Key Remote

Mike187 wrote:Can these remotes lose sync with the vehicle?

Generally, yes. Most if not all work on a "rolling table" of valid codes - where both the remote and the controller in the vehicle generate a list of codes that can be used only once. The purpose of this is to ensure that thieves cannot record and replay a code to gain access to the vehicle.

This means that if the key is kept in a pocket and the buttons get accidentally pressed too many times while it is out of range, all of the list can get used up without a success (which leads to a new set of valid codes being generated). If that happens then most manufacturers have a method of re-synching the key and remote locking controller, and it's generally not complicated.

Note that the process that codes the key so that it is valid in the first place is a completely separate process though.

I'm not sure why the AA would think that there is a common method of re-synching a key that works on all vehicles. It seems very unlikely that there would be!

On the T5, for example, the exact method depends whether it is pre- or post-2010. The method for pre-2010 is as follows:

Open the driver's door manually with the key in the lock, and then immediately press either the lock or unlock button on the remote. The key and remote controller will be resynchronised.

As you can see, it doesn't even vaguely resemble the AA's method.


[Edit: when I first wrote this I referred to the immobiliser, but that's not correct. The remote keyfob system and the immobiliser are almost always two completely separate systems: just because a key is coded so that it will be accepted to open the doors does NOT mean that it will be accepted by the immobiliser to allow engine start - but it gets more complex than that with "keyless start"!]

Ah, Ok - never seen the FB group - probably never will!