Good advice for everyone buying secondhand - make sure all the key number info comes with the car (and radio code) and check that both remotes work.
Make sure you know wether the car you are looking at should have more than one remote.
Make sure you try both remotes. If one does not work, do not accept "oh, must just need new batteries" - swop the batteries from the good remote and try again. If it still does not work, insist on a replacement being obtained or negotiate a price reduction (then use it to buy a replacement).
With many cars nowadays, if you find yourself without a working remote you may have no way of being able to drive the car. Rover 800s (with superlocking) and 94 on Range Rovers have a system whereby you can input a code via the drivers door lock in just such an eventuality - but again, you need to know the correct code!! It should be on a card with the car. Don't know if other makes have this facility.
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Great advice.
When I bought my Omega I had no codes (auction purchase). Took it along to local Vauxhall dealer along with receipts to prove ownership and a week later they sent me a card with the security/radio/cd etc etc codes - £10 + VAT I think.
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I should also add to the above information to check the operation of the drivers door lock. If you ever need to input the Emergency Key Access code, it won't be much good if the lock is siezed up!!!
BTW you can keep your door / boot locks in tip top condition by filling them with grease regularly (at least once a year - more often if you use a jet wash). You can do this using a syringe and gen purpose grease or a spray can of white grease. This is especially important with locks that are little used (eg on cars with remote cdl operation). A sticky lock can be freed up
with a WD40-like product, but follow it up a few days later with grease. Filling the lock with grease is the key (pun intended) to keeping water and dirt out.
The reason you may not be able to drive your car without a working remote is that insurance companies like the immobilizer to be released ONLY by the remote, not by the door lock. This makes the car more secure. This will vary from car to car and is likely to affect newer cars.
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i had a problem with the remote on my 96 diesel laguna and had to press the immobiliser flasher to key in a code for 2 weeks -and that every time i started the car , adding 30 seconds at least to start up time but only if you got it right -one flash too many and it's time to start again!. Luckily these remotes are replaceable on recall free so check if they have been already. the remote system in this model is annoying and at times dangerous. I have found myself with the key switched off and the engine still running -have had to stall it to stop the engine. Also i have been able to start the engine without realising the immobiliser is on only for the engine to stop after a short distance -very very dangerous in the wrong place -always check that the immobiliser light is not flashing before driving off just in case.
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i had a problem with the remote on my 96 diesel laguna and had to press the immobiliser flasher to key in a code for 2 weeks -and that every time i started the car , adding 30 seconds at least to start up time but only if you got it right -one flash too many and it's time to start again!. Luckily these remotes are replaceable on recall free so check if they have been already. the remote system in this model is annoying and at times dangerous. I have found myself with the key switched off and the engine still running -have had to stall it to stop the engine. Also i have been able to start the engine without realising the immobiliser is on only for the engine to stop after a short distance -very very dangerous in the wrong place -always check that the immobiliser light is not flashing before driving off just in case.
I have recently purchased a P reg Laguna Petrol and one of the key fobs has stopped working. I have read about the recall of key fobs but is there a way of telling whether the key fobs I have are the original or whether they have been replaced? If I cannot tell from looking, how will I be able to find out?
Thanks for any help available!
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Most (all?) modern Citroen and Peugeots and many other marques release the immobilizer with a transponder chip in the key. This is read by a sensor when you turn the ignition on.
Contrary to what the dealers say, these keys can be "cloned" by some locksmiths. When I picked up my new-to-me Xsara, the dealer had made a new key as one had been broken. They only coded 2 of the 3 keys to match the engine management. The 3rd key would unlock the doors and turn the ignition on, but the immobilisor light wouldn't turn off and turning the key had no effect.
There is a secret (not so secret once opened) code that can be entered into the car (i don't know how, probably by connecting a computer) in order to program it to accept the new keys. The Ford and Fiat red keys do something similar.
Interestingly, the new Megane (If I have remembered correctly) doesn't have a card slot like the Laguna and Val Satis, but the car just knows when the owners card is nearby and unlocks and immobilises ready to start with the push button.
I wonder if the dealers have to keep the cards in lead-lined boxes or if there is a dealer setting to stop the car doing this.....
Good advice about the grease, that reminds me that I should really be doing that.
Ben
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Cyd, Good advice but I,m not so sure about the grease in locks.
A world apart I know but with Prison locks grease must never be used and graphite powder only is used by the Establishment locksmith.
Many years ago I did a weeks course at Chubbs Wolverhampton who manufacture all Prison locks and the use of grease in locks was akin to heresy and only the above can be used.
These locks are all lever type and grease used on the levers attracts dirt and the levers do not slide against each correctly.
Car locks at least of the older type are barrel locks and may be different in the use of grease but I doubt it.
Would be interesting to know what the manufactures say on this.
I admit to using WD40 and light oil in my locks but still look over my shoulder for the Chubbs man.
And a useless bit of information.....In the Midlands at least an expression used is "its a brahma" denoting something of exception quality or beauty. Like everyone else I believed this came from the Brahma bull. But not so... It relates to the Brahma lock which was considered the finest ever made.
alvin
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Take a look at my profile. I spent 10 years in Rover R+D Door Systems. I engineered the door locks into the 94MY Range Rover (made by HuF, who also do Merc, BMW & Volvo). I have also been heavily involved with locks from Valeo (all other Rover products and many other vehicles).
Prison locks do not have to live in the inhospitable environment that car door locks do. They have to suffer water ingress regularly, which brings all kind of nasty stuff with it (salt, grit etc).
HuF had their own special lock grease developed for them by Fuchs. They put about 1gram in every lock they make.
Believe me, with this type of lock, grease is a necessity.
Can't be 100% sure about Ford locks though (the sort with the cylindrical key). Check with the dealer.
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Well Cyd, With that experience yours would have to be the correct advice.
What about Vauxhall locks?? would you reccomend putting grease in those also.
alvin
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What about Vauxhall locks?? would you reccomend putting grease in those also.
Sorry to butt in here. When I stripped the door lock assembly on my old Mk3 Cavalier to replace the spring on the handle, I also stripped down the cylinder lock to do some preventitive maintenance, and found that it was already packed with grease by the manufactuer.
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Provided they are tumbler type locks, then yes. DD comments suggest they are. I reckon he was lucky to find grease still inside an old door lock.
Water under even moderate pressure (hose, car wash etc) can force its way past the little flap at the front of the lock, this washes out the grease and sets up corrosion. If the spring on the flap is the first bit to go then the problem gets rapidly worse. The water can also bring with it all sorts of chemicals & grit which the lock hates.
Once the grease is gone you can also get condensation in the lock in cold weather. This can then freeze in winter - hence frozen door locks.
So, keeping your lock full of grease is the best all round preventative maintenance you can do for it. Especially important now we have sophisticated immobilizers as explained above.
Of course, it's impossible to know whether your lock has plenty of grease in it or not without stripping it out, so just keep pumping more in on a regular basis. Most locks are open at the back end and so any excess grease will simply fall into the door cavity.
I use spray white grease with a plastic tube in the spray head. About a 5 second spray twice a year. Don't use silicon grease - if you get this down your paintwork it's very hard to get off and will spoil your wax finish.
If you use a pressure washer or pressure car wash put a small piece of Duct tape over the locks.
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