Consider this a warning - apologies to non-Bournemouth readers.

Twice in the last three days I've seen my healthy Scoob leave Bournemouth town centre on a low-loader. Both times, it was parked near the Old Christchurch Road / Holdenhurst Road roundabout. In both cases, the car won't lock & alarm on the keyfob, and won't disable the immobilizer with either the keyfob or the keypad.

The first time, Sunday evening, I was forced to abandon the car, locked by the key but otherwise insecure. I had the car moved to Chapelgate Subaru on Monday morning. They found no problem with the car - a MY00 Impreza Turbo, no mods, standard Sigma alarm/immobiliser. It locked, unlocked, started etc. They also ran the alarm system diagnostic with Sigma equipment.

I had the car returned to me, and all was well until I parked in roughly the same area - about 6-700 metres away - this evening. I had exactly the same trouble. I had the car moved about 1km (to Winton, for locals) and the car started perfectly. I drove home (not Bournemouth) with no touble.

This is a warning to all Scoob owners in the Bournemouth area. The dealer, Chapelgate, have anecdotal evidence that at least one other owner has trouble in this area. I'm frequently in that area of Bournemouth, as recently as last week, and have never had trouble. I suggest that if something similar happens, you get your car moved then try to start it again. The evidence seems to suggest some kind of radio interference.

Sorry if this doesn't make sense - I'm intensely angry and don't know what else to do but ask if anyone else knows a solution. For the moment, I don't dare go back to central Bournemouth.

 

I live in Leeds and I have experienced similar in the Granary Wharf carpark. It does seem to be from phone transmitters. Never had to tow, managed to get it to work by shielding with body or car, trial & error.

Bloody mobile phones, I'm sure we're all getting cooked slowly.

 

I've had this problem too at thurrock lakeside, outside comets.
Close by is a large transmitter mast, and i could only lock up with key.
That was in my my00, i've yet to try it in my my03.

dave.

 

Had a similar thing on my motorbike, parked on the Olivers Mount circuit at Scarborough near the phone mast. If they do this to your vehicle just think what all this radiation does to a person.
Sound like a phone mast to me, must be one in the area.
STEVE..............

 

Davek,

How could you get the car moving again? I could get into the car and switch on the ignition, but not start the engine.

 

Its to do with mobile phone transmitters,some of the subaru assisitance drivers know this and just low-load the car away so far then its fine again,we had a whole article on this on our local BBC news.(Bristol)

 

Newbury Town Centre is the same!!

The home of Vodafone!!

Pete

 

If you get this trouble (and I have been there!) I read a top tip which ACTUALLY works from a car mag.

Press the keyfob against a bony part of your body - eg Chin, elbow etc, then press the button. Apparently this makes your body work like a large antenna and this can some times give enough signal to get you out of trouble.

I know this works as I go to a pub which is opposite a large BT building and the car regularly will not lock/unlock, tried the keyfob pressed hard against my chin and hey presto!

Mind you I am pretty skinny & bony! LOL

 

Surprised Chapplegate helped you!

MB

 

was an article on the local tv station dont park near or under a phone mask subaru are aware!

 

I was about to say the same about ChapleGate!

Fire 107.6 are based just below Bar Med maybe its interference in a strange way!

Good luck with your problem, by the way, if you want a good "local" ish dealer use Vale in Yeovil.

Good Luck

Dan

 

I had the same problem a few years back with my Golf and a Clifford alarm. It was due to me being parked in a station car park near the overhead power lines. The Greenflag guy said he had had 4 cars with the same problem that week.

I was pushed to a bridge that gave some shielding and all was well.

Jon.

 

Umm guys/girls....... this would point to a problem with a transmitter/aerial.....

But it says in the original post that it did not work on the keypad either.

If it was a shielded signal, then would it not work fine with the keypad?
Isn't this a "hardwired" conection?

 

Had exaclty the same issue at M1 services at Tibshelf and Newport Pagnel. Haven't had it check by a garage yet but I can't believe the alarm is knackered.

 

Shadow,

Yes, exactly my point. Either I've been given the wrong immobiliser code (didn't get the stickers from the previous owner, but the dealer found it from Sigma), or it's just a transmitter. I need to find somewhere where I can deliberately set off the alarm and try to disarm it with the code.

 

same thing near metro center, It some sort of radio wave and the alarm system thinks it being tamped with ?

 

I had the same in Blackpool town centre last year, and didn't have the override code with me - very embarrassing having to be towed away with hundreds of on lookers

Peter

 

Your home is the best place for this. Open the car with the key, not the alarm fob, and then enter the code in the keypad.

Use the alarm fob if the key pad doesn't work.

 

I know I won't be laughing when it happens to me, but I'm thinking of stopping my Tracker subscription and fitting a telephone mast

 

I can confirm that stopping at Newport Pagnall services on the M1 (northbound) will still prevent the keyfob from opening the car.

This happened to me on Saturday but opening the car with the key and using the keypad to deactivate the alarm worked with no problems.

 

I had the same problem with my Rado Vr6 in the trafford center car park manchester!

 

i have loads of probs with the alarm on my bugeye , alarm will go off but the lights don't flash.
then i drove to pick the missus up and the alarm was going lights flashing but the car still drove , well strange key fob does sod all ended up taking the live off the battery to shut it up , was tested at the dealers no problem with the alarm , even drove to the dealer with the alarm going and lights flashing and the tester said it was ok.
mine is only mech modded and a new digital radio

 

hey bashful, i have had a similar problem too and i also have a sigma alarm. its only happened a fel times but what i have found that works is, if it doesnt start when ya key is in ignition and all the car seems to do is endlessly turn over press the sigma button again, regardless of the 30 secound rule. it happened to me tonight while parked in the pavilion car park and some lame done-down saxo was having a little sneer before he 'raced' off to join his westover mates. me and the missus were a bit red faced, but gave the fast and the furious wannabies (more like 'the slow and the timid'!) a little lesson once scooby decided she was ready to go!

 

mb..... i agree with the chapelgate bit! still waiting for my call back about an interior plate....only 6 wekks ago!

 

FWIW, I did try opening it on the key, and the keypad worked fine... outside of Bournemouth. I also parked at the Marriot Hotel in Bmth last week, and was only able to 'get away' by repeated clicks of the plipper held up behind the rear-view mirror, where the antenna is supposed to be.

The fact is, it's no longer an issue for me. I've sold the car, not intemperately because of this, but this has left a bad taste at the end of a great ownership experience.

Finally, though, my experience of Chapelgate has been mixed. In a year's ownership they never managed to find a spare of the little plastic cover on the window-guiding flange on the driver's door. However, over my immobilisation problem, John Piper in the service department was the absolute model of good customer service - I recommend anyone to go directly to him (until they drop Subaru altogether).