I bought my Punto 1.3 SX this morning ( 71,000 mi , £200 ) then went along to get spare keys cut as I normally do when I get a new used car. At the Sainsburys heel bar the woman serving said "thats £25 each for the keys" and explained that the key was chipped. I said I will glue the chiped key under the ignition and have 4 x £5 keys please. She suggested I was a criminal : end of conversation. I already have the car key : get it ?

Anyway I found a kind gentleman who cut 4 x £5 keys and tried them. They open the car but will not start it. I have a need for spare keys as I have only one working ignition key and like anyone else the keys can go missing ...

I googled this issue and something called a "CODE 1" system comes up. See www.keyprogrammers.com/Fiat.html.

I want rid of this thing as the car is worth £200 and I don't think anyone would want it anyway.

What do I have to do to get rid of / bypass this key code system.

Regards

Jim

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I've just bought a 1996 E39 323i with a genuine 62,000 on the clock. It has a main dealer history except for the last service, where it says 6.5 litres synthetic oil 10-40. Yesterday the oil light came on and I see it's just below the minimum mark on the dipstick, it's done 7,000 since the service. I can't get an answer on the phone number I have for the company that did the service, so what oil should I top it up with? It's 11 months since the service so maybe a full change may be in order, but I read somewhere that 15,000 was more than likely. I thought 10-40 was semi-synthetic, I expected fully synth to be more like 5-30, although I suppose 12 years ago 10-40 was cutting edge.

Any recommendations for topping it up? Magnatec has been mentioned by someone at work. Read more

Hi,

I need a new (possibly two, for both remotes) electronic ?blipper? part of a 2002 Nissan Micra key-fob as shown here www.remotekey.co.uk/cars/nissan/ (2nd from the bottom, on the left) ? the ?remote? part and not the complete ?key and fob?. The Micra doesn?t have an alarm, although the manual says it does have an Immobiliser, even though I?ve unlocked and driven the car by using solely the key. I?m confused about that part.

The fobs have been used so much that the incredibly-poorly-made switches on the circuit-boards, inside the key-fobs, are all-but-broken, as well as the outer rubber pads being split. Over the years I?ve repaired the circuit boards and replaced the batteries, when necessary, but now I?ve had to resort to sellotape to keep the circuit boards together.

I?ve read that a dealer could well charge over £100 for a new key-fob and re-programming.

Can I buy this cheaper elsewhere or buy one or two second-hand, as the one, in the link above, is also about £100?

Could I, alternatively, buy a replacement for the little square circuit-board (which is the main part that doesn?t work) inside the remote? It?s easily removable as I?ve removed it, numerous times, to repair it.

Thanks for any help anyone can give.
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In the context of car insurance, does anyone know what commercial travelling is? Read more

Hello all.

I am trying to find out without much success from Peugeot the answer to a couple of questions about the RT4 satnav system fitted to my 407. The manual doesn't help at all and the dealers know even less so if anyone knows the answer to these questions I would be very grateful :-

1.) What do all the symbols mean on the LCD screen when veiwing traffic conditions on the map ? I can guess some but others don't mean much.

2.) What does the shading and colour of the roads mean ?

3.) Is the traffic avoidance dynamic ? i.e. does it re-route along the journey if the traffic changes ?

I even tried the manufacturer (Magnetti/Marelli) but they never replied .......

Stephen Gray Read more