Immobilizer, Keyless Lock, Instrument Cluster Help

Response from Matt at Texas Hybrids.

What keeps people from rolling back their odometer when having this repair work done?

Nothing really. If somebody wants to role back an odometer there's always a way. That applies to all cars. We put a lot of checks in place to make sure that our services are not being used for those activities. This is why I always recommend getting a service history on any used Prius to make sure that the odometer hasn't been altered.

Are there any safeguards in place?

Nope.

I was always under the understanding that mileage was recorded in two separate places, one in the odometer and another in the ECU. The one recorded in the ECU was supposedly not able to be altered.

Yes this is true for most newer cars but wasn't the case for the second generation Prius.

 

If your purchasing a car with documented service history then you can rest assured that the mileage is accurate but if there is no history, buyer beware.

 

As soon as I get my next paycheck I will be ordering the instrument cluster from Texas Hybrid.
I will keep you posted and let you know if it resolves all the problems I listed at the beginning of this thread.

 

Doing my part and being faithful to this community I thought I would summarize this experience.
I chose to use the remanufactured circuit board from Texas Hybrid. It was more expensive, but I did not want to risk taking the dash out and not solve my problem. The circuit board was not only remanufactured but also tested. In the event this did not solve the problems I would have at least eliminated one thing.
Replacing the instrument panel circuit board did away with all the problems. Hey!
If you are contemplating doing this repair a full set of dash vents can be purchased on eBay for around $60.00. When everyone says that these vent covers are fragile that's a true understatement. I think just one can be purchased but I doubt it would match the existing one. In my case I needed all four. I was as careful as anyone could be but they just cracked. Maybe the vents are so fragile as a result of being baked inside the car for 17 years.

 

It's been a while since the last posting on this thread.
I feel I owe it to the community and anyone else that might proceed down this path that the final step in replacing the instrument cluster with a remanufactured unit is that you will most likely have to recalibrate your fuel gauge. See the attached file.