How to Use an Immobilizer Bypass Tool

Understanding Immobilizers

What is an Immobilizer?

In order to understand how to use an Immobilizer Bypass Tool, it should first be explained what an immobilizer actually is. The immobilizer is an electronic anti-theft safety system installed in vehicles, which prevents an unauthorised engine start. It consists of two elements:

• Transponder - depending on production year, it may come in a form of a remote, car key or card.
• ECU (Engine Control Unit) - installed inside the vehicle.

How does Immobilizer Work?

To start the car, the driver needs to put the key into ignition switch and turn the ignition on. This triggers a signal exchange. To put it simply, the process is as follows: first, an electromagnetic field induces the power inside the transponder (key), which sends out a unique code. The code is received and verified by the engine control module. Subsequently, the ECU sends out its code, which is in turn received by the transponder for verification purposes. Another code signal exchange is triggered. The whole verification process takes merely a fraction of a second. For the driver, this process is seamless. What happens if the signals sent out by the transponder and the Engine Control Unit do not match, thus failing the verification? Depending on car manufacturer, once the codes do not match, the engine will either not start or it will start and stop after a short while.

Damaged Immobilizer - What are the Symptoms?

If the immobilizer system is damaged, the driver might experience difficulties with starting the engine. The engine may start and turn of after a few seconds or may not start at all. At the same time, the immobilizer warning light appears on the instrument cluster of flashes briefly. Since the most popular fault is a damaged transponder located inside the key (card), professionals often advise to try a backup key (card). If the backup key works and the car starts, it would still be necessary to visit a service center. There may be many different causes of immobilizer fault, most popular of which include: damaged: damaged ECU or antenna coil (which reads the transponder signal), or de-synchronised keys.

Transponder fault is considered a rather minor issue, mainly because the driver may use a backup key (card). In this case, however, it is often necessary to program another key, which can be very costly.
Here’s where CarLabImmo company comes in. We are the developers of a professional software and devices that enable replacing the immobilizer system. Our offer also includes advanced solutions in the form of small circuit boards installed permanently inside the car.

Engine Control Unit faults can be more difficult to handle, because they often involve towing the car to the workshop and locating the ECU, which is notorious for its hard-to-reach location placement. Running the initial diagnostics may show that the fault is caused by the damaged ECU. In such case there’s no other way than to replace it with another functioning unit. Purchasing a new immobilizer module or Engine Control Unit is very expensive. CarLabImmo company has found a cheaper alternative. The customer doesn’t need to purchase a new module, only a functioning replacement module for this particular model. Using our software we are able to adapt the module or control unit to the vehicle’s immobilizer system or to permanently turn the system off. The tool that makes it possible is called Immo Bypass and is available at carlabimmo.com.

How to Use an Immobilizer Bypass Tool

The first step is to identify the ECU type and find it inside Immo Bypass database. The next step is to read the ECU content using devices designed for chip tuning or with a memory programmer. Then, the ECU content readout file can be imported to the Toolbox section of Immo Bypass. The immobilizer data file can be edited to adapt it to the vehicle’s immobilizer system or to turn the immobilizer system off with a specific code. The final step is to save the modified file and program it into the ECU using chip tuning equipment or a memory programmer. This way we give a used ECU a second life, limit the use of the Earth’s resources and significantly lower the repair costs.