Both of the key fobs for my Mk3 Sport are broken. One falls in half (I’m guessing when a previous owner tried to replace the battery they snapped the catch) and on the other fob the plastic at the bottom which holds the keyring has crumbled so I now can’t attach it to my other keys.
Is it possible to by just a replacement case? I phoned my local deal and they want £114 for a new bottom part to the fob! If I want the top part which holds the flip-out key it’s £140 plus 30 mins of their time!
There must be a cheaper alternative to get them fixed?
They are the 4-button remote and have ske126-01 stamped inside them.
Well the one on ebay went for more than I wanted to spend.
So, I replaced the battery in the spare unit with the broken clip, glued it together and it works fine.
I also replaced the battery in what was my main key (I had to bend the contacts), and now it’s working better although the red LED is considerably dimmer than the spare.
I’m now using the spare as the main key as it’s pretty much 100%, although changing the battery will be interesting as the glue is quite strong Not sure how long they last for, maybe I won’t need to for a few years?
From what I can work out there are at least two remote units for the MX5. I have the a Vitreon remote bought of ebay and it cannot be coded to the car. I talked to an Auto locksmith and he advised that the remote has to be the same make and model as the receiver on the car. The one key I got with the car was a Mitsubishi SKE126-01. Therefore I need one of those remotes to operate the door locks remotely.
Tmpsons will cut you a key with a transponder that will start the car. The problem is if you lock the car with the remote the alarm goes of if you unlock the car with the timpsons key.
So in my case if I can get a (Mitsubishi SKE126-01) remote off ebay. I will still have to use the timpsons key unless to start the car unless I can get a small transponder in one of the flip keys that I have and they are hard to find.
Did anyone find a suitable solution to this, apart from glueing the fob together. I’ve got the same problem, both fobs are broken and held together with bluetac. It works but not a very good fix me thinks.
Also blighted with this issue (though only on 1 key fob). In the first instance, a strip of duct tape works wonders, not classy but very effective and no issues with glue when the battery runs out.
The other alternative I may try (if in the unlikely event that I start to get worried that people will judge me for having Duct Tape on my key ring) would be to carefully drill through the outer casing into the thick “male” protrusion" that sticks out from the key end with a fine drill bit using a hand drill/driver. Don’t go too far or you’d be swearing!
Then use a very short length screw of the sort commonly used on plastic / computers etc (slightly coarse thread) and screw the parts together, possibly with a dab of super glue to stop the screw from rotating loose. Blue Tack on the inside will probably do most of the sticking together, the extra screw would be used just to keep the parts from dropping apart when you’re jangling your keys over a grate in the dark.
Just a thought. No liability. Fettle at your own risk.
I think that the empty plastics are available from some eBay sellers. Ask Matt & Mix, they can be found on the Eastern Region forum. Failing that, I’m done the small screw repair on a number of occasions with good success.
I’m also interested in this post, after having the clips break when I’ve changed the batteries in both my Mk3 keys. I have used a spot of Evostik to hold the two halves together in the hope that I can separate the halves when I next come to change the batteries.
Yes, I saw those, BUT in the description, they do say;
“It fits with cars of Mazda 3 5 6 RX8 CX7 CX9 MX5 only with 4 button in red (as on photo) it is not compatible if your existing key has all buttons in black !”
^^^ I’ve just splashed out the money on one of those key fobs above, thanks for the link.
I’ve got both key fobs broken, well the casings and one defunk (the battery needs replacing) so I will refurbish one and replace both batteries. If all goes well will order a second casing, no more blu tack to holding them together.
Well I’ve refurbished my spare key fob, it wasn’t straight forward but with a bit of fettling it at least works and looks better.
The ebay casing mentioned above was purchased @£3.79 and 2 batteries @£1.98. Incidently the batteries are CR1260 button type batteries.
One thing I found, the contact points on the buttons in the new case didn’t contact the points on the gel casing very well, I had to space out these on the gel casing with a few spacers, some cut down bits of plastic and glued them in place (see picture to where these points are)
Annoyingly though the repair I wanted to make also was actually to fix the key blade section into the fob properly, this is still not firmly clicked into place, a weak spot the lugs break, and have done on both fobs. I glued the keb fob to the key blade part, it is firmly stuck, I used some glue dots from my wife’s crafting box. These will come apart easily with a bit of persuasion should I need to replace the battery in future. Just need to do the same with the other key and another £3.79.
Not sure how long they last for, maybe I won’t need to for a few years?
