same part number, revision and Bosch software number as the ECU in front of you.
Bench notes and typical EDC17CP14 problems
None of what follows is rare. Most of it comes down to identification, power supply or immobiliser data.
Failed OBD write, ECU no longer communicates
Don’t keep cycling the ignition and retrying the same thing. Check the supply voltage first, then take the ECU to the bench and see whether it still identifies. If it does, a bench write of the matching original usually brings it back. If it doesn’t, boot mode is the next step. We’ve written up the whole process in recovering an ECU after a failed flash. What makes the difference is having an original for exactly the right part number and revision, which is why so many of the requests we get for this ECU start with a failed write.
Engine won’t start after an ECU swap
If you’ve fitted a used EDC17CP14 to a VAG car, the calibration may be right and the engine still won’t run because the immobiliser data belongs to the donor car. The two usual routes are adapting the ECU to the car with dealer-level tools such as ODIS or VCP, or cloning the data flash from the original ECU to the replacement on the bench. Cloning only works if both units share hardware and compatible software, so check the labels before you start. On the Hyundai and Kia cars the ECU learns the immobiliser through a PIN procedure on most versions; where that isn’t possible, an immo off file for the matching software is the fallback, with the ownership caveat above.
Limp mode after a remap
Before blaming the file, compare it with a stock original for the same revision so you know exactly what was changed. Then look at the car. A boost deviation code on a tuned 2.0 TDI is very often a turbo actuator, a split intercooler hose or a sticking vane rather than the map itself. Log boost requested against actual, check the MAF reading at idle and under load, and read the DPF differential pressure if the car has one. If the stock file goes back on and the fault stays, it was never a software problem.
Running faults after writing an “original”
This one is almost always a mismatch. The file was for the right car but the wrong revision, or the right part number from a different engine. Go back to the identifiers: part number, four-digit revision, Bosch software number. On the Audi A4 and A5 files in particular there are many close relatives, and a file for 03L906022MK 8441 is not interchangeable with one for 03L906022MK 9981 even though the hardware is the same 0281015583.
Dealer-updated cars
A lot of the files with revisions in the 99xx range (9977, 9978, 9979, 9983) are cars that have had software updates since they were built. If the car’s history says it has been to a dealer for an engine software update, don’t assume the label still describes what’s in the flash. Read it first, then look for a file that matches the read rather than the sticker.
Questions workshops ask about EDC17CP14
Can I use a file with the same hardware number but a different part number?
No. The hardware number describes the board, not the calibration. As the 0281015029 files show, one board can run Passat, Passat CC and Golf software with different part numbers. Match part number, revision and Bosch software number first, and treat the hardware number as a check on the tool and read method.
Why are there several files for the same software, such as 03L906022CL 6222?
There are three files with 03L906022CL 6222 in our catalogue, and three with 03L906022MK 8441. Different workshops read the same software with different tools and some uploads include extra identifiers in the title. If they share part number, revision and Bosch software number, they should contain the same calibration; pick the one whose title matches your read most closely, and ask if you’re unsure.
What do the 03L997 part numbers mean?
You’ll see 03L997016A, 03L997016H, 03L997016J and 03L997030N on EDC17CP14 files. On VAG parts a 997 number usually indicates a replacement or exchange unit rather than the part fitted at the factory. Treat it like any other part number: it needs its own original matched on revision and Bosch software number.
Will KESS V2 read my EDC17CP14 over OBD?
On many older software versions, yes, and KESS V2 is tagged on 370 of our files. On later VAG software it may be read-only or refused because of tuning protection. The only reliable answer is your tool’s own list for your exact part number and revision; if it’s not supported on OBD, go to the bench.
Can I move an original file from an Audi A4 to a Q5?
Only if the identifiers match, and in practice they rarely do. The A4 files are mostly 03L906022 part numbers, while our Q5 examples carry 8R0907401J, 8R0907401L and 03L906019AS. Different car, different calibration, and usually a different immobiliser setup to deal with as well.
Do you have virgin files for EDC17CP14?
Not at the moment. What we hold is almost entirely original files, plus a small number of immo off, DPF off, EGR off and tuned files. If you need a virgin file for a specific unit, send the details and a full read, and we’ll tell you honestly whether it can be done.
My Hyundai ix35 ECU isn’t in your list. Will another ix35 file work?
Not unless the hardware and software match. Our ix35 files alone include 0281016545 with 1037519246 and 0281030179 with 1037536031, which are different generations. Check the 39100 or 39103 part number and the Bosch numbers on the label, then compare with the read.
When your EDC17CP14 file isn’t listed
If the exact file isn’t on the EDC17CP14 page, use the request form and give us everything you have: the Bosch hardware number (0281…), the Bosch software number (1037… or 10SW…), the vehicle manufacturer part number with its four-digit revision, the car, the engine code, and the tool and mode you used to read it. A photo of the label helps. A full read helps most of all, because it lets us check the identifiers inside the file against what’s printed on the case, and with dealer-updated cars those two often disagree.
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