When I bought my Z in November, it only came with one key, I knew eventually I would have to get a spare
However, having read some of the threads on it, I felt a little bit out of my depth
I decided to create an appointment with Eldridge Auto Locksmiths and one of their guys Dom came round today:
First he got an aftermarket blank e46 key and within the first 5 mins of him arriving got it unlocking and locking the doors on the button, fantastic, stage 1 done
Then he got his fancy machine in the back of his van to trace and cut this new key, stage 2, done and only 10 mins in!!
However, my Z had other ideas for stage 3, coding in:
After decanting my glovebox, as that is where both he and I thought the module was, Dom pulled out various modules and inspected them. Determining, after some gentle testing, none of them were the EWS module.
I then realised all the EWS you tube videos I had watches has been on LHD cars, but it seemed odd to me for BMW to have relocated every other module behind the glovebox and not the EWS
So it turns out BMW had decided not to relocate the EWS, DESPITE RELOCATING EVERY OTHER MODULE, and my EWS module was under the steering column panel ! One would hope there is some logic to this! I am sure there is.
Finally that was the lengthy bit of this whole process completed
Then Dom quickly read the chip and coded in the new key
He said it took a bit longer than normal to code because my module was not what was on most z3's EWS 2, mine was EWS 3
And after many tests later, I finally had a new key!
Overall, it was a very good, no stress process and both Dom and I learned something from it.
Dom was nice enough to let me nose around the process taking place in his van
Dom was also happy to remove the glovebox and other stuff, however I chose to do it myself to save some time.
Highly recommend Eldridge Auto Locksmiths, Oxfordshire area only
However, having read some of the threads on it, I felt a little bit out of my depth
I decided to create an appointment with Eldridge Auto Locksmiths and one of their guys Dom came round today:
First he got an aftermarket blank e46 key and within the first 5 mins of him arriving got it unlocking and locking the doors on the button, fantastic, stage 1 done
Then he got his fancy machine in the back of his van to trace and cut this new key, stage 2, done and only 10 mins in!!
However, my Z had other ideas for stage 3, coding in:
After decanting my glovebox, as that is where both he and I thought the module was, Dom pulled out various modules and inspected them. Determining, after some gentle testing, none of them were the EWS module.
I then realised all the EWS you tube videos I had watches has been on LHD cars, but it seemed odd to me for BMW to have relocated every other module behind the glovebox and not the EWS
So it turns out BMW had decided not to relocate the EWS, DESPITE RELOCATING EVERY OTHER MODULE, and my EWS module was under the steering column panel ! One would hope there is some logic to this! I am sure there is.
Finally that was the lengthy bit of this whole process completed
Then Dom quickly read the chip and coded in the new key
He said it took a bit longer than normal to code because my module was not what was on most z3's EWS 2, mine was EWS 3
And after many tests later, I finally had a new key!
Overall, it was a very good, no stress process and both Dom and I learned something from it.
Dom was nice enough to let me nose around the process taking place in his van
Dom was also happy to remove the glovebox and other stuff, however I chose to do it myself to save some time.
Highly recommend Eldridge Auto Locksmiths, Oxfordshire area only
