Engine Immobilizer

Okay, so this isn't exactly Tacoma related.

I just bought my wife a 2003 Rav4 (for the gas mileage and future safety of my beloved Tacoma) and it seems that the engine immobilizer has been removed. According to carfax the car had been repossessed at one point early in its life. I would assume that after the repo guys towed it off the bank had the immobilizer removed because they didn't want the hassle of finding or buying the key for it.

I'm just curious if it is even possible to remove and still use the vehicle, maybe they just unplugged it?

p.s. this forum is way better than the Rav4 forum that I joined, Rav4world.com

 

any thoughts?

 

Don't have what?

 

i *thought* I read somewhere that Toyota immobilizers were tied into the engine computer and could not be bypassed. Does your key have a little 2 mm 'dot' near where the plastic side is? This is the electronic key for the immobilizer.

For what it is worth, I installed a fuel cut off switch in my 4Runner which was a pretty good immobilizer. Unless somebody wanted to tow the car away, if you didn't know there was a toggle switch, and where it was located, it would have taken a long time to diagnose and bypass.

 

I have taken possession of the Rav4. I didn't realize that the key wasn't the original key until after I left the sealership. I was under the impression that the immobilizer was standard equipment, I could be wrong about that, but it is a Limited and I would have assumed that the immobilizer and keyless entry would have been a basic equipment option.

If I can just buy a new key/keyfob and get the keyless working that would be great, but an aftermarket alarm with remote start would also be pretty cool.

Mingy, I also have a bypass switch on my '69 Camaro, I've just bypassed the starter, basicly the same thing. I might go ahead a do it to the Rav when I get the chance.

 

I went with the fuel pump because I figured 'it just doesn't start' has a lot more potential fixes, so they wouldn't necessarily know there was a cut off, just that the vehicle would not start.

 

How many miles on it and did they disclose the problem. Youcould have acase of not full disclosure and then ask the Stealer to fix the prob...that is what I would try on him.

 

it has 80k on it, and I don't know if it really qualifies as a problem. The car runs fine, and as I stated before, I am only speculating that it had these options.