ECU unlocking

Why an ECM needs unlocking

Manufacturers protect the calibration in the engine controller. On many later vehicles nothing can be written to it — by us or anyone else — until that protection is removed. Unlocking is a physical process performed on the module itself, by HP Tuners, arranged on our account as part of the tune that requires it — it is not something we sell on its own.

Some ECMs cannot be unlocked. We will say so.

This is where the industry gets slippery. Certain manufacturer-locked controllers cannot be opened at all, by anybody, at any price. If yours is one of them we will tell you on the phone before you ship anything, rather than taking the order and delivering bad news later.

• We confirm whether your specific ECM is unlockable before you commit
• Turnaround is quoted before the module ships
• If it cannot be unlocked, you have not spent anything

How the unlock actually happens

After you order, we email you an HP Tuners order number on our account. You remove the module — the ECU, and the TCM if that is locked too — package it and ship it to HP Tuners. They unlock it and send it back by air: to us if the car is being tuned here, or to you if you are not local.

We pay HP Tuners for that return when we place the order, so it is billed when you order, once for the whole order: $100 for 2-day air or $140 for next-day. Sending the module to HP Tuners is at your cost.