E46 full lock and ignition barrel swap?

[modz 148]

I have an E46 coupe with the old square shape key. Unfortunately someone has decided to break into the car and bust the door barrel also.

I have access to a parts car (E46 coupe also) with diamond key and all locks and ignition intact. 

Would it be an option to swap all the locks and ignition across?  Only thought was the transponder, but if I use the ignition and key from the same car I figure it should work?

Thanks

[allan 295]

Would be looking at what is involved to strip your damaged door barrel then using the locator pins in it for your key and placing them in the barrel from the parts car. Other wise it starts to get very involved changing locks, ignition keys, EWS units to mat with the new keys also does the remote locking still work if fitted.

[Gabe79 410]

I don't think you'll be able to use just the EWS from the donor car, which is what you'd need for the keys to work.

At a minimal, using the donor EWS without recoding it will give you a tamper dot on your mileage display. You can't use the donor keys if you code it either, as the keys won't match it either...

Your EWS, DME, and LCM need to have the same VIN and that is also stored in your keys. The VIN on each of those can be changed to match the others, except for the keys. That said... Keys are the cheapest part of that setup (lie, LCM is cheapest, but you don't need one of those...) Basically, get your barrel fixed. The other options will end up costing more than you think, I think.

[modz 148]

Thanks team, I'll start with the barrel fix and go from there

[exextatic 111]

You can swap in the other car's EWS/barrel/key if you remove the EWS functionality from the DME.

Trying the donor key without swapping the EWS won't allow the starter to activate (unless you bypass the wiring at the EWS unit), even if the DME has the EWS functionality removed.

Needless to say, removing the EWS functionality from the DME would make the car easier to steal, so the barrel fix is the best thing to try first.