Odd 'key card' problem !

jaahn

jaahn

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Hi :)
During the week my wife was locked out of the Captur with the key card inside.:rolleyes: She was going to an appointment, put her bags on the front seat after opening it with the button, then went to check on the mail, and the car locked itself. It would not open with the button and so she had to find another way to travel and leave her bags behind. :eek: Not happy !

When I came home I went and unlocked it with my key in my bag and took her bags out and checked that the key was in there. The bags were on the passenger seat. No problem with locking as you walk away or unlocking as you come to the car using the button. :wink2: Puzzle so I swapped our key cards so I could see if anything odd was happening. Note that I have recently put new batteries in both cards after a 'low battery ' message.

Normally we never put the key card into the slot but just leave them in our bag or pocket. Usually works well. On discussion I asked what was in the second bag that was a bit larger and on the top of the hand bag. A laptop ! I now believe the laptop shielded the keycard from the 'reader' and it sensed that it had gone and locked the car when she closed the door. :crazy: Bl**dy inconvenient and lucky it happened at home and not under worse circumstances. Ahhh the difficulties of the "smart" revolution :rolleyes:
Jaahn
 
Yep happens with phones laptops annoying


4008
Gone but not forgotten C5 x7 3008 206 GTI 180 306 XR SED 405 MI16 x2 xzara VTS 406 SV 206 XT Berlingo 2011 (best car ever) 306 HDI 307 XSE HDI touring
Fix it right the first time
 
Well, it appears that something similar has happened to me.
My C4 starter motor won't kick the engine over. All I get is a click.
I only have one key (only one key came with it when I purchased it second hand some years ago), and it is now locked inside.
Yesterday, I decided to check that fuses were all OK before finally deciding that it was the starter, and I even pulled the SHUNT.
Anyway, I removed, looked and replaced, as they all looked OK.
ONE LAST TIME I decided to try the key to see whether anything had changed the mind of the starter motor.
Well, something was different, but not much. There was more of a click than usual, and the wipers made a sweep of the windscreen.
BUT then it was back to usual.

EXCEPT, that when I (again) shut the door (with the key inside but not in the ignition, rather in the plastic pocket beside the seat height adjuster) the car has now centrally-locked the doors! It didn't do it straight away I don't think, but rather sometime in the following 24 hours or so. Maybe because the battery level is falling? Or some other weird Citroen reasoning????

Am therefore interested in comments that might help me get a door unlocked. AM possibly not above using a hammer on a quarter-glass window????, but maybe someone with more knowledge than I might know a less-destructive method, please?
Thanks in advance! Jez
 
probably cheaper to get RACQ or a locksmith to break in for you. They usually know the tricks for each car.

If you are going to bust a window, check prices and availability first so you only break a window that you know is available and for how much.
But I'd try very very hard to avoid busting a window.
 
I have never seen much of a trick from the NRMA guys... Grab top of door and bend it outwards, and with a long stick push the un-lock button.
One bush way that worked in the past, although possibly involves breaking a plastic clip, is to moisten you hands and after pressing them against the window panel, pull the panel down.

Start with the simple ways.
 
When you've finished the horror work, and good luck with it of course, buy a spare key. I know they are expensive from experience..... I've tried the cheap ones but Renault can't or won't program them. By VIN number you get the electronic thing and, if it is like our Scenic, the correct mechanical key for the left hand front lock that is under a flap. Mine took a week ex-France but it might be an ugly wait right at the moment.

I'd definitely get a professional to open it - they have handbooks we mortals are not allowed to see! Probably the cheapest way too, if no damage.

Best wishes with it.
 
JohnW said:
When you've finished the horror work, and good luck with it of course, buy a spare key. I know they are expensive from experience..... I've tried the cheap ones but Renault can't or won't program them. By VIN number you get the electronic thing and, if it is like our Scenic, the correct mechanical key for the left hand front lock that is under a flap. Mine took a week ex-France but it might be an ugly wait right at the moment.

I'd definitely get a professional to open it - they have handbooks we mortals are not allowed to see! Probably the cheapest way too, if no damage.

