Hi All
oh dear, this is a ongoing issue and very important , can we all get together and make 'the perfect faq' on this issue
The critical info all VT's have the following info regarding the key set up
BCM code - stored on the key head ( electronics ) the code is a 6 digit number , it never changes eg 112233 , this is the code burned into the BCM module , and the same must be on our key head
Key cut code - the code that tells a locksmith the position of the zig zag key cuts , the code is one alpha and 4 numbers eg H1234
From what i have been told the battery in the remote / head is only used to activate the remote central locking , some people say it will work totaly flat others say it will not, i have not experienced this and when it happen to me ( i hope it wont
) i will let everyone know
As for the car recharging the key this again is not proven one way or another
The only close truth to all of this is that on the key there is a small raised are / nipple , this terminal rubs on the ignition switch to provide an electrical contact, and can cause problem on older cars.
Now if the key itself, the key head has 2 small screws that hold the key blade in, be careful , as one of the screw holes has a small metallic chain / wire this is important as that is part of the link up via the ignition barrel
Now i am not sure if the VT's work this way, but there is a rolling code on many cars, this could be the holden way when they had separate remotes eg like the VP i had, each time you start the car it gets a pn code of the key,
this is a math based number sequence eg today the code is 12345 , the next code will be 12874 as a example, the variation in the codes is a math formula, now the car stores the current code, it can then work forward or backwards x amount of codes
Why is this important ???
1) theft deterrent - years ago people could radio scan the cars remote frequency and get the radio code, this on early alarms was all that was needed, just like the older garage doors, sent the right frequency and the door opens, they then added codes, so the received and the sender units match up and realize its the correct sender not just someone in range or some one nearby with the same or similar frequency.
2) Ok your spare key - with rolling codes, your old spare key that has not been used for a few years may now be out of sync - i have had this problem at work, we had about 8 cars all holden , and yes a few times with lost original keys, they grab the spare, it unlocks the door but wont start the car, ??? why well the keys had basically the orignal start and xxx amount of next codes, the car has been started many times over the years , so that spare key key have start code no #1 and even the next 200 codes , but the car has been started 999 times since then, the codes are now very old and out of sync or useless - i think the car was towed to holden or we paid for a on site visit and they reset the BCM or rematched the bcm to the current key so that they were in sync
I have had in the past replaced the following
Work
VT wagon
VZ wagon
VE wagon ( yeah all the same bloke )
VZ crewman
Personal cars
WH Statesman ( VX )
VZ wagon
VY SS
VT SS
Ok re the work cars, all were bought new and drivers had a key and a spare in the office, eventually a key is lost, so soe one takes the spare home, this particular drive lost the spare so had nothing
Luckally the car were bought new, so to our local holden dealer with rego and a photo of the in number they gave us the BCM key code & the key cut code
This will only work if you can guarantee that the car has the original BCM for the car, buying the car second had is not a guarantee, agreed you have a 9/10 chance if it being ok !!!
Personal Cars
WH - lost a key somehow
VZ wagon - break and enter door and ignition smashed with something
VY SS - bought used came with 1 key only
VT SS - bought used came with 1 key only
Ok the hard one first , VZ wagon
To fix i went to holden and bought genuine new door lock assembly , door handle , door key , ignition key.
Make sure you get the full set not just a replacement lock with key , the full set has a collection of different springs and clips, each is numbered so that you can take out the original old / worn clip get the number and reassemble
the new one with the same key code number, this will allow the same key ( metal zig zag key cut ) to be used
I took these to a proper locksmith, also i took the original key , as i had 2 working keys i did not need any reprograming !!!
All the locksmith done was look at my key , use the code that holden gave me and confirmed the key code numbers matched the cuts on the key shaft
He then assembled the key springs / clip in the correct order and tested the key in the new ignition lock / door lock and they worked
I then look them home and found a youtube video on reinstalling the ignition key , the door lock was simple enough as i had a pdf diagram of the door insides that holden gave me for fee while i was there
Cost Holden new ignition key full @ $70 , door lock assembly @ $40-50 - note these are brand new holden with the mixed bag of key / cylinder spring
Locksmith charged $20 or $30 for 5 mins work
Ok the easy ones - WITH A WORKING KEY
WH - VY - VT all had 1 key ( ok WH was lost 1 , the other 2 bought used and only had 1 key )
There is only i simple and foolproof way to do this !!!
Take your existing key and go to a locksmith and get a genuine holden key, have them first key a key blank and physically test that on the car.
Ie just have a blank key cut, , then take it to your car and manually put it in the drivers door / boot / ignition key and make sure if physically unlocks and opens the car, the key should also unlock the steering lock and
you will be able to crank the car over, but is will not fire up as there is no chip / key code so the engine will not run !!!
