yes, tried that as well.......its as if its simply a receptacle for the key......you can't feel any of the detents..........what i did wonder is if there's more to take off - like a plastic shield over the lock, but it would need a bit of force and I thought the whole idea was that it was an easy alternative in the unlikely event....

we've had it for about 5 years i guess.....the key fobs both have always worked before, we changed them as soon as the message flashed on the dash that the battery was low......however this time we didn't.....and we are trying to avoid going to a dealer and paying their rate for what "should" be a simple procedure

Is the key battery a good quality product? There is loads of rubbish out there. Does the car lock and unlock from the key fob buttons and the exterior door handle buttons? I think you will find that the ignition barrel will only turn if you have your foot on the brake,and/or the clutch pedal. As a last resort,you may have confused the system. Disconnect the main car battery for 10 mins.

To the OP. I don't think you've made it clear in your posts that your car has Keyless Ignition! I think some of the replies have been from people who have assumed that your car has a conventional keyed ignition.

Have looked about online and found that other owners have had the same issue. From what I understand, the plastic ignition barrels don't turn. Some cars have metal ones which do turn.

Try buying good quality batteries for the remote fobs (not pound shop ones!). Are you positive the batteries are the correct voltage and not just the correct physical size? Are you positive the batteries are in the fobs the right way round? Apparently some owners fit them upside down, although they are absolutely convinced they are the right way round.

Please post to let us know how you get on.