Immobilizer Question

[jjvincent]

[angel smith]

thanks for the tips.
I still have no start. This van came with a ton of metal keys, the emergency key but no flip key. The only key that starts the vehicle is the emergency key and now that does not start it either.

[kourt]

The quickest and easiest (and only) solution to your problem is to do the following:

1. contact this vendor who recently quoted me $145 plus shipping to do an immobilizer delete on my 2001 Eurovan ECU:

https://www.advancedcarelectronics.com

2. remove your ECU and ship it to the vendor

3. reinstall it when it returns

4. use your metal keys to start your van.

This is assuming your van running is being stopped by the immobilizer. There may be other problems, but this is the one I would solve first.

No VW dealer or locksmith or any combination of other solutions will get your van past an immobilizer problem. This is the only way to go.

kourt

[angel smith]

Thanks for that, heading that way it seems

[HeyCrutch]

Well after much back-and-forth with the local outfit that Eurotec suggested (and used to work for), they've agreed to attempt the Immo Delete.

When I first inquired they were a bit unsure. I had to go through a long "open ticket" process with an outfit called TuneZilla (which I assume is the software entity that the local outfit utilizes) to determine whether deleting the Immobilizer was an option.

After many weeks, they said they could do it and said that the local shop should have the tools to do it. That seemed to satisfy the local shop, so I'm going to drop off the ECU from the parts van next week to see how it goes.

On a side note, I'm becoming more and more interested in having this performed primarily because of the difficulty getting additional keys fore the vans.

I purchased authentic but uncut keys (with proper chips) from Mark1Service, the guy that has the page dedicated to VW keys, but my local dealer won't cut or program them. So deleting the Immobilizer seems to become much more important if I'm going to have to go down the road of just having the keys cut (but not programmed).
_________________
-2003 EV MV Wk - Forest - 51k
-2002 EV Camper - Ghost - 82k
-2003 EV GLS - Fluffhead - 176k

-1997 EVC - 12vVR6 (SOLD 5/2025)

[kourt]

I'm not far behind you on this issue.

Once my van turns 25 years old, I will likely do the immobilizer delete and secondary air injection delete. Vehicles 25+ years old or older are exempt from emissions testing in Texas. The SAI delete will always fail an emissions test, but the "delete" is removing the Check Engine Light indicator for SAI non-ready state in vans with SAI deleted.

kourt

[HeyCrutch]

[kourt]

There isn't any good information about Eurovan SAI deletes.

Youtube is full of videos of people who are deleting SAI from their Mk4 Jettas, which is close but not a Eurovan. And most of them are tuner bros who clearly don't know what they are doing. They are painful to watch.

On a 24v VR6 Eurovan (2001 to 2003), the SAI delete would involve the following mods:

-removal of the combi valve on the exhaust side of the engine, and blocking the port to the engine exhaust, and the vacuum line that serves the valve;
-removal of the secondary air pump and solenoid on the lower front part of the engine, and blocking the vacuum lines that serve the solenoid;

At this point, with that equipment removed, your van may get a Check Engine Light, and any emssions test would report SAI not ready and fail the test.

Some of the Mk4 immo delete folks also offer a "remove CEL light for SAI not ready condition service" that simply turns off the CEL, but the ECU will still report SAI not ready and fail smog tests. It's a useful mod for those who no longer have to do smog tests.

kourt

[angel smith]

I sent my unit out to Tunezilla and had the ecm immobilizer deleted.
Of course the van started right up after months of trying many things and getting nowhere with the keys!

[kourt]

That's great to hear. What was the time turnaround, and the cost?

kourt

[HeyCrutch]

Kourt I can confirm that TuneZilla quoted me $149 (plus my shipping to them) for a delete. Not sure if that would include shipping back to me. So I think the Advance Car Electronics in Texas is right in the same ballpark.

I dropped off my first ECU at the local spot EuroTec used to work for, All Gerrman Performance, Asheville. They are essentially an agent of TuneZilla when it comes to ECU mods - I suppose it's where they get the software??.

AGP is kinda going thru the whole "open a ticket" affair again with TuneZilla to get instructions I suppose. Will report back what my experiences are. They haven't quoted me a price yet, but I bet it turns out to be the same $149. If it works out, at least I'll save on shipping and won't have to worry about it getting lost.