Best wishes with it.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the words of encouragement, JohnW and everyone else who has weighed in.
They have all been appreciated, and I'm still trying to NOT break any window, but the other issues seem to be falling by the wayside??? I have managed to get a (bought from Bunnings last night) 2m steel rod in through the "lever out the top corner of a window" method, and as best that I can tell, have managed to press on the UNLOCK button, but to no avail.
I now suspect that the battery has gone flat (enough to stop the process???) and the pressing on the button doesn't work due to no power. THAT seems unlikely to me, as the energy needed to unlock should be so much lower than the energy needed to turn the starter motor/engine?
Anyway, as I don't know when 'said car' chose to lock itself (I didn't see lights flash), and I definitely didn't press the buttons on the remote fob, it is hard to know what is going on, but it seems that she is playing difficult!
Out of curiosity JohnW, how much was the "new key"? I managed to find a YouTube video called "Citroen C4 lock pick", where a locksmith got the door open (no damage) in a 2:36 minutes video. Without having made any phone calls yet, THAT would look like the cheapest method, if a local locksmith is able, as my initial searches about replace windows indicate upward of $150.00, even for the quarter-glass size!
Last question for now (in case the battery needs some charging), how does one get the bonnet up when one cannot get inside to access the bonnet release? I think that I'll be able to force the bonnet up before I manage to force any window down!
Cheers All... Jez
 
FiveSoFar said:
Thanks for the words of encouragement, JohnW and everyone else who has weighed in.
They have all been appreciated, and I'm still trying to NOT break any window, but the other issues seem to be falling by the wayside??? I have managed to get a (bought from Bunnings last night) 2m steel rod in through the "lever out the top corner of a window" method, and as best that I can tell, have managed to press on the UNLOCK button, but to no avail.
I now suspect that the battery has gone flat (enough to stop the process???) and the pressing on the button doesn't work due to no power. THAT seems unlikely to me, as the energy needed to unlock should be so much lower than the energy needed to turn the starter motor/engine?
Anyway, as I don't know when 'said car' chose to lock itself (I didn't see lights flash), and I definitely didn't press the buttons on the remote fob, it is hard to know what is going on, but it seems that she is playing difficult!
Out of curiosity JohnW, how much was the "new key"? I managed to find a YouTube video called "Citroen C4 lock pick", where a locksmith got the door open (no damage) in a 2:36 minutes video. Without having made any phone calls yet, THAT would look like the cheapest method, if a local locksmith is able, as my initial searches about replace windows indicate upward of $150.00, even for the quarter-glass size!
Last question for now (in case the battery needs some charging), how does one get the bonnet up when one cannot get inside to access the bonnet release? I think that I'll be able to force the bonnet up before I manage to force any window down!
Cheers All... Jez
Click to expand...
It's about four years since I bought a new "key". I reckon it was $200 or so and another $80 fee to program it. But, bought by VIN number, it included the special key that opens the passenger side door manually, for the Megane Scenic that is. I have no idea how to open the bonnet without even more damage!

I'd just call in a professional and pay what it costs. It is probably the cheapest solution at the end of the day.

Good luck.
 
Ron Holdway French and Euro mechanic, mobile Gold Coast .0457763514 , may be able to advise /help
 
JohnW said:
It's about four years since I bought a new "key". I reckon it was $200 or so and another $80 fee to program it. But, bought by VIN number, it included the special key that opens the passenger side door manually, for the Megane Scenic that is. I have no idea how to open the bonnet without even more damage!

I'd just call in a professional and pay what it costs. It is probably the cheapest solution at the end of the day.

Good luck.
Click to expand...
Well, opening the bonnet wasn't much of an issue after all. Good old YouTube again came to my rescue. I found one where a bloke was waving around a mechanism that had been removed from some vehicle, and I was able to see the general arrangement. The tricky bit is then trying to see through the grille, but the C4 mechanism wasn't much different, and I had popped it open within about a minute with the help of a stout screwdriver.
Now, if I could just pop the back hatch open as easily, my probs would be over.
I realise now that my "using the key" in an attempt to start the car after having mucked around with the fuses MUST be when the lock was activated. There was much more click that time than just the starter motor (at the time that the wipers made their sweep), and I realise now that THAT must have been the doors locking. Closing the drivers door didn't require the "holding up of the handle" to keep the locking system in play:confused:... Modern cars; Hey??? Too smart by half! Pushing that unlock button was never going to work (hindsight) as the ignition switch needs to be in the ON position for things to work... and well... There's the issue.
Lock-picking locksmith is next on the list, I suppose.
Thanks for all the suggestions. Jez
 
now you are under the bonnet you could try disconnecting the battery for a while and re connect ,see how it responds after a re boot ,maybe have someone ready to open the door as soon as you re connect ,.pugs
 
Once the issue was resolved, it seems that I forgot to let everybody know!
Sorry Members!
Better late than never, though...
I employed a Locksmith.
Fee was advised in advance ($150 from memory).
Took him a very few minutes to achieve the opening. (No result No Fee! ... It was always going to be opened.)
Single key retrieved, and I'm never leaving it inside that car again!
I still have not changed the starter motor, so 'she sits patiently'.
My back is giving me issues, so I'm not getting on the ground under cars for a while.
 
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