Lost keys
 

Hello,
My daughter's boyfriend has given me his 2001 Impreza GX AWD.
When he purchased it he was given only one key. During their house moving the key was lost so the car sat for months. A friend of his said he would put a push start button in for him. After demolishing the key barrel and failing to work out why he couldn't start the car with a screwdriver it was left until I had a look at it. Recognising the transponder bezel swinging off the column along with the key sensor I explained to my young "possible" future son-in-law that it was buggered. The car sat for a few months more and he has given me the car and the logbook to do with as I will.
(Sorry. Thought I would offer a bit of back story)

I can not find any information for bypassing the transponder without having at least one registered key. I can also not find any information for disabling the transponder. I'm sure this is due to it being part of the anti theft system and would be thieves do not need this information readily available.
Is there a reputable garage that could help with a work around somewhere near or in Suffolk, Uk. Or near the south east at least.
Otherwise it looks like an new ignition barrel, the whole barrel assembly that connects to the steering column and a new set of keys plus reprogramming and that is going to be a whole lot more than this car is worth.

Thank you for any help you can give.

Have you got the card in the manuals with the code on for a replacement key?

I don't seem to have that.
I have the owners manual, two service and warranty booklets. One blue, one white and old MoT's, recipes for work done. And, of course, the log book.
That's all I have as far as documents, paperwork etc.

if its a sigma alarm u may be able to trace the security code via your vin number. either through sigma ?? or a Subaru dealer. simply put u need the keys! and both of the little buggers. had a bad experience before xmas my fob fell on floor at garage , the lot fell to bits. and was 11 miles away from my spare , at least I have one I thought! thankfully I managed to piece the bits together. have u found them yet?

Try a breakers yard for a complete lock set with the blackbox and transponder to go with it. Not sure if you you would need the ecu also. You should be able to get what you need for under £100 as thats approximately what a newage wrx set would cost.

I would need to remove the key barrel housing as the one in this car is not serviceable. Would I need the transponder key bezel or would I just need to trace the wired to the transponder and then to the ecu?

As far as I understand it. The transponder checks for the chip in the key. It then checks the number the key chip is transmitting against the numbers that are stored in the transponder. If the number isn't recognised the ecu then interrogates the key chip and if that passes it will allow the engine to start. Is that correct? If so, by removing the transponder will the vehicle not start with a push button or does the transponder have to send a signal to the ecu to say everything is ok to start?

I have they key fob that deactivates the alarm and locks/unlocks the car. My daughters boyfriend has simply lost the one key he had. However with his friend literally obliterating the key barrel and housing I'm really at a lose as to how to get this car back up and running.

I know the breakers yard near me has a few Impreza's. if I went the route of replacing the locks/transponder I would need to retrieve the ignition barrel housing, ignition barrel, key (of course), transponder and transponder key bezel (maybe?).

Oh how I wish he could just find the key.

what happened next?...unresolved threads are sooooo unhelpful! :-(

You're right it isn't helpful. Spent so long trying to fix it I'd forgotten to update this thread. Long story short, there were other problems with the car and it wasn't an economical fix so I got ride of it.

sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

Thanks for the update, even tho' it was a sad outcome anyway:-(