Bosch M7.9.8 and M79 Immo Off for Hyundai i30, i10, Accent, Elantra and Kia Ceed, Picanto

A Kia Ceed 1.4 from 2008 comes in on a trailer. It cranks, doesn’t fire, and the immobiliser light stays on. Fault codes: P1690 (SMARTRA no response) and P1693 (antenna coil fault). The customer’s previous garage swapped the ignition barrel with a used one to cure a sticking key, and that’s when it stopped. On the ECU label, under the Kia number 39110-2B522, it says Bosch M7.9.8.

Two Bosch generations, one immobiliser problem

M79 is the older of the two, fitted from the early 2000s to the Accent LC, Elantra XD and first Kia Picanto SA with the small petrol engines. M7.9.8 replaced it around 2006 on the Gamma and Kappa engines: i30 FD, Ceed ED, i10, early i20, Accent MC. Both use a serial EEPROM on the board for the immobiliser data and both talk to SMARTRA, the Smart Transponder Antenna, which is the small module at the ignition barrel that reads the key chip and holds the vehicle’s immobiliser PIN. M79 cars are SMARTRA 2 on most versions; M7.9.8 cars are mostly SMARTRA 3, though there are overlaps, so check the connector on the module rather than the model year.

References from our shelf, in the form they appear in the shop:

• KIA CEED M7.9.8 0261S05598 39110-2B522 GED A44CFS0 IMMO OFF DUMP
• HYUNDAI I30 M7.9.8 39112-2B202 GFD AH6CFS1 IMMO OFF DUMP
• HYUNDAI I10 M7.9.8 39112-2B200 GFD 8H6CFS2 IMMO OFF DUMP
• HYUNDAI ACCENT M7.9.8 39101-26AD1 GMC 644DFS4 IMMO OFF DUMP
• HYUNDAI ACCENT M79 39110-22905 9030930123F LCG1I30 IMMO OFF DUMP
• HYUNDAI ELENTRA M79 39109-26740 9030930146F XDE1I62 IMMO OFF DUMP
• KIA PICANTO M79 39110-02055 9030930496F SAE4IS14 IMMO OFF DUMP

The 391xx number is the Hyundai/Kia part; the short codes (GFD AH6CFS1, LCG1I30 and so on) identify the engine variant and calibration. For M7.9.8 there’s also a Bosch 0261S number on the label. The 391xx number is the one that must match. Same engine, different market, different calibration code, and a mismatch shows up as idle and cold-start complaints.

What immo off does here and what it doesn’t

An immo off dump for M7.9.8 or M79 is the EEPROM (not the flash) with the immobiliser status set to ‘not fitted’ and the SMARTRA pairing cleared. Write it and the ECU stops asking SMARTRA for anything; the car starts on any key that turns the lock. Which brings the obvious point: you have removed the immobiliser. For a bench engine, a car exported to a market where it doesn’t matter, or a vehicle where the SMARTRA is dead and a replacement plus dealer PIN programming costs more than the car, that’s a reasonable trade. For a road car kept in the EU or Turkey, the correct fix is a SMARTRA and key programming session with the PIN (the six-digit code from the dealer against the VIN, or extracted with a key tool such as Zed-Full or Tango). We say this on every Hyundai immo job because customers do come back after the car is stolen.

Bench procedure

1. Pull the ECU. On the Ceed and i30 it’s on the bulkhead behind the engine; on the Picanto and Accent it’s in the cabin on most versions.
2. Open the case and find the serial EEPROM near the main connector. Read it with UPA, XProg or Orange5 in circuit with a clip if the board allows, or lift it. Save the original read.
3. Compare your read with the immo off dump for your 391xx number. The rest of the EEPROM (adaptations, VIN on some versions) should follow the same layout; if it doesn’t, you’ve got the wrong file or a different revision, so stop and send us the read.
4. Write the immo off dump, refit, and start. No SMARTRA-related codes should return. If P1690 comes back, the ECU is still looking for the antenna and the write didn’t take.

Back to the Ceed. The used barrel had come with its own SMARTRA still attached, coded to another car. Fitting the customer’s original SMARTRA to the used barrel would have solved it for nothing. The garage had already binned it. So: immo off dump for 39110-2B522, written on the bench in twenty minutes, and a long conversation with the owner about what the car now doesn’t have.

The dumps are listed under M7.9.8 and M79, with the wider set on the Hyundai brand page. If your 391xx number isn’t there, send the EEPROM read and a label photo via the request form and we’ll prepare one from it.