Mate's got an Espace and several times now he's been stranded courtesy of the key immobiliser.

He got wise to the key battery going flat and now carries a spare. But the problem still keeps happening. Most frustrating as it involves a tow truck and shelling out 27 quid to a dealer to re-programme the key.

Anybody got any ideas as to how to fix this?

Nigel

I had a similar problem with the Scoob a couple of weeks ago. Left the car at my sisters, came back a few hours later and it wouldn't open. Tried new batteries in the key fob, but this didn't help. Ended up calling Subaru assistance - the guy suspected a voltage drop on the car battery. When this happens, the alarm goes into a fail-safe tamper mode and won't disarm using the remote control.

We ended up opening the door with the key (setting off the alarm at 11:30PM, oh dear...) then charging the battery from the recovery truck. After a couple of seconds we tired the remote control and it opened!

So it might be worth your mate getting the battery drop tested to check the voltage it is holding - you can get this done for free at Kwik Fit.

Chris