Manual transmission r61.

Was left stranded today due to a key. Thought it was a battery. Could still unlock and lock the car, but the car would not detect the key. Trying to get home, I got the key fob open took out the old battery and put in one that was not a rechargeable battery. Same specs just not rechargeable.

It locks/unlocks, cool. Insert of the key, nothing. Insert the key again worked. Got myself home.

Fast forward. I have a brand new ignition switch from the auto parts store and actually looks identical to my original one down to the sticker and stock photos of oem stickers.

Anyway, the brand new one will not eject my key. Now my original will not eject the key…..

What’s going on here?

I have the car on a charger to keep the battery from draining, I already have new keys on order.

I have to have the original ignition swi

tch disassembled to get it to eject. Car has power and was driving fine today. Just wont recognize the key or eject it and the new switch wont eject either.


 

Did the replacement ignition switch work fine for awhile?

 

No, not at all. Plugged it in. It lit up, took my key and said NOPE! MINE!

after disassembling (beyond the photo) and putting the original back together. It ejects now… im going crazy with this thing…

 

Using a BMW scan tool, what fault codes (especially CAS related) do you recover?

 

I can’t put it in accessory mode to try and read codes. When I was pulling codes prior, I had nothing to do with keys.

 

I should also specify, the only “scan tools” I have, the two common “bimmer” apps

 

Be ready to hook up the BMW scan tool and read fault codes the next time you can start the engine.

 

Bimmerlink? That should be fine. I'm able to recover BMW/MINI fault codes even with the $7 Car Scanner app.

Can I safely assume that you don't have a spare key fob?

If you disconnect the battery and reconnect after a few minutes, does the fob eject?

 

will do!

 

I do not have a spare.


after taking apart the switch, it is completely mechanical. After getting my original sorted out by disassembling and reassembling, it will eject. Regardless of power. There is no actual electronic locking mechanism in it, it is all mechanical. If you look at the photo attached, you’ll see that on the white horizontal bar there is a tiny metal “tab“ sticking upward. On the cover, there is a special path on the inside made for it that it goes into. When you push in, if follows the path into a slot where it would be locked in place. When you push out, it then continues onward and then circles back, which is where your key would be when it is ready to be pulled out .


i could be wrong as I am pretty tired but that’s what i seem to remember from earlier

 

Just noticed how hard it is to see, and how compressed the photo turned out.

 

Oh, okay, a mechanical rather than electrical issue cause by the fob. How does the fob interact with the tab (or does it)? How is your fob damaged or worn to prevent the tab from circling back?

Does your fob have a metal or plastic ring around the perimeter? Mine has a shiny metal ring like this one:

 

it’s missing the ring, however, it has been fine for a WHILE. I’m genuinely unsure what the issue was. I put it in like normal.

I will see if I can get more photos and a better explanation when I get back to the ignition switch. Wish I had taken more photos when I was disassembling and reassembling. May have been helpful for those in the future.

 

The missing ring is potentially the problem. I thought I read somewhere that a replacement ring can be purchased.

Here it is:

 

Thank you for the link! Definitely changing the color.


It appears as though it gets its alignment from the bottom of the key. And with the ring gone, it does not appear to impact it’s alignment, which makes sense because I’ve been able to use the key fine before.

 

Here’s something that popped into my head.

As of right now from the perspective of the key, it does not know that it does not have a rechargeable battery in it. It just knows power. I already know that my key locks and unlocks with the new battery. Shouldn’t my car be able to still detect the key?

could there be something else going on?

 

You have concluded that the fob problem is solely mechanical (stuck fob). However, you also have experienced no-crank problems when you press the Start-Stop button. How is this issue not electrical? Makes me think you have at least two different problems, mechanical and electrical. Maybe the proposed electrical problem is related to the immobilizer. An immobilizer issue (Car Access System/CAS) could be revealed by retrieving the BMW fault codes.

 

The only reason why I have a no crank no start is because the car doesn’t detect the key. When it has, starts up just fine. Really wish I could figure out a way to temporarily bypass it just so I could see if any codes have popped.

 

my key is out. After disassembly / reassembly, it allows me to insert / remove my key.

 

Mechanical and electrical key fob functions are required to crank and start the engine. Your key fob only works for your specific car because your fob sends a unique radio signal (electronic) only recognized by your MINI's Car Access System.

 

For kicks I put in my obdii reader. Key in, but nothing on the dash. Surprisingly I was able to pull a code, but it was left over from before I replaced my diverter valve and nothing in the CAS system. Hopefully a new rechargeable battery will help. Still have new keys on order.

could a comfort access key be used on a car with no comfort access? Use it like a normal key with no comfort access and then you’d have a key that you can actually swap a battery. Probably just wishful thinking

 

Soldered in a new battery (VL2020) and it’s starting. Still have new keys on the way. At least my ignition switch is good. Going to see if any codes popped

 

So after starting. Shut down. Went to get code reader. Inserted the key. I received the wrong key notification, and now nothing…

 

no codes.

 

The immobilizer chip is mounted on a small PCB inside the fob. That's a strong suspect given the wrong key notification and lack of fault codes, assuming that the newly installed battery is functioning properly.

See this related thread.