What do I do if my car key fob stops working?
How to tell a flat fob battery from a car battery problem, the emergency methods almost every car has for getting in and starting, and when this becomes a dealer job.
beginner20 min5 min read
Keys, Security & Tech
Fobs, immobilisers, sensors, dashcams and in-car data.
14 guides in Motoring
Why will my phone not connect to my car?
Bluetooth calling, CarPlay and Android Auto are three separate connections that fail in different ways. Which one has broken, and the reset order that fixes most of them.
beginner20 min5 min readWhat do I do if my car is stolen?
The order of calls that actually matters, why the DVLA and your finance company both need telling, and the deadlines that quietly govern an insurance claim.
beginner25 min5 min readWhat personal information does my car hold, and how do I clear it out?
The eight places a car quietly stores your life — paired phonebooks, satnav destinations, garage door codes and the manufacturer's connected-car account — and the order to clear them in.
beginner45 min5 min readCan I diagnose my own car with an OBD reader?
What a code reader can and cannot tell you, how to read a fault code without being misled by it, and why the code names a circuit rather than a broken part.
beginner20 min5 min readHow do I use dashcam footage after a crash, and is a dashcam even legal?
How to protect the file before it is overwritten, who to give it to and in what form, what the law actually says about recording in a vehicle, and the audio question people get wrong.
beginner20 min5 min readWhat do I do if I lose the only key to my car?
What it actually costs and takes to replace a lost key, why a dealer is not always the answer, what proof of ownership you will need, and how to make the second key stop being optional.
beginner25 min5 min readWhy do my cruise control and lane assist keep switching themselves off?
Why these systems refuse to engage in rain, fog and low sun, the windscreen replacement that quietly breaks them, and what a false emergency braking event actually means.
beginner15 min5 min readHow do I power a dashcam without flattening the car battery?
Why a dashcam left on parking mode kills batteries, what a voltage cut-off actually does, and the difference between a cigarette socket, a hardwire kit and a separate battery pack.
intermediate30 min5 min readHow do I stop my catalytic converter being stolen?
Why particular cars are targeted, which deterrents actually work, and what to do about it if the worst happens.
beginner15 min5 min readHow do I find and change a fuse in a car?
Where the fuse boxes actually are, how to read the diagram, how to spot a blown fuse, and why a fuse that blows repeatedly is telling you something the fuse cannot fix.
beginner20 min5 min readShould I keep my car keys in a signal-blocking pouch?
What a keyless fob broadcasts, why a pouch or a metal tin helps, and the household habits that matter at least as much.
beginner15 min5 min readWhy are my parking sensors beeping at nothing, or my camera gone black?
Why sensors scream at nothing after rain or frost, what a towbar does to the system, and the windscreen and calibration issues behind a black camera screen.
beginner15 min5 min readWhy has my stop-start system stopped working?
The long list of ordinary conditions that make stop-start decline to work, why the battery is usually the answer when it stops permanently, and why the right replacement battery matters.
beginner10 min5 min read