In a Temporary State of...

[Marthe48]

54. Some things

Are the front wheels on the car turned at all to either side? We had a car that wouldn't start and almost called AAA for a tow. This was years ago and I don't remember what kind of car. My husband turned the steering wheel, hard to do with no power, but as soon as he got the wheels straight, the key worked. I know the same thing happened to someone else and our experience solved their problem.

We had a 2008 Prius with a key fob. The battery in one of the fobs died and there was no way to open the fob. A new fob was going to cost 350.00 and also would have to be programmed. My husband got a razor and made a slit in the soft rubber around the buttons on the front of the fob. He was able to get into the fob and put a new bettery in. He either found a video on You Tube or our mechanic did program it for free.

Last year, I was still driving the Prius. The protective cover on the fob buttons was gone, nothing but a tiny push button left. I was able to get a universal fob on eBay and transferred the guts of my old fob to the new one. It worked and I didn't have to get it programmed. I don't know if you could get a new fob and transfer the memory board and so on to a new case, with new batteries.

There might be some BMW chats or boards online that might cover your situation. There could be aftermarket solutions mentioned. After my husband passed away, I joined a Prius board and it was really helpful. I also post in the Automotive forum on DU and the people who read that one have been very helpful.

Your situation really sucks. I saw someone post that bmw isn't going to care about cars as old as your car is. More of the throw away mentality.