ACURA TSX ECU Help
 

Hello,
I have a 05 TSX. I'm trying to replace the ECU. Will this require re-programming? Or is it just plug and play? I understand that it has an immobilizer. If it does need programming, what is the cheapest possible way to get this done? I'm trying to fix the car to sell. Any help would be great.

on another note, would a bad ecu cause the car not to go in gear? (Car was flooded to floorboard). Thanks Fam.

yeah, just sell the car broken.

you want to chase down the problems to a flooded car? tis gonna be expensive.
pull the whole interior out and look for water logged shit.
if the car starts, the ECU is working.

thanks for a response. car was working fine prior to insurance company messing with it, even after the flood. (only thing was it didn't go into gear). If I can fix it cheaply then I will do it.

well it could be the ECU, it could be lots of things.
gotta go in there,tear every thing out and find the problem by troubleshooting..

could be a disconnected sensor :shrug:


If I read that correctly, the insurance fucked with it and now it wont go into gear...(so, you're gonna be asking the insurance what they did to it)

pull the ECU and look at the wire harness, check for corrosion.

if anything is corroded, clean it up or replace.

All water was cleaned... trying to see what the options for programming the ecu.

if the car starts....ecu and immobilizor are working correctly.

any check engine lights>?

car does not start now. I didn't know what the insurance company did to it. But all the warning lights from VSA, ABS, battery etc etc is on. When plugged into scan tool it pops up error linking to bad ecu. before going to the tow yard car was able to start but not able to get into gear. Thanks for all the responses.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...2c100121f5.jpg

MODERATOR NOTE: Thread moved to model specific forum.

Thank you for providing this info. your Original Post was not very clear.

buy new or used ecu. have acura or honda reprogram the immobilizer.
there is no way around that, unless you want to buy an HDS(honda diagnostic system) for this instance. which would be expensive for a one time thing. you can try an older HDS system found on ebay...but again, spending hundreds of dollars for a HDS for a one time deal isnt ideal

Would I require to take the car there or would I just provide a vin with the new/used ecu? for the HDS, I will look up info on this. Honda just quoted 165, but the service guy didn't know wtf he talking...

ECM Failure
 

I had the recall work done back in 2014 (cover installed) and now in 2020 the ECM finally did corrode and fail. This tells me the recall did not fix the issue. Local Acura delayed said too bad because they "fixed" the recall issue already.

Quote on new ECM is $2500....

Thoughts?

junkyard

im having the current recall problem, but the dealer is trying to deny the problem even though the ecu is obviously corroded.

Well my car went into limp mode (wouldn't go above like 20mph) less than a month after having the recall procedure done. I didn't have the money to pay someone to diagnose and fix whatever was causing it so I researched and did the diagnostics myself. Replaced the throttle actuator module but still no go..after that I was stumped for months bc from everything I learned about car electrical systems I thought the ECU was the only thing left that cld be the problem. I figured I had to be overlooking something bc the cars ECU had just been "fixed". Well turns out my ECU was so corroded one of the IC chips had legs literally disintegrate!! I hadn't even driven 100 miles between the dealership and this problem and my car stayed garaged! The night it messed up it had started raining but before that we hadn't had rain here in over a month.

I looked into the recall and found out that the only way they were to actually replace a corroded ECU is if ONE particular DTC showed up on their scan tool...P0606..which is absolute BS!! In the instruction for the service dept it actually said for them to wipe the corrosion off the ECU housing and install the cover, so the employees at the dealership followed the protocol they were given. It's the big wigs of Acura who are to blame.

Anyway, if you haven't already gotten your ECU replaced, your best bet is finding one at a junk yard or pull your part place. I got one off eBay and switched out the immobilizer chips between them. At first I swapped the wrong IC chip like an idiot but once I got the right one switched my car drove fine..it just didn't take long after that for the starter to go out and the alternator!! Ugh! Anyway, if youre interested in more detail as far as getting past the immobilizer for free (well other than the time taken to desolder & solder a small chip) let me know.

Here's what I found when I finally just decided to pull more trim outta the interior of my car....the massively corroded ECU!!

What's crazy is I'd been taking voltage and resistance measurements from the connectors on the opposite side of the ECU before giving up for awhile and eventually saying the hell with it and pulling more trim out and I hadn't noticed the corrosion from the other side.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...25ba50de2b.jpg
Here's a pic of the circuit board...
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...7f1e1a8328.jpg

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https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...ac142c0e2.jpeg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...e5581f89f.jpeg
Mine legs aint broken but the ic chip is definitely corroded. Driver side board. And look at what i circled in green. For my situation, there is no communication. But dealer wont grant the ecm replacement. Such scammer.

Yep, you found similar service dept instructions as what I found..

​​​​​They are def in the wrong with this issue and I can 100% confidently say that yes (if Acura was honestly attempting to right their wrong with these ECUs) then you would be owed a replacement no question whatsoever!!

I say that because the area where your ECU is corroded is the EXACT spot where the corrosion is on every single ECU in this model car that I've seen with corrosion (and I can honestly say I've seen more corroded ECUs than ones without...insane right!?) Im talking ones for sale online (I've taken several screen shots of different listings all over the internet where the housing has noticeable discoloration right in that area (back corner of drivers side) AND went to several junk yards and used parts places in my area but every single ECU I found for my car was corroded.

Acura should know full well that your cars ECU corrosion issue is undoubtedly due to their recall not solving the problem! Omg, this has had me so burned up with anger for so long!!
They got away with what was basically carrying out a "fake" recall. Slapping on a 0.001¢ plastic piece pretending to fix things but

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