The immobiliser issue is worse with a leather covered column shroud, which adds distance between the fob and sensor ring..
Make sure that the sensor ring is as far out as possible. I cut away some of the plastic shroud around the key hole so that the ring is a bit further out. The distance is critical and seems worse in cold weather.
But if you swipe the black part of the key flat against the keyhole, the immobiliser light should go off and you get 30 seconds to put the key in and start.
