Amber — check soon
Immobiliser: key not recognised
The car does not recognise the key. The engine either will not start at all, or starts and dies after a couple of seconds.
An amber lamp means you can drive on, but do not put it off. The car runs in a protective mode and usually drinks more.
What to do now
- Try the spare key. It is the quickest check and it splits the causes in half at once.
- Take the key off the bunch with other transponders — a neighbouring chip blocks the reading more often than a key actually fails.
- Replace the battery in the key if it has buttons: a flat one gives exactly this picture.
- Hold the key against the mark on the steering column or the spot given in the handbook: many cars have an emergency starting method.
Codes usually behind it
The lamp only says that something is wrong. The code says what exactly — read it with an adapter and look it up here.
What to read next
A lamp is not a diagnosis. The same symbol lights up for a dozen different reasons, and only the code stored in the car tells them apart.
How the app helps
CarScan reads the codes behind the lamp through an OBD-II adapter, explains them in plain words and puts them into a report you can show to a mechanic.