Honda Jazz Mk 1 (2006) - Immobilizer problem

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Mon 8 Jun 2015 15:51
Honda Jazz Mk 1 (2006) - Immobilizer problem - marymck

Hello

My Honda Jazz failed to start last week. The RAC man thought it was a problem with the key, because I had dropped it (albeit from only about a foot and onto a thick carpet). I bought the car second hand in 2010 and it only had one key, so we didn't have a spare to check this theory.

The RAC gentleman towed me to a Honda garage and on Friday they told me that I needed a new immobilizer and transponder, which would cost £538. I said to go ahead and fix it, but now they're telling me the ECU may have "spiked" and they're still working on the car.

This sounds scarily expensive. And also just plain scary. How come a Honda garage wouldn't know there was an ECU problem before ordering and fitting a new immobiliser and transponder?

And what do they mean by "spiked"? The RAC didn't try to jump start the car - just disconnected and tested the battery (which is the original one and was fine). All in all the RAC man spent over two hours working on the car, plugging a laptop into it and trying to reset the fuel cutoff (which was fine) but he concluded by deciding it needed a new key.

There is a safety recall to do with a door switch. Could this have interfered with the ECU/immobilizer in some way? Surely if it was just because I'd dropped the key it couldn't affect the ECU? Surely Hondas are more robust than that?

Any guidance/ideas would be very gratefully received.

Thanks.

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Mon 8 Jun 2015 19:47
Honda Jazz Mk 1 (2006) - Immobilizer problem - elekie&a/c doctor

I think scary is an understatement.Dropping the key is not a problem provided the immobiliser chip has not come out of the key(not possible unless the key has opened up.Looks like the dealer is guessing at this fault .It is possible for the key to become de-synchronised if the car battery becomes very low voltage or flat ,but is an easy fix for the dealer.Very much doubt if this has corrupted the ecu.

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Tue 9 Jun 2015 16:15
Honda Jazz Mk 1 (2006) - Immobilizer problem - marymck

It's getting scarier by the minute! I thought the whole point of being towed to a Honda garage was because they had a computer that they could plug the car into and that would diagnose what the problem was. But having replaced both the immobilizer and the transponder the problem wasn't fixed, so they've been working through, changing different parts until they reach a fix.

The good news is that I'm (I think!) only going to be charged for the parts they actually finally replace, because Honda are sending them some spare spare parts as it were, and then once they're sure what they need, Honda will send the new replacement spare parts.

But the bad news, I fear, will be the labour charge. I feel a bit sick at the thought of it.

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Wed 10 Jun 2015 18:20
Honda Jazz Mk 1 (2006) - Immobilizer problem - marymck

This is getting more and more frustrating. The garage have had my car for a week now. They don't return my calls, but when I finally got someone to talk to me this afternoon he told me that their computer that's supposed to diagnose the problem won't talk to my car's ECU. They have now got a donor part from Honda, which they are trying. And if that doesn't work, then they'll try another donor part until they find a fix. I have no confidence that, even if this does get fixed, that I'll ever really know what went wrong and therefore will have no confidence that it won't go wrong again. I was just lucky that I was at home when it happened and not out driving my elderly disabled mother.

I came across an online magazine article about recalls on the Jazz because of ECU problems. So I put in a call to Honda customer service line for their advice and I'm waiting to hear back from them.

I think they think the car was jump started and this has caused the problem. But the RAC man didn't jump start the car! This time. About two years ago my battery went flat and the RAC jump started it then. I know the key was in the ignition when they did so, because I had to drive around a bit and then went home, where I had to switch the car off in the usual manner. But that was two years ago and I haven't had any problems until now. Could that event of two years back have caused this problem?

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Wed 10 Jun 2015 18:35
Honda Jazz Mk 1 (2006) - Immobilizer problem - Bolt

According to what I read there was an ECU issue on the jazz causing either non starting or rough running years 2001/2008, but what they did about it I`m not sure?

One company on the net refurbishes them and resells

http://www.ecutesting.com/catalogue/product/honda_jazz_ecu_engine_management_eem177591.html

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Fri 12 Jun 2015 17:00
Honda Jazz Mk 1 (2006) - Immobilizer problem - marymck

Thanks bolt.

I've just phoned the garage and they now say it wasn't the ECU. It was the immobilizer after all. Which is odd, because early this week they had replaced the immobilizer, but they said it wasn't that. Oh and it wasn't the key. Except now it was the key. Which is what the RAC man thought at the beginning.

Actually the garage are saying that the immobilizer damaged the key - or maybe the key damaged the immobilizer. They're not sure. So because I don't know what went wrong, I have no confidence that the immobilizer won't just kick in again ... potentially in a more tricky situation than when stationary on my drive.

The garage's diagnosis computer wouldn't talk to my car - I gather it still won't - and they don't know why, but they say they "saved me money" by getting donor parts and going through a process of elimination till they found the ones that made a difference.

It's now Friday the 12th and they've had my car since Thursday 4th. I've missed a trip to see my Mum for her birthday as a result. But at least I now know that public transport is hell on earth!! It's too late now for me to go and pick the car up today - the garage is MILES away and I have to catch several buses to get there. So it'll be tomorrow before I'll get it back.

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Fri 12 Jun 2015 17:05
Honda Jazz Mk 1 (2006) - Immobilizer problem - marymck

I've just had another thought. How do I know there was ever really a fault on the immobilizer? The first parts the garage changed were the immobilizer and the transponder. The car then wouldn't work. So they changed the ECU and God knows what else and still it wouldn't work. Finally, they ordered me a new key. The car works. But isn't the transponder in the key? So why didn't it work on Monday, when they fitted the new immobilizer and transponder? If it needed a new key, how can I trust it really needed a new immobilizer after all?

Aargh!

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