Help!!! 00 Galant DE ECM problems?

[hawkeye217]

My 2000 Galant DE died on the highway last week going 60mph and no longer starts - I took it to a shop and they diagnosed the problem as a bad ECM (they say they're 99% sure). The shop replaced the ECM with a used ECM from a salvaged 2000 Galant, but apparently from what they've told me is that the ECM is tied to the immobilizer, and in order to get the used ECM to work, I'd need the immobilizer from the vehicle where the ECM was pulled from.

The shop called the local Mitsubishi dealer and they couldn't (or perhaps refused) to tell them if they replaced the immobilizer in my vehicle with the one in the salvaged vehicle if it would actually cause my car to start again.

I don't want to pay a dealer $1500 for a new ECM and/or immobilizer, so I'm trying to figure out an action plan. But I really am fairly clueless about all of this... Does anyone have any more expertise in this area than I do?

Would replacing the immobilizer with the one in the salvaged vehicle fix the problem? Are there any other electronics tied to the ECM or the immobilizer that would cause the vehicle not to start if they were both replaced?

Thanks so much!!!

[RedGalant2k1]

The ECM and immobilizer must be programmed, or in this case may require to be flashed. Generally the immobilizer will come up if the wrong key is used in attempt to start the car. More than likely the original key you have isn't recognized by the new (used) ECU/ECM and it threw a immobilizer code.

Unless this shop can reprogram the EPROM/ECU you will have to go to the dealership, and be towed.

[hawkeye217]

The ECM and immobilizer must be programmed, or in this case may require to be flashed. Generally the immobilizer will come up if the wrong key is used in attempt to start the car. More than likely the original key you have isn't recognized by the new (used) ECU/ECM and it threw a immobilizer code.

Unless this shop can reprogram the EPROM/ECU you will have to go to the dealership, and be towed.

I think the shop is going to replace both the ECM and the immobilizer with one from a salvaged Galant, which are already "matched"... So hopefully that will fix the problem, because it's cheaper to install the salvaged immobilizer than it is to get it towed to a dealership and reflashed. Crazy, huh?