Hi-my car sudddenly doesn't like where I park it.
The key fob won't open the door and whilst turning the key lights up the dash and air-con etc work fine, I can't start it.
Had the RAC out and using a hand held device of some sort he found something was interfering with the signal from the fob. We rolled the car about 1o metres away and it started fine.
I replaced the battery and still the same problem. I've been parking there for over a year now with no problem.
Any ideas on a solution? The car park is under a block of flats where everyone has a designated space so switching with someone else could be a real pain.
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Cannot comment on a solution but a car belonging to a friend of youngest son would not start a couple of week ago opposite our house (I park there often).... AA guy on the phone a lot and a suggestion was to push the car away from all the cables above.... it made no difference.
... but the smell of melting plastic the night before probably more of a clue to the problem.
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The astra does the same - there are certain areas where I occasionally park where the same fob problems occur - the obviousl ones are near ambulance, police and fire stations, but there's an inexplicable one near a certain restaurant in town...
Does the car not have a hidden over-ride switch?
Mine has a spring-loaded push button which solves the problem.
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A few people with Subarus have problems next to the building I work in (it has a company-internal radio transmitter mast on the roof that has a range to three miles). If they park in certain parking spots, their immobiliser stays on and they have to push the car a few yards elsewhere to start up.
Recently they started having problem sout in the main street just after the council opened a new office for their Roads Dept - they also have their own transmiter!
A few other people have trouble with Renaults - but that's only to be expected (tongue in cheek!)
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I had this with a Doblo on the Studland chain ferry and at a certain services on the M6 possibly near Carlisle. On the ferry we had to wait a couple of minutes - no doubt a passing marine transmission.
At the services (which had radio masts) we pushed it across the car park and it started first time.
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Off on a tangent - the astra's orange engine warning light comes on regularly when i drive past certain places. One near the harbour, one on the coast road coming to town, etc etc etc. Always within 100yards or so.
Only ways to turn it off: (a) just keep driving, it'll go off eventually; or 9b) hoof it down a gear and bowl along at high revs.
Option B is much more fun.
Except in heavy traffic.
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There are and can be EMF hot spots. The location of the source is not always obvious. Sure there is a strong transmitter of EMF nearby (note I say EMF and not just radio) Bizarrely you might be more immune nearer the source than further away from it. A move of just a yard or so can be enough sometimes.
The effect on cars in the uk was first noted with Audi's breaking down on the M1 at rugby, and there is a spot in norfolk (whos name escapes me) near a military radar where you dare not stop and lock your car for you will never get it going again unless towed well out of the way.,
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Nsar you don't say the age of your Leggy but I have very occasionly had the same problem with my 8 yr old Forester when parked in a hospital car park near an ambulance radio transmitter. Understood was curable with a modified ecu from Subaru (never bothered myself) but don't know if it's still available - Methinks later cars fitted with a different frequency or whatever's required.
Maybe someones started playing around with a radio transmitter/wi-fi etc?
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Nsar's Legacy is latest model so problem will affect my car also. but so far my only complaint is that sometimes I have to be standing very close to the car to unlock it.
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Why not try approaching the car from different directions (try several) and/or holding the fob at a different angle - there may very well be a 'sweet spot' where the interference can't, er, interfere - just like we did the old indoor TV ariel waggling routine of yore.
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In terms of unlocking the car then holding the 'blipper' as close as possible to the car's receiving antenna ( not sure where that is ...) will certainly help; but there is still the challenge of actually starting the car, which I can't think of an easy answer to, given that wrapping the car's electronics in tinfoil is a tad impractical :-/
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An RAC man once told me that interference problem is very common in Falkirk and it happens quite a lot in many other places!
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Thanks for the replies - trust me I have approached the car from all angles, standing on one leg, wearing a false moustache everything.
It has only just started to happen so really baffled. No work has been done in the car park itself so can only think that cables have been installed in the floor above, but it's an underground car park of a big block so there must be a good few inches of concrete in the ceiling above.
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As i said - the source could be further away than you think.
use a cheap am portable radio, and see if you can see where its coming from.
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