Granite-Granny

I have been having problems with one of my remote entry keys so I bought a used key on ebay. I had a blank key blade and had the key cut at a local locksmith but totally spaced on the fact that the ebay key has a different RFID chip. Obviously the car would not start with the ebay key.

My old key was toast so I decided to pull it apart and see if I could switch out the RFID chip from my old key to the ebay key. It worked and now my ebay key starts the car. I still need to get the remote programmed and the only way I can get that done is by going to the dealer.

Anyway, here is the process I used for replacing the RFID chip:



1. Remove the battery cover with screwdriver in the slot. It will reveal the screws to open up the remote, see picture above.
2. Remove the two T5 Torx and single T6 Torx.
3. Separate the two halves of the housing. You'll have to be careful when you unwind the key blade spring. The key blade spring is wound up 1.5 times.



4. Take note of the location of the spring anti-rotation slot for when you re-assemble.



5. The circuit board is held in by two plastic tabs noted in the picture above. I used a soldering iron to melt the plastic tabs. Don't melt them too far because on the re-assembly you can melt the plastic a second time to re-secure the circuit board.



6. Remove the circuit board in the direction of the arrow above. I used a small screwdriver to carefully lift the circuit board above the lip of the housing then used my fingers to wiggle the board free.





7. In this case of my Ebay key the chip was fully enclosed in a plastic retainer. I used a soldering iron to melt the retainer enough to remove the RFID chip. Don't melt the housing too much because you need to use it for retention on re-assembly. On my old key the retainer was more of a C clip. In both cases I used a small screw driver to lever the chip free. On my ebay key when I pried the RFID chip out the spring force of the C clip sent it flying across the room. Be warned.





8. The RFID chip retainer looks a bit messy after the removal process. However it still had enough retention to hold the chip from my old key.



9. I used the soldering iron to further melt the RFID retainer plastic to ensure the RFID chip was securely held in place, see the picture above.

10. Re-assemble the spring into the key blade release button and the two halves of the housing. Make sure the spring torsional end tab is inserted into the slot shown in previous pictures. Twist the uppar part of the housing by 1.5 turns to ensure there is enough torsional load to flip open the key blade.



11. Re-assemble the two halves of the housing being careful to correctly engage the panic button hinge tab in the housing slot and to make sure the microswitch clears the button and is seated correctly.

12. Install the 3 torx screws.

13. Snap on the battery cover.

Now I have a key from ebay that can mechanically open the doors and start the car. I still need to have the remote part programmed. After much searching on line and trying many different methods of self programming the remote the only method I've found that works is to take it to a dealer although it might be possible with the Ross-tech software. The stealership charged me $60 for the programming which isn't too bad compared to some of their prices.

If anybody has a user method for programming the remotes of a 2006 A3 I'd be very grateful if you could share it with me.

Kind regards and Happy Christmas,

Granite-Granny

asetunc

Thanks Granite-Granny,
Good job.

I was looking for it.