e46 key programming

[gtsl]

Recently bought a 330d e46 from auction. It came with 2 keys one of them being the remote, this one was not working initially thought it was a dead battery, turns out someone has removed all the internals of the key.

Can I buy a replacement key from eBay and program it to work? I've seen comments saying it can be programmed to lock/unlock and alarm the car but won't be able to start it? is this correct?

It looks fairly easy to program from what I've found and would be a fraction of the cost bmw would charge.

1. turn key to position 1 five times very quickly.
2. remove key.
3. Hold unlock button then press lock button 3 times, release unlock button.
5 turn on ignition to finalize.

Have you done this before? Don't want to have one key that can used to unlock the car and another for the ignition.

TIA

[gtsl]

helix402 said:

The procedure you mention will make the remote locking work, however the key will not start the car.
To do that you need it cut to the car then matched to the immobilised with an AK90 programmer or something similar.
Or do what I do, keep the original key for starting and have the new one for remote locking. Or send your ews ecu off to an eBay vendor who can supply a new key to do both.

Not so simple then, I will look into it a bit more. was hoping to put the internals of a new key into the existing key and it would then be a simple job to program it.

[gtsl]

corozin said:

I've had a key done by BMW and from recollection the "dance of the new keyfob" that the guy had to do to get the car to accept the new fob involved a few more moves than you describe (and I can't recall them but it was more than that)

There is a lot of different variations of what I listed above. Spoke with the dealer today and he was of the opinion that if one of those methods don't work it's a completely different ball game.

Will start with replacing the key first and trying to program it myself and work my way up.

[gtsl]

Thanks for the info, I live in Scotland, bit of a trek. Cars used daily so can't really be without. All the local auto lock smiths appear to do all cars but bmw. Must be a bit more to them.

[gtsl]

JakeT said:

Get a dealer to do it. About £150IIRC but aftermarket keys tend to be a bit crap.

When I bought my 325ti it came with two remotes and a spare. Like you mention, one of the remotes didn't work. Re synched it and it's worked fine ever since. The battery can go flat and will need a good drive to charge it up.

You can transplant the OE key internals into another case. I did it for a friend, as he snapped his OE key in the ignition barrel. Got a cheap aftermarket, had it cut and I shifted the old internals into it. Has also worked fine ever since. Shame it pops open if dropped.

The key that came with the car didn't have any internals. That's the issue I'm having. If I buy a new key for it, I may need more in-depth work to programming the key at a hefty cost. The dealer method is the same as can be found online. When I get home in the next few weeks will give it a shot.