Ever tried that spare ignition-key you had cut..??

[usual suspect]

When we got our Ford Ranger we did not have a spare set of keys for the ignition & bed-lid... no problem, got a spare set cut from the 'key-man' at foot of day market..job done.
That is until I used them today..the ignition key fits perfect, turns in the barrel, spins the car engine over lovely...BUT THE ENGINE WILL NOT START UP!
BEWARE.. your spare set for your Vigo, D Max,etc may have the same symptoms when tried in the ignition..??? There's something of a security feature within our ignition that will not play ball when we use that spare key...go try yours tomorrow...lesson learnt for us today.

[Big Boy]

Yes, the key needs to be chipped, and the chip configured to your particular car.

[Nereus]

Wiki has the following to say about. It is the "immobiliser" that needs the correct coded key, probably more correct to say the "operating end", or handle part, that actual contains the chip.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_i_Prog ... er_key_fob

[STEVE G]

Yes, I have a Vigo and it has that security feature, the engine won't start unless you have the right key in the ignition. I do have a handbook in English and I'm sure it says that you can turn that feature off but only before you loose the chipped key!
It did occur to me to change the battery in the key last year as I realised it was over five years old.

[Nereus]

I HATE keys! My Land Rover originally had an immobiliser fitted that operated with a small "fob", rather than the key itself. It became know as that unreliable that Land Rover actually produced a spare part "by-pass" plug. When mine finally failed and stuck me up away from home I removed the actual immobiliser canister, which was plugged in and buried behind the dash, and plugged in the "by-pass" plug. The alarm and remote door locks still operate as before, just no longer any immobiliser.

If you have a "receiver" type tow bar fitted to your car there is a nifty little device called a "tow bar vault, or safe". It slots into the 50 mm square of the tow bar and has a combination lock with a solid rubber cover over it. The small "vault" will hold a spare key, or some emergency cash, and nobody would ever know it was there.

I keep a single spare door key in it with the spare ignition key and fob inside the car, along with a spare set of house keys that I WILL need next time I lock myself out of the house!

[usual suspect]

Carrying on with your hidey-place theme..when I was younger & had big bikes..my spare key was always taped inside the rear light lense..not good if ya took a tumble, but if ya lost ya key then a Philips screwy had the lense off & you were back-in-the-game.