Immobilizer swap??? - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

JMINMD923 · 09-07-2012, 12:41 PM

Has anyone bought a used immobilizer and had it programmed to work on your car? Is it possible or is it necessary to buy a new one from a dealer and have the dealer program it?

landrovered · 09-09-2012, 01:47 PM

Having this issue right now with my wife's car. The plastic funnel top of the drain tube was folded over and her alarm board got wet during Isaac. It is a dealer thing unless you get the DME, the key cylinder and the alarm board from the same car.

My dealer has the new board for $402 and the programming is $150 plus it will work and is guaranteed so it is a no brainer really.

The Porsche system is by no means unique, just be glad it is not a BMW!

ECU Doctors · 09-12-2012, 07:18 AM

Hi guys,

I know exactly what you are going through, because we get customers with this problem at least once per week.

Unfortunately Porsche made the Immobilizer units programmable only once, onto 1 car only. Therefore, you can't program a used Immo to another car.

Now, even if you buy a brand new Immobilizer, the dealership will most likely tell you that you need a new set of key Remotes. The data for the remotes is stored in the Immobilizer memory. So when the Immo gets damaged, the remotes and transponders in the keys will no longer work to start the car. (I wonder if this was mentioned to you "landrovered", let me know.)

Needless to say, it's a complicated and expensive mess.

"JMINMD923" are you in talks with the dealership already? What have they told you?

landrovered · 09-12-2012, 08:58 AM

Doc,

Have you got any alternatives?

Jittsl · 09-14-2012, 07:03 AM

I used Specialized ECU Repairs (ECU doctors) to build an ECU for my SpecBox that did not require the alarm at all. They were great to work with and very professional. I know that they can solve your problem for you in many different ways.

Jittsl · 09-14-2012, 07:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JMINMD923

Has anyone bought a used immobilizer and had it programmed to work on your car? Is it possible or is it necessary to buy a new one from a dealer and have the dealer program it?

No, if you buy all of the ECU, alarm control and ignition key you can replace them all as a set and not need to have them programmed. If ou look on eBay you will find these sets for sale. I've seen them as low as $300.

JMINMD923 · 09-14-2012, 08:02 AM

Thanks guys. That pretty much answers my question. The car is my neighbors 996 but I have a couple of immobilizers from Boxsters I have parted out so I was trying to save him some $$$. The dealer said what you guys are saying. Need a new one that then needs to be programmed to go with the key.