So, one thing to take away from all of this is it may be possible to go directly to TuneZilla and open a ticket, then ask if they have partners in your locale that can do the work locally using their software. As potential options for not having to ship it off.
_________________
-2003 EV MV Wk - Forest - 51k
-2002 EV Camper - Ghost - 82k
-2003 EV GLS - Fluffhead - 176k

-1997 EVC - 12vVR6 (SOLD 5/2025)

[HeyCrutch]

Well attempt #1 was a total failure.

Picked up the ECU from the local Asheville shop. Brought it home and had an OEM VW chipped key/fob ready to start the van, and an all metal key from ACE hardware to try out and see if the immobilizer had been bypassed.

Plugged in the ECU. Went to crank the ignition using the OEM VW chipped key/fob and it started and then immediately died. Are you kidding me??!!

I tried it several times and the results were the same. Tried it with the metal key, same result.

The van started and ran just fine previously. It has a failing transmission so it's not really drivable, but the engine would start and run just fine.

I don't know what they did to the ECU but it feels like they doubled down on the Immobilizer and unmatched the key in the process.

The local shop tried to charge me $350 for the service. I showed them the TuneZilla ticket I had opened at their request, where TuneZilla quoted me $149 for the service. I explained that I would have had to pay for shipping and it likely would have cost me $250 after shipping there and back, so that's the price we ended up at. The guy at the shop told me that TuneZilla charged them $200 for the mod - she he's gonna be trying to work it out with them in terms of why they would have charged me $149 retail but charged them $200 wholesale.

All of this to say, that my attempt to get an ECU immobilizer defeated has not only failed, but the ECU is in worse condition than before - since I cannot start the van and keep it running after 1 second now.

Certainly won't be trying this service at this shop with either of the other two vans' ECUs. I'm beginning to think that the outfit in Texas is the best bet - they seem to know what they are doing and are communicative and price it fairly.
_________________
-2003 EV MV Wk - Forest - 51k
-2002 EV Camper - Ghost - 82k
-2003 EV GLS - Fluffhead - 176k

-1997 EVC - 12vVR6 (SOLD 5/2025)

[HeyCrutch]

Update:

After the 3rd attempt (to load yet another file provide to them by TuneZilla in Canada), the local shop that EuroTec worked at previously finally fixed the ECU for the 2003 parts van.

Since this van isn't really a driver at all, given it has transmission issues, I used it as the test case for disabling/defeating/deleting the immobilizer. After a few months fightitng with the ECU, the van will now start using an all metal VW shaped key from ACE (that does NOT have a chip). Hallelujah!

I'm pretty relieved with the fix, as this van has been parked on the street in front of my house for quite a while and I've not been able to move it at all under any circumstance, aside from humans pushing it if necessary. It's good to know that if I need to move it, it will both crank and "drive" * (*see note below).

Now that I know the ECU truly CAN be defeated, I'll get the other two drivable vans done, although not at the local Asheville shop. They charged double what you see online from Advanced Car in Prosper Texas will charge, and they really didn't know what they were doing. For the next round I think I'll have to risk shipping via FedEx to Texas.


* SideNote: After the successful ECU ignition, I decided to move on to the transmission. I topped off the A/T fluid (using some of the old fluid I just removed from the EVC a couple of days ago - don't judge - it's a parts van) to see if the main issue with the tranny was low fluid (there looks to have been leaks from the gasket so low fluid seems like low hanging fruit). I added a 1/2 liter and then checked the pan per the temp method ... only got drops with it looking like the green level plug didn't have any it (no initial flow), so I added another 1/4 liter. Will check it again when It's cooled down some, but from some trials just backing it up and moving it forwards several feet, first gear seems to engage much better than the one time I drove it (to get it home from across town). We'll call that a double win for today (which I needed given yesterday's drain plug failure on the EVC).
_________________
-2003 EV MV Wk - Forest - 51k
-2002 EV Camper - Ghost - 82k
-2003 EV GLS - Fluffhead - 176k

-1997 EVC - 12vVR6 (SOLD 5/2025)