What you are doing is proving that they key is correctly cut and will physically work as a key to unlock !!!
At this stage if it does not work it is silly to go any further , getting the codes / programing done is a waste if you cannot turn the ignition key !!!
If it wont open the door but turns the ignition key, you have a chance , you can use it as a spare or use the remote to electronically / remote lock the car so it is not a complete loss !!!
Ok the key needs some rework . filing, or a new key cut , for now lets assume the key is physically fine
Now the programing - - WITH A WORKING KEY
Larger locksmith and more advance key cutting ./ engravers will need a special car code machine, they will advise you what model they have and what year model cars they can do. , Seeing out VT's etc are 15years
old most people even with older machines will be able to do this ( i hope there machine is newer than 15 years )
They can nly do this one way , take you existing working key and place it in the machine, it will read / copy the data of the key electronics , this is basically the BCM code and maybe what code it is up to now.
Once the machine gives the ok , they take out the original key and install the new key ( note this can be a physical old key blade but a new key head / electronics )
The machine will copy on to the relacemtn key head the codes.
Now what do i do ???
Ok your new key is cut right and coded right ,but not physically matched up to the BCM , it WILL NOT remote unlock the car or start the car at this stage - it is copied or prepared but not synced up !!
You must do is the following
1) take both keys
2) either manually test the new key on the drivers door lock or use the old key to remotely unlock the door and disable VATS
3) place new key in ignition barrel
4) start the car with the new key , run the car minimum 15-30 seconds , then switch of , wait for the security light to flash , now put the key in and restart the car
the car should restart if all is OK
Remember , if this does not work, unlock the car with the old fob again to disable VATS and start the car, run for another 30 seconds , switch of and try again
The key should work by now, if it does not , then talk to the locksmith, on the WH & VT i did not have a problem w with the VY i did, i followed instructions twice and failed, the locksmith came out tried and failed
he then took both keys , re-read the code on original and recopied on the new one, and he performed the sync in the car, eventually all good
Cost is $80-$120 depending where you go , a blank key cut is $15-$25 , and the remote cost them about $60 so resell and program for $90 , i doubt you will get genuine any cheaper than the $80 , be realistic and set the discount target at $100
regards
george
oh dear, this is a ongoing issue and very important , can we all get together and make 'the perfect faq' on this issue
The critical info all VT's have the following info regarding the key set up
BCM code - stored on the key head ( electronics ) the code is a 6 digit number , it never changes eg 112233 , this is the code burned into the BCM module , and the same must be on our key head
Key cut code - the code that tells a locksmith the position of the zig zag key cuts , the code is one alpha and 4 numbers eg H1234
From what i have been told the battery in the remote / head is only used to activate the remote central locking , some people say it will work totaly flat others say it will not, i have not experienced this and when it happen to me ( i hope it wont
) i will let everyone knowAs for the car recharging the key this again is not proven one way or another
The only close truth to all of this is that on the key there is a small raised are / nipple , this terminal rubs on the ignition switch to provide an electrical contact, and can cause problem on older cars.
Now if the key itself, the key head has 2 small screws that hold the key blade in, be careful , as one of the screw holes has a small metallic chain / wire this is important as that is part of the link up via the ignition barrel
Now i am not sure if the VT's work this way, but there is a rolling code on many cars, this could be the holden way when they had separate remotes eg like the VP i had, each time you start the car it gets a pn code of the key,
this is a math based number sequence eg today the code is 12345 , the next code will be 12874 as a example, the variation in the codes is a math formula, now the car stores the current code, it can then work forward or backwards x amount of codes
Why is this important ???
1) theft deterrent - years ago people could radio scan the cars remote frequency and get the radio code, this on early alarms was all that was needed, just like the older garage doors, sent the right frequency and the door opens, they then added codes, so the received and the sender units match up and realize its the correct sender not just someone in range or some one nearby with the same or similar frequency.
2) Ok your spare key - with rolling codes, your old spare key that has not been used for a few years may now be out of sync - i have had this problem at work, we had about 8 cars all holden , and yes a few times with lost original keys, they grab the spare, it unlocks the door but wont start the car, ??? why well the keys had basically the orignal start and xxx amount of next codes, the car has been started many times over the years , so that spare key key have start code no #1 and even the next 200 codes , but the car has been started 999 times since then, the codes are now very old and out of sync or useless - i think the car was towed to holden or we paid for a on site visit and they reset the BCM or rematched the bcm to the current key so that they were in sync
I have had in the past replaced the following
Work
VT wagon
VZ wagon
VE wagon ( yeah all the same bloke )
VZ crewman
Personal cars
WH Statesman ( VX )
VZ wagon
VY SS
VT SS
Ok re the work cars, all were bought new and drivers had a key and a spare in the office, eventually a key is lost, so soe one takes the spare home, this particular drive lost the spare so had nothing
Luckally the car were bought new, so to our local holden dealer with rego and a photo of the in number they gave us the BCM key code & the key cut code
This will only work if you can guarantee that the car has the original BCM for the car, buying the car second had is not a guarantee, agreed you have a 9/10 chance if it being ok !!!
