# A cool Maestro bonus: instrument cluster repair



## [email protected] (Jul 1, 2009)

Recently I found out from C.Tapp that Maestro automatically turns off the Immobilizer system on our cars. Called "Immo Defeat" this now allows installation of a non-matching instrument cluster. Granted, you get a CEL, but the car is drivable, allowing you to send in the original cluster for refurbishment. With that barrier gone, I decided to fix the broken fuel gauges and buggy LCD display. After buying a used cluster off Ebay, I undertook the swap. Here's the process in pix, which takes all of 20 minutes to do: 


Remove 3 torque screws to drop the lower dash 











Remove the screw on one side of the cluster 











...then on the other 











The cluster now pulls forward from the bottom 











Rotate it around for access to the wiring harness connectors 











Unsnap each in turn 











Replacement is a reverse of this process. For repair I sent the cluster to BBA-reman. They turned around the original cluster within only a matter of days. But with Immobilizer defeated, I never lost use of the car. Very handy for daily commuters. :thumbup:


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## Doooglasss (Aug 28, 2009)

Double bonus- Maestro has full control of codes and how they are reported :thumbup:

Not sure what CEL you received, however, all trouble codes are listed in Maestro and can be changed to be either: listed as just a stored code, show up as a CEL, or neither.


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## jedge1.8t (Jan 27, 2012)

Maestro able to clear the cel for swapping clusters?


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## [email protected] (Jul 1, 2009)

C.Tapp tells me that Maestro can't completely over-ride the car's Immobilizer functionality. You still get a blinking icon on the dash. But that's pretty minor for the few days it takes to turn around a refurbished cluster.


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## Doooglasss (Aug 28, 2009)

My car is using a cluster out of a 2005 TT and a ECU out of some later model wideband mk4.

No CEL. No lights.


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## [email protected] (Jul 1, 2009)

Early model year cars didn't yet have Immobilizer III. The FrankenTT is a wideband '04, yet Maestro can nevertheless preserve the car's usability during the repair period.


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## .MiCh. (Oct 18, 2007)

[email protected] said:


> For repair I sent the cluster to BBA-reman.


 How much do they charge?


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## [email protected] (Jul 1, 2009)

300 smackers. You can find them on Ebay.


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## johnpinetree (Sep 5, 2012)

Did they also replace the LCD?


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## johnpinetree (Sep 5, 2012)

johnpinetree said:


> Did they also replace the LCD?


 Nevermind, just reread the post. Are they stateside? Few days isn't that bad to be biking around...


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## lite1979 (Sep 9, 2005)

Yes they're stateside. I was going to send mine to Massachusetts when I was having cluster issues, but at the time they couldn't fix the immobilizer III chip on my cluster, so I got a used one for $150 off ebay and paid the dealer to code it to my ECU and key. I have a 2001 225 CQ, fwiw.


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## 20vNB (Feb 12, 2002)

lite1979 said:


> Yes they're stateside. I was going to send mine to Massachusetts when I was having cluster issues, but at the time they couldn't fix the immobilizer III chip on my cluster, so I got a used one for $150 off ebay and paid the dealer to code it to my ECU and key. I have a 2001 225 CQ, fwiw.


I got an 04 So I think I would have to bring in to dealer to code as well, how much did they charge you


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## elgringogillao (Jun 1, 2005)

DougLoBue said:


> Double bonus- Maestro has full control of codes and how they are reported :thumbup:
> 
> Not sure what CEL you received, however, all trouble codes are listed in Maestro and can be changed to be either: listed as just a stored code, show up as a CEL, or neither.


Hey Doug just a quick question on this... I just installed a new to me cluster in my TT. I am thinking because the ecm I have now is not the original and is immo defeated it would not allow me to pair the key. Is there a way to stop the immo light from flashing and reporting this?


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