Hello all, I am having a very frustrating problem with my 2010 Honda Civic. I have had the anti-theft immobilizer unit activate on me 3 different times now, preventing me from starting the car. The electronics in the dash and the indoor lights turn on like normal, the engine will turn over fully as it tries to start (it will even start for a second before the immobilizer turns the ignition off if I put the key in and turn it fast enough).
The first time it happened I did not realize it was the immobilizer and attempted to jump it, to no avail. Had to go to the dealership to get a dummy key with no fob attached to it (there is a chip in the fob that communicates that the immobilizer unit recognizes (or doesn’t recognize in this case) and a brake code to enter to get the thing started and back to the dealership. I left it there for them to service, only to have them call me a few hours later and say it started up just fine. The keys weren’t the problem, the battery wasn’t the problem, they couldn’t tell me anything was wrong with it. Thankfully they didn’t charge me for it.
About a year passes and happens to me again last week, stranded in between Austin and San Antonio at a gas station. Tow home, get brake code from dealer, drop off at dealer for service, dealer calls back hours later and can’t find anything wrong. Says they scanned the immobilizer unit but came up with nothing. Now it has happened again this morning, this time I got it towed straight there so they can see that the immobilizer has it locked down and maybe they can see something that wasn’t apparent last time. I will find out tomorrow what they find.
Has anyone else dealt with a faulty Honda immobilizer unit?
The battery in the key fobs shouldn’t be the issue, as they unlock the car and function properly when the immobilizer unit hasn’t thrown a fit. The battery may be the culprit, as I had to get a jump for leaving my hazards on for an afternoon, but I am doubting that since there is no dimming or other noticeable differences with the dash. The tech liaison theorized it might be an A/C relay but I don’t have too much faith in his theories since they didn’t get it right the first two times.
So frustrating when you can’t recreate a problem and the dealership has no answers.
Any input would help, and I’ll update if they find anything.