hi, i felt pretty stupid the night before last stranded at a motorway services unable to start my impreza.

nothing wrong with the car.......it was the batteries in the key fob. i've a my00 turbo and couldn't get the immobilizer to click off, or turn the alarm on.

no batteries to be found in esso station or any of the shops at the services.

i tried countless times and kept taking and putting back in the batteries.

at this point i was about to ring directline rescue, so i opened the bonnet and tried one last time...............

it worked

i think this was luck rather than anything to do with the bonnet being open

didn't stop before i got home and got 2 batteries from a watch shop the next day.

is there anyway to start the car without the fob, ie with key etc. ? does that key pad in the glove box help at all ?

but PM me if there is so as not to tell all the car thieves how to do it.


cheers matt

 

Enter the PIN code into the key pad then use the key as normal.

 

Warming up the batteries for a few minutes will do the trick for a few last zaps not so easy in the cold service stations

 

Don't think batteries are your problem. You'll probably find the services is near a radio mast - well know for producing exactly the symptooms you describe in a MY00. Holding it over the nearside wiper used to work for me (eventually).

tiggers

 

cheers, just tried it, drivers door open or the alarm goes off.

 

The alarm will sound until the code is put in, then it stops.

 

unfortunatly this problem happens to a great number of us... The fob will not interact with the immob unit due to the signal interference from nearby masts...

Either enter the immob pin manually or try putting the fob well near the immob unit - this has worked in the past for a number of us...

Gareth
from http://www.subaru-impreza.org

 

Your problem with the masts, freq etc if you go into your dealer it cost £40 all in thats supply of new alarm brain module and fitting And the best thing is when you get this done you get a NEW PIN CODE for your glove box keypad so no-one will have it except you as the older some of the Classics get the more hands they change the more people know the code. Get it done will save you all the hassle again and maybe even your car one day.
I got this done on my P1 the day i purchsed it

 

I thought you could change the code on them anyway?

 

should my98 uk turbo have one of these keypads u talk about?

 

Agree with phone masts. Had the same problem in my MY00 until I got the dealer to change the alarm ECU for free but watch out some of them want to charge you for it so try phoning round a few.

 

This happened to me a few weeks back on the 405. The key fob activates the alarm/immob, but it wouldnt open the doors or de-activate. I opened the doors with the key and the alarm went ff, so I disconnected the battery.

This stopped the alarm, but was still immob'd.

It takes 3 of those watch type batteries, but I had no spares so as a last resort I connected the terminals up to on of those 12v batteries (the ones you can lick for a shock ) and hey presto it worked.

So if it happens again, try buying a square 12v battery and using that.

 

Bet you are carrying spare batteries now.

Les

 

thanks for the replies,

i think it was the batteries because the little red LED (under the "u" of subaru) on the key fob wasn't lighting up.

cheers matt

 

whats this keypad thing your all on about?

 

inside the glovebox, top right.

and i read up in the handbook last night you can change the pin and set it to "super lock" where the fob doesn't work and you need the pin. eg. leaving at long term airport parking.

 

or when nogood types mug you and steal the keys they can't get your scooby started without the pin.

 

so they come back and mug you again for the pin.....................

 

Thats strange as we have two mobile mast sites at work at two of our industrial estateswhich i have parked close to on numerous occasions in both my old MY99 and my new 04 and i have never had the slightest problem

 

How do you find out your pin then?
is it in the manual or something?

 

i had my p1 done foc

 

My dealer changed my unit to cure this problem FOC.

Top tip: hold the key fob under the wheel arch, off side if it happens again.

F

 

I went to visit someone working for SouthWest Trains in the summer.
I parked in the yard, about 5 ft away from a new Electric train.

We had to push the car accross the carpark before the remote would deactivate the imobiliser.
So it certainly can be caused by electrical interference.

 

(GEDDON) You can get the PIN from the previous owner, in the log book. Only give your phone number when you write though, he has your PIN remember!

Another trick, is to put the fob to your head, this creates an amplified signal through your arm and often sorts the problem out.