Hello everyone!

The short version: Lost the key to my Felicia 1.9D 1997, managed to open the doors, got the steering wheel out, tried to start the engine with a screwdriver but as I suspected, it can't start because of the immobilizer. Is there anyone who had this kind of problem before and can give me a tip or two? Some answers for questions that I anticipated I will be asked:

1) Yes, it was the only key

2) To make a copy of the chip with the immobilizer module costs about $300

3) To buy a second-hand key+ignition contact+door locks costs as much as 2)

4) How I opened the door without a key? Pull hard driver's door, insert a long wire (with a loop at the end) from and patience, you'll get to hang the door pin... eventually.

sadly your best option is to get a new key made, although there are some things you may be able to do to get it running again it's not really a discussion on open forum.

buying a second hand lock set won't help you much because the immo unit is built into the diesel injection pump on these engines so you'd still need to pay out to have the new key matched to the injection pump

I locked my only key in the current felly the day I bought it. Took the AA guy less than 20sec from arrival to opening the door, quite scary. I don't know how possible this is for a felly but a friend lost his keys to his focus and had a new key made with Immobilizer chip at an independent car locksmith for about £100, still a lot but not so sad.

Hi a good locksmith can now clone a key with a chip cost betweeen 30-50£ dependent on type ,they work fine no problems at all,and cheaper than main dealers

cheers steve

sadly your best option is to get a new key made, although there are some things you may be able to do to get it running again it's not really a discussion on open forum.

buying a second hand lock set won't help you much because the immo unit is built into the diesel injection pump on these engines so you'd still need to pay out to have the new key matched to the injection pump

Thank you all for your reply!

@TeflonTOM: Yes, in the end I ordered a second hand immobilizer module, there are 4 things that have to be replaced:

1. The immo module from the injection pump

2. Immo module under the dashboard

3. Ignition+door+rear door locks

4. The chip for the new key

I knew about the immo from the injection pump, I tried to bypass it by making a direct wire connection to the battery but of course, it didn't work (one of the electric valves wasn't "opening"). Kind of curious though...

@Ben, Steve:

I know, there's a black box a little bit smaller than a pack of cigarettes under the dashboard, that's what they use to make another chip but as I said, here costs about £190. It it was another car it would have worth it but this Felly was bought so I can be the grease monkey

I'll bet back to you all as soon as I fix the problem and I will provide step by step details.

PS: Know I'm not too good with the IF CLAUSE and everything but I hope I manage to make myself understood.

Best regards, Cristi (Romania)

I locked my only key in the current felly the day I bought it. Took the AA guy less than 20sec from arrival to opening the door, quite scary.

Without breaking a window? As standard they have guards fitted over the locks to help prevent the "coat hanger down the window" type attack. Still I guess if it's your job you know how to do it

Without breaking a window? As standard they have guards fitted over the locks to help prevent the "coat hanger down the window" type attack. Still I guess if it's your job you know how to do it

I didn't think they did on pre-facelift (I could be wrong), as the guards do look more of an afterthought than designed-in.

Also:

(And this is nothing personal as such)

Your fuel thing at the bottom:

I know it's not the same car, but the Fabia is less economical than the Favrit. Such is the price of 'progress' I supose ;-)

mk1 fabia's weigh about 1.5tonnes v favorit's at less than 1 tonne, all those airbags i guess :p

Just added what I believe to be the official figures after a good google. I did do more motorway miles and tried keeping the speed down in the Fav though, it should go up if I do a few motorway journeys at 60mph.

Yep I guess it's the weight, increased bore size, and maybe power steering also kills MPG a bit too.

The Furby is made from very heavy gauge steel too. Just ask your local Dentmaster...:p

Being mindful on not hi-jacking this thread......

Oh absolutely, strange how we can make so many advancements in so many areas (brakes, tyres, safety systems, speed cameras <oops, how did that last one creep in there>), except one, the one that hits your pocket every time you start the car. Anyone would think there's an oil company behind each of the car manufacturers. Or maybe I'm just being cynical in my middle-years ;-)

it's funny you mention mpg.. i'm getting just around 44mpg from my 1.6 16v engine if driven carefully and that's even with power steering, i reckon if it were detuned and i fitted a diesel gearbox i could probably get 50mpg on a run. which leads me to my next drunken thought of the day... is there any point in owning a diesel car anymore? i reckon your far better off with a small petrol engine..

oh and FTR fabia's are made from 1mm CR4 steel plate the same thickness as a felicia :wonder: there's generally just loads of extra useless rubbish in a fabia

oh and FTR fabia's are made from 1mm CR4 steel plate the same thickness as a felicia

The supermarket door dings suggest this is the case (sorry for thread hijack, hope OP got the answer and solution they were looking for).

Ok,so...

We managed to cheat the immo (2 wires from the injection pump immo module to the + and - of the battery and a button/switch wired directly under the steering wheel) and... successsss! It started! Prrrmm Rrrmm rrrrmm... and then... disaster. It stopped. Reason?: The radial seal (28.5x38.1x6) from the injection pump's shaft was worn-out and all the fuel was pumping out.

Oh, and about opening the door without a key... If you realy realy reeealy need to get it open, you'll manage. One way or another. As I said, my way: Pulled the driver's door very very hard and inserted a wire with a loop just enough to catch the lever.

Best regards, Cristi (Romania)

Anyone would think there's an oil company behind each of the car manufacturers. Or maybe I'm just being cynical in my middle-years ;-)

You're not paranoid The oil companies are the first ones that make a car's price.

I calculated the fuel consumption/car price/maintenance/taxes etc. and in my country if you are using a petrol car or a diesel car and you don't drive more than 60 000 miles per year... it's irrelevant.

For instance, in Romania a brand new diesel injection pump for my Felly: 1000 euros. For a Felly running on gas, 30 euros;

A fuel filter - For diesel: 10 euros. For gas: 5 euros.

A battery for diesel - 120 euros (Must be above 70Ah); for gas: 60 euros (can be 50Ah)

Also, the diesel cost more, it's noisier, drinks more engine oil, problems starting in winter, higher taxes, etc.

In conclusion, the low fuel consumption of the diesel engines looses it's advantages because of these reasons and when a diesel beggins to fall, it won't stop until it gets to the scrapheap yard.

Personally, I'd rather drive a diesel because I prefer a lower consumption and a higher maintenance cost than a higher consumption and a lower maintenance cost.

Edited 23 March, 201115 yr by cristinuzzu

Hi just noticed this thread i only had one key to my felicia 1.9D and i wanted another as a safe gard thing, i took it to my local key cutters and he used a ford key it had the same immobilizer chip thingy and it works perectly anad only cost me £20!! :yes: i hope this is a bit of help!

yeah that's right, some of the ford keys share the same blade type as some vag group cars.... there are 2 different types of key for a felicia though, the early ones have an edge cut key, and the later ones use a blade key, but they both use the old school immo1 system so copying the code from one key to another is a doddle