Volvo won't start - “Immobilizer - See Manual”

Question

My 2004 Volvo XC90 refused to start tonite, occasionally displaying the message "Immobilizer - See Manual".

I searched for solutions, and came across two suggestions: lock & unlock the door 5 times (didn't work) and try turn one the key to position 2, press & hold the odometer button while turning the key to position 3, then release the button & turn the key off. That didn't work either.

I also tried reversing the key, and using the 2nd key - nothing helped.

Any other way to get the car to start?

Answer 1

One answer is simply to wait - according to the manual, after 5 hours the immobilizer will reset, and in fact the next morning the car started fine.

I took it into a independent Volvo shop today, and was told that the connection on the antenna ring sometimes goes bad, but the ring itself rarely needs to be replaced - taking off the connector and spraying with contact cleaner is all it needs.