Hi All,

I was at the supermarket the other day and when I got back to the car the electronic gizmo on the key wouldn't open the doors / turn the alarm off / disarm the immobiliser. After returning to the shop and buying a screwdriver and a variety of batteries, I got the battery changed but still no joy. I managed to get into the car with the traditional key and turn the immobiliser off with the keypad, but this is not something I want to do every day so I called my garage for a replacement.

It turns out its £220 for a new key, £95 to reprogram it, plus VAT - £385 and change.

This seems a bit steep, considering I have the original. Surely someone has come up with a way to replace a £2 circuit board for less than the cost of a laptop?

Any suggestions would be gratefully received.

cheers

Jackie

 

Which car do you have? Is there an aerial mast close to the said supermarket? Police, ambulance etc?

 

As mentioned, it was porbably the above, radio lockout. Most Tesco's have some sort of poilce station/aerial mast that affects it.

You don't need a new key, and if if you did, it can be programmed for free using a guide on here.
My suggestion would be don't get a new key. If when it happends again (I'm sure this was your first time judging by the post), just use the keypad. It's what its there for.

You should be please that you know the PIN for the keypad, as when this catches some people out, they don't know it, and have to have their car recovered.

 

Thanks for your responses.

I had searched the forums for similar problems, but the radio lockout from Tetra masts seems to be an issue for pre-2001 cars. Mine is a UK 2005 impreza WRX 5-door.

I got the car home with the keypad (I wish I could say I was organised enough to know the code, but fortunately I know my local dealer and he was able to retrieve the code for me from some Subaru database...).

However, I have since changed the battery in the non-working fob and it still does not work. This has to be the fob's issue rather than the car's, as the other fob works perfectly.

Can a fob lose it's coding by running out of battery, or is this more likely to be a busted circuit? And more importantly, can I fix it myself without getting stung for 400 notes?

 

They have been known to lose the setting. But as you now know the code now, try a recode: https://www.scoobynet.com/showpost.p...75&postcount=2

The reason it cost so much, apart from them trying to rip you off, is because yours is an all in one key/fob isn't it?

If so, you can purchase just a new separate fob, 32 quid new from Subaru, or a secondhand one, and use the above to code it yourself.

 

It is a single key fob. I've tried reprogramming it, but still nothing. I'm looking for the SACC3507 PCB part on ebay / partspool, but nothing yet - I may try the dealer on Monday to see if they can get me the part for £40, which I like a lot better than £400.

 

Just buy a single fob then. They are in abundant supply on ebay, or even 2 for sale on here. By the sounds of it, you have a spare key, so if you dont like the separate fob, use it only as a spare.
You wont have to pay 400 quid at all.