Broken BMW Key Fobs

[fatboy69]

Help please - I have an E36 3 series on which both key fobs have stopped working. When the lock & unlock buttons are pressed on the remote fob the red 'LED' light flashes on & off although the central locking will not activate.
It locks & unlocks with the keys so what might be the problem? Any help gratly appreciated as do not fancy paying main dealer repair costs if i can avoid it.

Thank you.

[jeff666]

Try posting in the bmw section, battery's in the fob maybe?

[fatboy69]

i have replaced the batteries - still get the flashing red led light & nothing else.

[MarkwG]

I'd imagine either the base unit has fritzed itself, or it's gone out of sync & needs resetting. I'm working on the basis yours is the grey fob with 1 red & 1 grey button - the 3G I think it is. Couple of things worth a go. Touch the metalwork of the car when you try & set it - the aerial may be shielded, & coupled with a weak battery (I know you're replaced, but worth a try) that can be enough. Second, try disconnecting the car battery, leave for 10+ minutes, reconnect & try again. If your battery is in the boot, careful if you shut it that the lock button will reopen it. If those don't or haven't helped, the ECU is usually behind the glovebox, & if you surf up "3G alarm issues" or similar you should find a good enough post to help you reset from there.

[fatboy69]

thanks mark. i'll give that a go in the morning. if not looks like it's main dealer.... aaaghhh

[Sticks.]

I don't know if this well help, but it's free and maybe worth a try http://www.programyourkeys.com/BMW_Z4_Key_Remote_C...

When one of my keys failed on my E46, the stealer re-set ot for nothing, and I'm sure it was something like this.

[Mr Green]

You don't have to go to a main dealer. My wifes did the same thing so I phoned my local mobile auto electrician and he came and did something behind the glove box, he said it needed re-programming(don't know why it tripped itself out).
His prices are very reasonable but it only took him about 20 mins to sort it, there's no way I could have done it.

Give an auto electrician and ring and ask for a quote, don't take any bull st about it being a tricky job, call his bluff.

[MarkwG]

Seconded Mr Green - it's DIY if you've got the time & inclination, I wouldn't go near a dealer with an e36, they won't know what it is.

[fatboy69]

thanks for the replies. i have tried marks' idea however it didnt work. i really want to avoid the main dealer if i can simply because of the exhobitant costs that i know will be involved.

i'm not confident enough to try the stuff on programmeyourkeys.com as i would be worried in case i made things worse.

does anyone know of a reputable auto eletrician in the gloucester area? someone who can be trusted as i dont know of any.

thank you.

[forty-two]

I have this problem or rather the missus does with her Z4. Both keys have simultaneously failed, you need to press the unlock button a few times to unlock the car. It is only 12 months old so it is going to the dealer to see if this is a warranty job.

[BluePurpleRed]

fatboy69 said:

thanks for the replies. i have tried marks' idea however it didnt work. i really want to avoid the main dealer if i can simply because of the exhobitant costs that i know will be involved.

i'm not confident enough to try the stuff on programmeyourkeys.com as i would be worried in case i made things worse.

does anyone know of a reputable auto eletrician in the gloucester area? someone who can be trusted as i dont know of any.

thank you.

I have actually had some good experiences with BMW Dealers with my car. Some have a BMW Four Plus scheme which gives 60% off labour for BMW's over 10 years old. As this isn't likely to require parts, if you can find a participating dealer ( I used Brighton ) then this could work out to be quite cheap.

When the front discs of my car warped (aftermarket ones on the car when I bought it knowing they would warp) I wanted to get the OEM Evo floating ones on and with the labour reduction it was only about £45 labour so it was a no brainer to take it in!

[fatboy69]

jz325i.

the alarm was, as far as i can ascertain, fitted as standard when the car was built in 1998. i havent tried using it in the footwell so i will give that a go tomorrow.


bluepurplered

i called my bmw main dealer this morning & spoke to the service department. the conversation started off badly as the bloke who answered the call didnt know what an E36 3 series was...

i had to explain it to him in very simple english. which was quite difficult as he plainly wasnt interested in anyway.

after getting him to take some notice of what i as saying he said that to re-calibrate the key fob would cost me in the region of £150.00 + vat. each.....

he then said that if the fobs needed to be replaced the cost would be around £280 + vat. each.....

so you can understnad my reluctance to give my business to a dealer who plainly doesnt give a toss.

maybe now is the time to sell the car & get a Capri 2.8i which i have what i always really wanted. only thing stopping me is that i cant find one within my budget.

[MarkwG]

Those prices are way out - he's equating it to a modern BM, I suspect. Another option would be an auto-electrician, if thee's one close, they'd have seen loads over the years.

[fatboy69]

mark

the guy clearly wasnt interested as he didnt know what an e36 model was. he was a total idiot.
i have been told to try an auto-electrician. only problem is that i dont know of a reputable company to use in the area.

[MarkwG]

fatboy69 said:

the guy clearly wasn't interested as he didn't know what an e36 model was. he was a total idiot.

Quite agree; what he's quoted for is par for fixing the much newer cars - demonstrates my previous point, sadly. Parts guys are often more with it, but service reception can't think further back than the current warranty period...

[Mr Green]

Main dealers, tell me about it.
A friends wife took her BMW into the main dealer in Bolton yesterday with a rear tyre that was losing air over about 2/3 weeks. They said it was a puncture and being a run-flat it couldn't be repaired. New tyre £316 fitted.
She phoned me up and ended up going to our local tyre and exhaust place. New tyre (if needed) £220.80 with VAT fitted for the exact same Bridgestone Potenza 255x35x18.
As it happens they fixed the puncture for £15.