Common problems with Peugeot car keys

Common problems Peugeot car keys

Are these the worst car keys? How do we measure how good or bad car keys are? We only see the bad car keys in our business, because they’re the ones that keep showing up at our key repair shop. We know, the most complained about car key is French, and it’s a close-run race. The culprits are Citroen, Peugeot, and Renault. This article will cover common problems with Peugeot car keys.

Typical Peugeot Flip style key

A sorry looking key, poorly designed and manufactured, in our opinion. We regularly see this style of key that hasn’t survived more than two years and compared to other brands, that’s disappointing.

To be fair to Peugeot, after ten years in the wilderness, they’ve introduced a new design of key.  This new key addresses many of the problems with older Peugeot keys. However, before we review the new key, we’ll look at the keys that are among us.

Back in 2006, all Peugeot vehicles started to pop up with these fancy new flick-out keys. They looked great, just like the cars. However, someone must have left the office junior in charge of the CAD/CAM key design department for the day, and the rest is history.

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There are three major problems

Firstly, they no longer have a solid transponder chip. In the olden days, the transponder chip circuits used to be tough, encased in carbon, like the ones below

They were so tough, should an elephant accidentally sit on your car key, it would probably still work, even if it did look a bit worse for wear! Now, fast forward a few years and someone, somewhere, had this great idea to change the design. They introduced a ‘virtual chip’, which creates a transponder chip signal using many components on a circuit board. Delicate components, thrown van keys, thin plastic design and poor manufacture. What could go wrong?

If the average Peugeot Flip car key is carried about on a velvet pillow, protected from sudden knocks and bumps, the design would work perfectly. However, once these keys are dropped and thrown a few times, the components that make up the ‘virtual chip’ can become faulty.

You can forget an elephant sitting on the new style of key.  Should a tiny mouse, weighing just a few ounces, brush past the key on a bad day, it may well make the transponder chip signal ‘virtually disappear’.

Once the virtual chip disappears, it means you’ll be ‘virtually stranded’ somewhere, on the back on a ‘virtual’ AA recovery truck (Other recovery services are available). This problem with the transponder is at the heart of the problems with Peugeot car keys.

Now to be fair, a lot of the other manufacturers also use this system, such as Vauxhall, Ford, and Land Rover. However, we don’t see the same volume of problems that we see with Peugeot, Citroen, and Renault.

More problems with Peugeot car keys.

The flip arrangement is made from plastic, so thin, that you can virtually see through it. (Actually, it’s black, so you can’t really see through it, but it’s very thin). The blade has been placed in the wrong orientation so that whenever there is pressure applied, (such as, actually turning the ignition) there is too much pressure applied to said plastic.

Over time, it cracks and lets the blade become limp and so annoying. Once this happens the spring mechanism also stops to function.  These problems with Peugeot car keys does produce some stunning DIY, such as this repair using nuts and bolts.

The only answer to this problem is either a new key, or swapping over to a new repair case. This video will explain about the problems and how to choose the correct case.

Third problem -The Buttons

Lastly…the last of the problems with Peugeot car keys. The buttons may as well have been made from Balsa wood or Pavlova, they split and crumble and are horrible.

We’re not sure what material they used, but it’s a similar one to that used on the old Nissan remote keys. The buttons wear through fairly quickly, and if it’s not sorted out promptly, the electronic switch underneath is also damaged beyond repair.

This shows a typical Peugeot case;, the key was damaged beyond repair.

General Advice

These are really common problems in all makes of car. Click Here to read about how broken keys can be fixed.

What can you do about the Peugeot key problem? At present, the only answer is a replacement key, or if the switches are on, possible a replacement case.  We were hoping that a new tough style of key may be introduced by a second party that was back compatible, but this hasn’t happened surprisingly.

The main thing is to check out the keys before you buy the car. If both keys are faulty, this could add £300 to the price of your new car, so take the time to check they work.

Lastly, as the song goes, show a bit of tenderness…These keys need looking after.

Wondering if the key is to blame for your car not starting? Click Here to find out more.

You’re not alone with your car key problem, there’s more on the Peugeot Forum. Click here