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Ed, thanks for all of the ideas. I’ll check the keys for the “pill”. Also I’ll try the maneuvers you suggested. Honestly I’ll be thrilled if I only have to pay around $500 to remedy this issue. I feel like it will be a lot more but hey, it is what it is, I love the car. I feel like the immobilizer may have to be replaced, we’ll see.
Just want to say I appreciate the time you put into your post regarding your thoughts and recommendations. Thanks, Gabe.
(Ordered both red and white clutch switches on Pelican and replaced them not realizing only needed to bypass the white to rule that problem out.)
So this is really odd. I opened both of my keys to find neither have a transponder. Just the empty slot. I also recall the dash readout always indicating “key #2” regardless of which key was used. It seems like maybe the previous owner may have rigged the transponder close to the ignition switch so that any key would work? I’ve only ever used one set of keys in the 4 years I’ve owned the car. Funny business for sure. Wonder why it was done and how to remedy this.
I purchased this car from a Porsche dealership have already been disappointed by finding the scanner showing 30k more mileage than the odometer.
So this is really odd. I opened both of my keys to find neither have a transponder. Just the empty slot. I also recall the dash readout always indicating “key #2” regardless of which key was used. It seems like maybe the previous owner may have rigged the transponder close to the ignition switch so that any key would work? I’ve only ever used one set of keys in the 4 years I’ve owned the car. Funny business for sure. Wonder why it was done and how to remedy this.
I purchased this car from a Porsche dealership have already been disappointed by finding the scanner showing 30k more mileage than the odometer.
start looking under the dash for the pill. It may be taped or glued in the proximity of the ignition switch. I’ve heard of doing this before, but of course circumvents some of the security aspects. I’d have a very frank discussion with the dealership manager. Doubt they’d want this published on the internet!
I’m beginning to think this whole non start issue may be due to the glued or taped pill falling out of it’s place resulting in the immobilizer disabling the ignition.
I have no idea where the pill is having gone over the area under the dash with a fine toothed comb. I suppose it’s possible that it might be attached with glue or tape to the inside of the dash panel so I’ll try to disassemble as much as possible tomorrow. I could not find a single thread about this so I’m guessing this is not a common thing.
If the pill is not found, I’m assuming I’ll need new key fobs and a reprogram and maybe new immobilizer?
I’m beginning to think this whole non start issue may be due to the glued or taped pill falling out of it’s place resulting in the immobilizer disabling the ignition.
I have no idea where the pill is having gone over the area under the dash with a fine toothed comb. I suppose it’s possible that it might be attached with glue or tape to the inside of the dash panel so I’ll try to disassemble as much as possible tomorrow. I could not find a single thread about this so I’m guessing this is not a common thing.
If the pill is not found, I’m assuming I’ll need new key fobs and a reprogram and maybe new immobilizer?
There was someone on facebook promoting the idea of gluing the pill inside the car to avoid a problem of some sort. If the pill was glued and fell down, it could be under the mat or somewhere in the under seat area. Doubt you've vacuumed the car since this started. A new fob from the dealer can also be a solution, but very expensive.
Wow. Appears the missing RFID pills are your issue.
Another thought: I remember reading that it is possible to buy just those RFID pills from an online electronics supplier. Insert new pills and have the dealer reprogram the keys.
But, honestly, these are not run of the mill parts, so it's probably not worth the time/hassle to try that. And the more I think about it, I think the pills being sold were used to clone a working key (which might be useful if you find the one hidden in your car) not a factory replacement.
I suspect you may have to buy 2 new key heads and get them programmed. Good luck!
I’ll post photos of the glue/tape job if I can find it. The pill’s got to be in there somewhere since the car’s been nowhere. In the end, this would be my best possible outcome regarding the no start no crank issue. Thanks guys.
Thanks, that makes sense. 54K miles is 86K kms. I took the dash apart and no transponder anywhere. Could the ECU have been hacked such that it doesn’t need a pill? I doubt it but I think I’m going to have to track it down in order for a new set of keys with transponders to work.
Did you check the floor area? If it came loose I could see it rolling forward off the dash and then under the mat or even under the seat, like someone mentioned before.
I am curious why in the world someone would do this, it contravenes the security design and frankly doesn't seem to make any sense.
What you really need is an RFID scanner so you can sweep the vehicle and find it.
Ed, I did check the floors, behind the dash, under the ashtray, inside the airbag compartment. I’ll be taking the seats out next. I spoke to the Porsche dealership today and they have never seen anything like this. I also think that I have some old papers with the original owners info on them. I’ll try to politely ask if he remembers where he hid the pill. I really appreciate your input. Love this car but sheesh!
Key fobs lock and unlock doors fine. Not sure where the immobilizer is but I practically took the entire dash apart and found nothing. Porsche dealership guys tellling me today that the “pill” could be anywhere in the car for it to start. Said the key doesn’t need to be within 6 inches from the ignition switch as I thought. Good thing I wouldn’t the driving the car in this sh*t weather anyway
Key fobs lock and unlock doors fine. Not sure where the immobilizer is but I practically took the entire dash apart and found nothing. Porsche dealership guys tellling me today that the “pill” could be anywhere in the car for it to start. Said the key doesn’t need to be within 6 inches from the ignition switch as I thought. Good thing I wouldn’t the driving the car in this sh*t weather anyway
It might serve you best to purchase a new "intact" key head from Suncoast (lots of dealers match Suncoast now if you ask them) and simply take the new key and one of the old keys to the dealer. They'll swap the blade for you. Make sure they know how to program the key - its not intuitive and the instructions are in German (PIWIS path to key program is not the US hierarchy). Let me know if you run into a problem and I'll send you the step by step path in case your dealer messes up the programming.
02-08-2019, 10:56 PM
