How to Open a Vauxhall with a Dead Key Fob
Getting into Your Vauxhall or Opel
- First note that if you are already inside, click here for help getting started!
- Second, for video help, click here.
- Finally, if you need or want another manufacturer, click here.
Retrieving the mechanical key
If the key fob or electronic key is not working, getting into your vehicle will require a mechanical key. Most Vauxhall and Opel models use a simple flip or fold out key fob. Push the button in the corner of the front of the fob (arrow, right) and the mechanical key will unfold.
It gets a little more complicated from here. There are four electronic key styles that have a mechanical key hiding inside. In the first three (right), the arrow points to a button or slide lever. Push the button or slide the lever and pull the key ring end to remove the mechanical key.
This fourth style is used exclusively in some Astra models and the mechanical key is hiding behind a cover. Press locking mechanism on back side and remove cap by pushing it gently forward. Push the mechanical key towards the outside over the detent and pull it away.
Getting Inside
In most cases, a key hole is visible at the back of the driver’s door handle. If this is the case, insert the mechanical key and turn, and you’re in.
In some Astra and Insignia models, the key hole is hiding behind a cap at the back of the driver’s door handle. Look for a slot under the cap. Insert the mechanical key into the slot and again hold upward pressure. Then rotate the key upward until the cap comes away (right).
To replace the cap, insert it with the lower side in the recesses. The rotate it upwards and push it until the cap engages at the upper side.
Remember, getting in the car is most important. If you have difficulty replacing the cap, don’t. Let your dealer do it when you get a new battery for your Key FOB!
Other models covered here include the Ampera, Combo, Corsa, Crossland, Grandland, Mokka, Vivaro and Zafira.
Continue to Part II, Getting Started …
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Remember that only proper service and repair procedures will ensure the safe and reliable operation of your car. In addition, proper safety procedures and precautions, such as the use of safety goggles, the right tools and the equipment should be followed at all times to eliminate the possibility of personal injury or improper service which could damage the vehicle or compromise its safety.
These posts are for information sharing purposes only, and should not be used in lieu of an OEM service manual or factory authorized service procedure. We are not in the auto repair business nor do we publish automotive service manuals. Nothing we include on these pages and posts has been reviewed, approved or authorized by any vehicle manufacturer.
Technology is always changing and what is current and accurate today may be literally out-of-date and inaccurate tomorrow. And when it comes to the current state of flux in the auto industry, nothing is more true.
The author has 25 years of automotive experience and has assembled the most extensive collection of symbols and warning lights anywhere (over 1,000!) and can help you open and start any keyless start car with a dead key fob battery. BA, St. Joseph’s College, ME: MS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY
Astra and Mokka models both use the front cup holder as a back up start location. Drop the key fob into the cup holder with the buttons facing up (right). Again, you can now simply step on the brake, or clutch with a manual transmission, and press the Start / Stop button the start to car as normal.
The Combo, Corsa, Crossland and Grandland models all share a common back up start process. Hold the electronic key with the buttons facing out on the marking on the steering column (right). Press the Start / Stop button with your other hand while stepping on the brake, or clutch with a manual transmission, and the vehicle will start as normal. Note that the key fob must be held against the mark until the car starts.
The Astra Van and Zafira models use a similar process, but the mark has a different appearance. The mark is round with a lock and lines radiating from it inside. And it is close to the Start / Stop button (right). Hold the electronic key with the buttons facing out on the mark. Press the Start / Stop button with your other hand while stepping on the brake, or clutch with a manual transmission, and the vehicle will start as normal. Note again that the key fob must be held against the mark until the car starts.
The Insignia model uses a unique back up location. There is a transmitter pocket behind the front cover of the center console in front of the shifter. Open it and place the electronic key on the spot with the buttons up (right). You can now simply step on the brake, or clutch with a manual transmission, and press the Start / Stop button to start the car as normal.
Finally, the Vivaro uses a slot above the Start / Stop button as a back up (right). The key fob must be slid into the the slot. Once it is there, you can step on the brake, or clutch with a manual transmission, and press the Start / Stop button to start the car as normal.
Holden uses three key fob or transmitter styles. To get in the vehicle when the key fob battery is dead, a mechanical key will have to retrieved from the fob and used to unlock the car.
The next two (shown to the right) feature a removable mechanical key and are quite similar (one has more buttons than the other). Each has a button on the side of the transmitter (remote control or ‘clicker’) near the key ring end. Press the button, as shown, and pull the key out.
The Commodore, Acadia and and Equinox models are hiding their key holes behind a cover at the back of the driver’s door handle. To remove the cap on the Acadia and Equinox, pull the door handle out to the open position. Insert the key into the slot on the bottom of the cap (number 3, right).
The cap on the Commodore is slightly different but there is still a slot under the cap. Insert the mechanical key into the slot and again hold upward pressure. Then rotate the key upward until the cap comes away.
In the Commodore, open the cover of the center console storage area in front of the shift lever. Place the transmitter in the transmitter pocket beside the power outlet, with the buttons facing up as shown in the image. Remove any additional items that might be in the area. Press the brake pedal and the engine Start / Stop button and you’ll be on your way.
The Equinox uses the left side cup holder as a back up location. Make sure there is nothing, particularly coins, in the cup holder, and simply drop the fob into it with the buttons facing up. The car will recognize the fob and pressing the brake pedal and Start / Stop ignition button will have you on your way.
The Trax, also uses a cup holder as its back up spot. However, there are three cup holders in the center console area, and the choice is the front and is separated from the two behind it. Be sure to use the one in the very front (see the image to right). Drop the key fob into the front cup holder, buttons up, and start the car as normal, using the Start / Stop button while stepping on the brake pedal.
The Spark uses a unique back up start location. The electronic key fob is placed in the center console transmitter pocket, which is in front of the cup holder and alongside the brake handle (image to the left). While in Park, press the brake pedal and press the engine Start/Stop button and you will be on your way.
Finally, the Acadia uses a back up pocket located in the back of the center console (image to the right). Drop transmitter or key fob into the pocket with the key ring up and the buttons facing the front. With the vehicle in Park or Neutral, press the brake pedal and the Start / Stop ignition button as normal. Once again, you will be underway.
Note: If you have made an attempt to start the vehicle without success, there may be residual pressure in the brake system and a new warning light may appear (left) or text message to Step on the Brake. Press the brake pedal very, very hard when trying to start the vehicle again to be sure that the release switch behind the pedal is engaged. Or wait a few minutes and try again.
To start your Alfa Romeo Giulia, Stelvio or Tonale with a dead key fob battery, you will need a back up location to place the fob. For the first two models, it can be found in the center console.
In the Tonale, the spot is in the front cup holder, as shown to the right. There is no marking we are aware of.