Personal Cars
WH - lost a key somehow
VZ wagon - break and enter door and ignition smashed with something
VY SS - bought used came with 1 key only
VT SS - bought used came with 1 key only
Ok the hard one first , VZ wagon
To fix i went to holden and bought genuine new door lock assembly , door handle , door key , ignition key.
Make sure you get the full set not just a replacement lock with key , the full set has a collection of different springs and clips, each is numbered so that you can take out the original old / worn clip get the number and reassemble
the new one with the same key code number, this will allow the same key ( metal zig zag key cut ) to be used
I took these to a proper locksmith, also i took the original key , as i had 2 working keys i did not need any reprograming !!!
All the locksmith done was look at my key , use the code that holden gave me and confirmed the key code numbers matched the cuts on the key shaft
He then assembled the key springs / clip in the correct order and tested the key in the new ignition lock / door lock and they worked
I then look them home and found a youtube video on reinstalling the ignition key , the door lock was simple enough as i had a pdf diagram of the door insides that holden gave me for fee while i was there
Cost Holden new ignition key full @ $70 , door lock assembly @ $40-50 - note these are brand new holden with the mixed bag of key / cylinder spring
Locksmith charged $20 or $30 for 5 mins work
Ok the easy ones - WITH A WORKING KEY
WH - VY - VT all had 1 key ( ok WH was lost 1 , the other 2 bought used and only had 1 key )
There is only i simple and foolproof way to do this !!!
Take your existing key and go to a locksmith and get a genuine holden key, have them first key a key blank and physically test that on the car.
Ie just have a blank key cut, , then take it to your car and manually put it in the drivers door / boot / ignition key and make sure if physically unlocks and opens the car, the key should also unlock the steering lock and
you will be able to crank the car over, but is will not fire up as there is no chip / key code so the engine will not run !!!
What you are doing is proving that they key is correctly cut and will physically work as a key to unlock !!!
At this stage if it does not work it is silly to go any further , getting the codes / programing done is a waste if you cannot turn the ignition key !!!
If it wont open the door but turns the ignition key, you have a chance , you can use it as a spare or use the remote to electronically / remote lock the car so it is not a complete loss !!!
Ok the key needs some rework . filing, or a new key cut , for now lets assume the key is physically fine
Now the programing - - WITH A WORKING KEY
Larger locksmith and more advance key cutting ./ engravers will need a special car code machine, they will advise you what model they have and what year model cars they can do. , Seeing out VT's etc are 15years
old most people even with older machines will be able to do this ( i hope there machine is newer than 15 years )
They can nly do this one way , take you existing working key and place it in the machine, it will read / copy the data of the key electronics , this is basically the BCM code and maybe what code it is up to now.
Once the machine gives the ok , they take out the original key and install the new key ( note this can be a physical old key blade but a new key head / electronics )
The machine will copy on to the relacemtn key head the codes.
Now what do i do ???
Ok your new key is cut right and coded right ,but not physically matched up to the BCM , it WILL NOT remote unlock the car or start the car at this stage - it is copied or prepared but not synced up !!
You must do is the following
1) take both keys
2) either manually test the new key on the drivers door lock or use the old key to remotely unlock the door and disable VATS
3) place new key in ignition barrel
4) start the car with the new key , run the car minimum 15-30 seconds , then switch of , wait for the security light to flash , now put the key in and restart the car
the car should restart if all is OK
Remember , if this does not work, unlock the car with the old fob again to disable VATS and start the car, run for another 30 seconds , switch of and try again
The key should work by now, if it does not , then talk to the locksmith, on the WH & VT i did not have a problem w with the VY i did, i followed instructions twice and failed, the locksmith came out tried and failed
he then took both keys , re-read the code on original and recopied on the new one, and he performed the sync in the car, eventually all good
Cost is $80-$120 depending where you go , a blank key cut is $15-$25 , and the remote cost them about $60 so resell and program for $90 , i doubt you will get genuine any cheaper than the $80 , be realistic and set the discount target at $100
regards
george
