Talking aboutkey FOB’s. My car has the push in button to start it that uses a key fob.
I drove to a local businesse last week and guess what? Trying to start the car and the battery in the key fob went out and the car would not start.
The owner had an employee drive me down to the gas station to buy a new battery.
I figure the battery in the FOB was down and with the 15 degree weather it killed it.
“Trying to start the car and the battery in the key fob went out and the car would not start.”
I just bought an Autel AP200 code reader. No engine light or anything, just wanted to have one. I scanned my car and there is one diagnostic code, for a low battery in my key fob.
Reading up on it, the fob reports its battery condition every time it’s used. Replaced the CR2032 battery and cleared the code. That code reader saved me from going thru what you went thru.
I have had relatively few problems with any of those electronic key fobs. The worst was when one accidentally got into the wash and it emerged clean but dead.
Supposedly, in my push button start car, if the battery ever went totally dead, there is a place on the steering column where you can physically hold the key and it will start. Never tried it, though.
My biggest gripe is that the car will occasionally complain that the battery needs to be replaced, even after a new battery is installed.
What’s interesting is that the car will complain about the battery when starting, but you can still do the lock/unlock function from hundreds of feet away with no problem.
It’s a good idea to buy a spare battery and keep it in the car just in case.
Interesting, this past year my Jeep Compass gave me a warning on the front screen that the battery in my key fob was getting low so I replaced it.
Another useless feature that I hate is that "Start/Stop" function that you can turn off every time you start your car. Mine stopped working this past year and I thought it was learning from my constantly turning it off. Apparently that wasn't the case since a month ago I got another warning on the dashboard screen that said it was not functioning properly and needed immediate service.
So I had to drop the car off at the dealer for the day and the fix was they had to replace one of the batteries. (I guess it has two under the hood)
Another pet peeve is the 270 page owners manual. You try to find instructions on some potential feature and it says “if equipped”. So now you have to figure out if the car is equipped with it or not.....
# I drove to a local businesse last week and guess what? Trying to start the car and the battery in the key fob went out and the car would not start.
I actually asked about this when I bought my last car. They said that even if the batter is dead, you could put the fob on the dash, and the car would start via an NFC. I tested that proposition by popping the battery, and it worked. Those of you who have one of these fob things might want to try that out yourself, just for peace of mind. Obviously, this won’t work for remote start.