Hey, firstly I have done a search for this but still can’t find a solution to my problem so I hope you guys can help before I go bleed money to a dealer, the problem is I have a remote central locking key that works when starting the car or opening the door manually however the actual remote locking won’t work.


I have tried changing the battery, opening the fob up to see if the ?motherboard? is damaged (as far as I can tell no.) and the resetting technique? I think! (One key in the ignition and the 'broken' key in the outer door lock). But none have worked and to add the small red led on the key does light up when a button is pressed.


After a preliminary phone call to my local dealer they made an assumption that the solenoid has gone so I then took it to my local garage who upon checking says solenoid is fine but the key needs reprogramming. I don’t know a great deal granted but if the key is not programmed correctly it can’t start the car? Not sure what’s wrong and want to try everything before forking out £150 for a new key.
Thanks for any help.

sounds like a simple battery,
but if youve changed that and had no joy

How old is your car? is that not covered under warranty?

oh and by the way, there are people that can reprogramme them for around £70, without being ripped off by a dealer

Hi thanks for the reply, my car is a '53 plate and checked under the warranty i got with the dealer which says key fobs arent covered. Really? £70 better then £150! Where is that my local dealers wont touch them.

coyle said:

oh and by the way, there are people that can reprogramme them for around £70, without being ripped off by a dealer

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£70! Places I know (dealers) charge £25/30

I don’t know a great deal granted but if the key is not programmed correctly it can’t start the car?


The immobiliser chip (the tablet looking thing here) is next to the metal key in the fob and it's the car aerial interrogation and recognition of this that allows/ prevents the engine from starting


The remote central locking is a different system and comes from the circuit board inside the key fob here. Sometimes the frequency or message coming out of the circuit board gets garbled and the body computer says "Don't like that"

Sometimes a key that hasn't worked for months will suddenly be recognised by the body computer -friend or foe? "Oh hello again!" and is allowed in. Take the fob batteries out, leave it a while, then reinsert and try again. Once it starts to recognise it as a friend then it's all systems go- until the next time

If the body computer has "forgotten" the password code (duh- bad memory) then you have to get it reprogrammed for that key and tell it that it's a friendly

Thanks for the advice and i will give the battery idea a test tonight, fingers crossed!

Deckchair5 said:

The remote central locking is a different system and comes from the circuit board inside the key fob here. Sometimes the frequency or message coming out of the circuit board gets garbled and the body computer says "Don't like that"

Sometimes a key that hasn't worked for months will suddenly be recognised by the body computer -friend or foe? "Oh hello again!" and is allowed in. Take the fob batteries out, leave it a while, then reinsert and try again. Once it starts to recognise it as a friend then it's all systems go- until the next time

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Is that something to do with a rolling code system isn't it? Does the Stilo have one of these?

You bet yer life it does
Combined with the deadlocks, it does a fantastic job of preventing the rightful owner getting into and starting their own car

Well thanks everyone for their help but still no joy with taking the battery out, so it looks like a reprogramme or new key anyone know the best/cheapest places to get it done? I live near Bolton in the North West.

ajoshi21 said:

I live near Bolton in the North West.

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as appose to bolton in the south east?

Haha alright. :doh:

just joking mate