Volvo V50 (no keys) BUT...

[financenick]

Hi, was hoping to get some help from those in the know, im a trader and recently bought a Volvo V50 1.6 DRIVe 2011, but did not realise untill the car arrived that the car has no keys - so my question is would this item on eBay solve all my problems and get the car up and running? thats what you get for buying online

cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=171207825952

[VivaLaVolvo]

To be honest I wouldn't know if they could be used or not but I would imagine whatever solution you find will require some degree of software manipulation by Volvo.

I assume the car was a repo hence the lack of keys? Have you tried contacting the previous owner and offering them a bit of cash if they can find the keys?

[Coventry]

Why don't you just contact the previous owner and ask for the keys they deliberately kept in order to steal the car from your fourcourt in a few weeks time?

[bongodave]

Shame you not in Coventry. I lost the keys to my X-type (transponder in key and a remote), called out a local locksmith and in 20mins he had programmed the transponder, remote and cut a key. Cost £150 cash. Bloke was saying he got the gear for most cars and all he needs is a log-book and cash.

Very impressive when Jag wanted over a ton for one key only, then all the programming/cutting etc.

May be worth having a word with some of your locals.

[SonyVaio]

Dave that's because those cars security systems are crap unlike Volvo which is one of the best in the world, not as simple on the Volvo.

@ financenick

As above really, your best bet is contacting the previous owners but failing that contact Volvo with your proof of ownership etc... They should be able to sort you out a new key but may also need the car to do so.

Basically the immobiliser is not just a single box of tricks on a Volvo it is integrated into the CEM (central electronics module) and the ECM (engine control module (ECU)). The items are all coded into the car and if any of them are coded differently then the car simply will not start.

I believe replacing those parts from the ones on eBay will not work, but always happy to be proven wrong. Clan (member on here) would be one of the best people for a definitive answer on this.

Take it to Volvo, you'll be looing at approx. £200 for key plus coding. Volvo can then also disable the old keys from being able to work that the previous owner has at the same time. I would suggest getting 2 keys.

:star-wars-smiley-01

[bongodave]

Admittedly the car is a few years newer than the Jag but, without knowing what gear the mobile guys have got, I wouldn't want to write them off for the cost of a call and potentially saving a couple hundred quid.

Would make most sense, agreed, to give the old owners a call and see.

The AA ranks a 2005 Jag as 7/10 security and a 2011 V50 as 8/10 btw. Far from crap when Jag's security is 6 years older.

[SonyVaio]

The AA ranks a 2005 Jag as 7/10 security and a 2011 V50 as 8/10 btw. Far from crap when Jag's security is 6 years older.

I get where your coming from but it doesn't quite work like that.

The Volvo V50 started in production in 2003 for release 2004, the security has had minor changes over the years so in essence the security for the Volvo is 2003 technology. To be fair I've obviously no idea what Jag you're speaking of but if a man in a van can pop along and open it up then security is not good. So the Jag security is probably that of the last major upgrade of body change and probably also older technology than that of the car itself (Reg plate).

The immobiliser will also be a very small part of the security test and will more than likely focus on locks/deadlocks/double locking/time to gain entry/audible alarm/visual alarm etc... etc... In most cases I'd expect most manufacturers to score reasonably well in these basic test.

So even though Jag is 7 and Volvo 8 in real terms they can still be worlds apart.

One of the worst of late is (was) BMW! Box of tricks, access OBD2 port and just programme a brand new key - job done. Your 17k - £100k motor gone quite literally in a couple of minutes! Driven away with 'the key' as far as some insurance companies were concerned and thus not wanting to pay out.

:star-wars-smiley-01

[pgm]

My understanding for this (and earlier models) is that the car has to be connected to the Volvo network for new keys to be programmed into the system. So therefore the car will have to be transported to a main dealer to be sorted. I found this out when I had my 2000 my S80. As has been said keys off ebay are very unlikely to work and dealers are reluctant to try and program non genuine keys. The cheapest way is to try and get the original keys.

Paul