ECU Swap for Key Replacements (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
Feb 2, 2021
Threads
18
Messages
113
Location
Louisville, KY
So I only have one valet key to my 1998 LX 470. I've done my homework and it looks like Mauser is the resident expert. He has offered to send my a "virginized" EÇU to swap with my existing one so I can add a couple of master keys. I found the ECU with no problem (and discovered I need to change my cabin air filters lol). Is there anything I need to know? Can swapping ECU's cause an issue? I obviously trust Mauser (because you guys trust him and who else does this stuff just for donations to a food bank?) Just curious if anyone has gone this route? Seems strait forward 1) Disconnect the battery 2) remove old ECU 3) install new ECU 4) hook up the battery and the ECU is then in program mode allowing new keys to be added. Am I missing anything? Again Mauser seems to be a very honest stand up guy and I have no doubt he knows what he's doing... just looking for gotchas.
 
Yep, @Mauser is a great guy, and it works beautifully.

I’d suggest making sure that part number that you install, matches the part number that you remove. On my first attempt, I used a “spare” ECU from a parted out 1999 LX470, in our 1999 LX470, just in case there were issues I could fall back to the original ECU. I realized that the part numbers were slightly different when I started the install, but the other ECU seemed to work fine. As we were driving through the mountains, I noticed that I was no longer able to disable overdrive 🙁. Had Mauser “do his magic” on the original ECU, and everything is back to working as expected.
 
Last edited:
It really IS that easy.

I did the Mauser ECU swap in my 1999 a few months ago and it was a non event. I followed these two instructional videos to get the keys registered to the ECU and then program the key fob.



 
Ordered my keys tonight 1 OEM master with fob, one OEM sub and a non-OEM cheapo master to have for emergencies. I’ll reprogram the current valet once the new master is paired with the ECU. Cheers!
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom