Tech Question for the Automotive Gurus

Granny

Granny

One day at a time...
Joined
Jun 12, 2007
Location
Cabarrus County (Rimertown)
I just found out my old '96 Camry has a bad computer. That is according to the fellows who worked on it. I know them, and respect their knowledge, so I assume it does have a bad computer. The boneyard right up the road from me has several of this model/year and told me no problem in pulling the computer out of one of them. What I need to hear from you Gurus is your opinions as to whether or not you think that might work. Thanx! :beer:
 
rodney eppes said:
But will it pass Inspection. Was it 96, or later, when DMV starting matching computer #s to VIN #s?
Click to expand...
That's why he said you'd need to reflash the vin. If you're in an emissions county when they scan the car it will compare the ecu vin to the registration. They would still pass it but it would red flag the inspection station at the dmv and force an audit. I've seen that first hand. It would be a big headache for all involved for sure, my shop had to lawyer up to keep its station license. Dmv would want to do their own inspection on the car too.

If you got the junkyard computer reflashed with the correct vin, either by an aftermarket tuner or the dealer it's a non issue. Costs a little more up front but no headaches down the road.

Sent from my HTC6545LVW using Tapatalk
 
I drove it all the way home from the shop, approx 10 miles with no engine light. The next morning approximately 5 mile before the engine light came on. I am thinking there is a good chance the old computer may hold long enough to pass inspection. So... I keep the old computer and put it back in for inspection. This car has close to 320k miles on it. I bought it new. I recently put new tires on it and would like to keep it running long enough to wear them out. After that, maybe time to shop for a small pickup truck... probably Toyota or Nissan. Appreciate the replies! :beer::beer::beer:

BTW: This is a second car. I kept it for convenience. Wife has a new CRV, I still have my CJ-5 and my faithful old 12-valve Dodge. I'm not without transportation. :)
 
You need a decent (>$2000) scanner to do it. You can stop in at my shop and I'll do it real cheap for you, but other than that, maybe someone on here down your way has a scanner and willing to help out..
 
As far as getting it suspected, even if you don't get it flashed, don't worry about it much. It won't fail just for that. Some ecus cannot reflash vin. Example, early Chrysler ecus have the VIN but my scanner won't rewrite it. No inspection issues (96+ vehicle)
 
Back
Top