Topic

Hi All,

My son has lost the keys and fob of his MGF (1999) so it is currently in a locked and armed state.

So I'm seeking the guidance of the wise men and women of this forum to answer a few questions I have

1. For the locks I can either pick them or forcibly remove them and replace them with secondhand or new parts. Anything I need to know about? Can someone share their experiences with a similar situation?
2. For the missing fob I can either replace the ECU, Alarm unit, and Fobs as a matching pair or get a new fob and use Pscan to match the fob with the ECU and Alarm unit. Is this assumption correct? What is the recommended approach?

Any other tips or tricks will also be highly appreciated.

Thanks,
Bas

It depends on how much “damage” you are prepared to tolerate & if you have a remote boot opener. There is no better recommendation there could be to have a secondary boot & bonnet pop.
There’s a slacker part of the hood as it folds to the rear of the door, you might be able to persuade a small hand through & lift the sill pin & then your in. If you have a boot pop, your in the boot & subsequently under the bonnet & armed with a 13mm spanner the battery is disconnected, then all goes quiet.
The rest is a matter of replacing the alarm unit & bits that response to the correct prevailing code.
The further along this route you travel the more likely you are to find the key.
M

Thanks, that's helpful information. Yes, we've already had an issue with the keys being in the boot and then having to pop the boot from the engine compartment however in that case the car was unlocked.
You're probably right that when we have all the locks replaced and the key fob matched to the car we will find the original key

Small update. I found the keys again

That is the best outcome.

And only to be expected, according to the Law of Sod.
If you buy a car with only one key, the best way to get a second is to loose the first. That puts you in a position where you are forced to buy a second, which you might otherwise not have bought. Once you are home with the new one & back on the road you will find the first, invariably in a place you have looked several times.
M

I have three working fobs and 5 keys (I had some spare keys cut) I always take a key with me when going out, even to local shops, just in case I lock the main keys/fob in the boot .Have a remote boot popper on order . It amazes me how many owners only have ONE set, I also carry spare fob batteries in the glove box, need the fob to cancel the immobileser

A replacement key only costs a few quid. I have a spare key tucked away in a magnetic key holder Similar to this . Once it's been under the car for a couple of years it is so filthy that you would never find it if you didn't know where to look.

And no, I didn't wait until after I'd locked my key in the boot before doing this. I've had my magnetic key box since about 1980!