Subaru Outback 56 reg - Car key lost its memory

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Wed 18 Dec 2013 12:51
Subaru Outback 56 reg - Car key lost its memory - hillman

After my car key (the one that I use) gave up on me in a supermarket car-park I took it around the block to a garage and asked them change the battery. The mechanic tested the key on his test rig and said that the key should work. I tried it again, but nothing. I went back and begged the guy to indulge me and change the battery, which he did with bad grace. After a bit of twiddling in the car it worked again. When I arrived home I found the spare key and tried that one. The spare key didn't work, so I went back to the garage and asked them to change that battery too. It still didn't work, so when I took the car in for its service at the usual place I asked the proprietor to check it. He found that the key had 'lost its programme' and referred me to a specialist. After a lot of work by the specialist, entering numbers into keypads etc., and one or two attempts, I am now again in possession of two keys that work.

I return to the moan that things used to be so simple. If you lost your keys you could ask the first teenager to pass by to cross the wires for you and start the car. Now I have the situation that if I don't start the engine within 20 seconds of disarming the alarm then the key has to be turned and the button pressed. If the battery in the key is flat or low then I'm stuck / immobile.

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Wed 18 Dec 2013 13:01
Subaru Outback 56 reg - Car key lost its memory - skidpan

So you preferred it when any spotty kid could drive your car away armed with nothing more than a bit of wire and a coathanger.

Back in the early 90's my insurance went through the roof when Golf GTI's like mine with no security kit were disappearing faster than you could park them. Over a 2 year period it went up from just over £200 to over £600 (after shopping round), bizarely it only started to drop once my car hald been stolen and recovered.

My new Seat Leon which is way faster than the Golf has just cost me £230 for the year.

The occational fob battery is a small cost to pay.

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Wed 18 Dec 2013 14:05
Subaru Outback 56 reg - Car key lost its memory - madf

Some of us have escaped the clutches of senile dementia long enough (not a dig at anyone but myself!) to check the spare key works every so often......

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Wed 18 Dec 2013 15:24
Subaru Outback 56 reg - Car key lost its memory - bathtub tom

I understand that with some manufacturers the code changes each time the key is used. If a spare key isn't used for some time then the car won't recognise it as it will be too many code changes away from when it was last used. There's usually ways of correcting this situation. I've had to find it for a Skoda.

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Wed 18 Dec 2013 16:14
Subaru Outback 56 reg - Car key lost its memory - hillman

Combining the advice of madf and bathtub tom - I haven't used the spare key for about six years now, and the key battery was still good, BUT, the key wouldn't start the car, or do anything with the alarm at all. SO, I'll try alternating the keys every month or so. Thank you all ! That proves the wisdom of the BRs. I don't think a garage would have solved the problem

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Wed 18 Dec 2013 16:24
Subaru Outback 56 reg - Car key lost its memory - madf

My handbook has instructions on how to program a key - which is OK as long as one works!

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Wed 18 Dec 2013 16:46
Subaru Outback 56 reg - Car key lost its memory - elekie&a/c doctor

As a matter of interest ,the alarm/remote control system fitted to this and many Subaru models is not made by Subaru .It is a factory approved after manufacture fitment.hth

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Wed 18 Dec 2013 20:45
Subaru Outback 56 reg - Car key lost its memory - corax

The immobiliser thing is annoying. If I unlock my Forester and want to put something in the boot or behind the back seat, the immobiliser arms itself within 20 seconds as Hillman says, which is far too short a time in my opinion. I open the drivers door and start the engine first.

Turning the ignition key and pressing the button at the same time is awkward if you don't have the key the right way round.

However there are so many good things about the car I'll let it pass, and it's not Subaru's fault.

Make sure you have batteries replaced in both fobs before they fail completely.

Edited by corax on 18/12/2013 at 20:47

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Wed 18 Dec 2013 21:07
Subaru Outback 56 reg - Car key lost its memory - gordonbennet

Be thankful you don't have the one Mitsi fitted, you get a separate immobiliser plipper, one shaped like a dodgy bent pear, the keys are simple affairs with presumably just a transponder emobedded.

I tend to use the spare keys often just to make sure they work OK when needed, good point about this rolling code thing, i wouldn't have thought of that.

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Wed 18 Dec 2013 21:11
Subaru Outback 56 reg - Car key lost its memory - elekie&a/c doctor

I am sure the time out for the immobiliser can be re-programmed for up to 50 seconds.May be an idea to check with the alarm specialist who re-synchronisd the keys.hth

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