Know How To Start Your Car If Key Fob Dies

[Model 19 6"]

My 2019 Equinox has a display telling me where to place Fob. It has worked so far. I would to know why Fob lets me in car then won't start says Fob not recognized.

 

[Chukar60]

I was driving home from an extended elk hunt this past fall when I got a message on my dahs telling me that my fob battery needed replaced.
This is the first vehicle I have owned that did not just use a key (which still seems like the better system).
I had no idea what the truck would do if the fob actually died. I had about 200 miles to get home so I took a chance of stopping into a small grocery in an even smaller town. Fortunately they had one CR2450 battery on the shelf.
I keep a spare in my console now along with knowing how to start it with a dead fob.

 

[wood714]

Glad it worked for you.
You should be glad that you actually had a real printed manual at hand. Everything else I've bought recently required you to look up the manual on-line and print it out yourself if you want a hard copy.

My truck came with a small library.

 

[BC38]

Something else to try-
You had been out in the cold, and the fob was probably also cold. Use your body heat to warm the fob up. That MIGHT help the battery have enough juice to start it.

I thought the exact same thing.
Batteries rely on a chemical reaction to produce electricity. At single digit temps chemical reactions can be slowed considerably - enough to reduce the voltage that a battery produces.

FWIW, those good old fashioned tumbler locks and ignitions are great, really reliable, etc. UNTIL THEY AREN'T. Ever had to replace an ignition switch where the tumblers are worn out and the key won't unlock it? TRUST ME, that is a job that REALLY sucks. I'd much rather have to change a key fob battery or push button.

Though none of my cars are new enough to have the fob & pushbutton....

 

[riverrat38]

I carry a spare battery. I can get in the car with the brass key that is captive in the fob. I bought my Leaf used, and the spare fob was contaminated with dirt and moisture. It didn't work except, it will allow the EV to "start" by holding the fob near the "start" button. I keep it in the car, away from the button, and the battery removed.
Nissan wanted almost $400 to replace the fob. No warranty, since the previous owner had allowed the moisture in.

73,
Rick

 

[Beemerguy53]

Ahhh... the obnoxious march of technology, allegedly to make our lives easier/more convenient. I suppose the devious car manufacturers have mede it impossible even for a clever person to rip out this electronic tomfoolery and replace with the mechanical locks and ignition switches that have served us so well for decades?

Modern cars won't run without modern technology...everything is computer controlled. And no, you can't go back...

Example: One of my cars has no dipstick. You check the oil level by parking on a flat surface and dialing up the "check oil level" command on the computer screen.

Time marches on...

 

[max]

Yes, there is a key inside the fob. You have to take it out and place just the key in the spot in the console. My Edge is a 17, maybe on the newer ones you place the entire fob there. The manual should tell you.

The car was not locked. This is a pretty good neighborhood and the car is usually in sight as we are walking.

You slide a cover off the driver side door handle to find the spot you stick the key to open the door. I am very glad I did not have to deal with that also.

Glad you didn't freeze......

Question about the Edge (my daughter had one but I never sat in it...), does the FOB have an actual key, i.e., did you use the key to get into the car?

My car has one buried in the FOB somewhere (VW), but it's not obvious where to stick it in the drivers door handle.... It's so secret you need to take a rubber plug out of the underside of the door handle assembly, then take the darn FOB apart to get to the key.... ugh.

Hope I never have to get to that, I'm pretty spoiled to just touch the door handle and the little button on the console to get the thing going....

At least, with mine, if I can get in, the whole key FOB fits into the ignition switch assembly.... no need to take it apart to get the skeletonized key out.

Love the ease of use when the battery is working.... but.....

At least up here in the soggy/wet NW, it very rarely gets that cold....[/QUOTE]

 

[hobby-gunsmith]

know how to start your car if key fob dies

I have a 2015 Honda with a fab start key ignition. For about two months, when I depress the button to start the car, the ignition clicks and would not start. I would have to keep depressing the button until it started on the fifth or eight time. The problem continued and it did not happen all the time. So, I ran it by the Dealer and service writer said it probably is the battery. Within the next few weeks, the car was ready for the required inspection, and I asked the service writer to have the mechanic look at the problem. Well, as it turned out, it was not the battery but the starter. Since the car has only 38,000 miles, I assumed the car was under warranty. Unfortunately, it was not and the price for the new starter, only one in stock, was $650.00 and the warranty was good for ten years. Also, quick starts and stops on the button has an effect on the battery and needs somewhat of a charge time for the battery to adjust itself. Welcome to the modern times and I still like the old method of starting the vehicle with a key.

Nick

 

[mtgianni]

Another thing I've heard about the FOB is that it's always putting out a signal and thieves can drive by with a secret device to record that signal then use it to get into your car. (If they would only use their intellect for good, not evil, Robin!)
One thing is I'll never buy another new car without remote start. (If I could only take all the junk out of my garage so I could actually put my car in it.)

This is true but the signal radius is about 40". You would have to be standing in the middle of the road to have someone pick it out of your pocket.

 

[Chuck24]

My truck came with a small library.

The manual for the sound system in my 2018 Tundra is a fair amount larger than the manual for my first car.

 

[kaaskop49]

Must be a slow day: 31 posts so far on car fobs. Seriously, I admire the poster who carries a spare fob battery in his vehicle. I have to have a jeweler change the battery in mine. In a sterile, dust-free environment.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

 

[LVSteve]

The car was not locked. This is a pretty good neighborhood and the car is usually in sight as we are walking.

That just makes me cringe. If I cannot reach out and touch it, it's locked. Says much about where I lived as a kid, maybe.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Every time I see the word "fob" I think of my grandfather who kept a chained pocket watch in his vest pocket. Like most Brits of his day he would twirl it.

 

[Karnivore]

Thanks to the OP for bringing this up. I just bought new 2022 Ram 2500 with a key fob setup. I took a few minutes and educated myself on YouTube. Then went to Amazon and bought some spare CR2450 batteries.

If I'm gonna get tripped up, won't be from a dead key fob!

 

[gregintenn]

I never found it a major inconvenience to stick a key in a hole and turn it.

 

[max]

I figure that on a zero degree day at 7 in the morning, there aren't that many bad guys out.

I worked for a large insurance company here in town and for 20 years, I left my keys in the car. Never had a problem.

That just makes me cringe. If I cannot reach out and touch it, it's locked. Says much about where I lived as a kid, maybe.

 

[peterdeb]

Had the fob battery die on me once. bought a half dozen and replaced both fobs, mailed a few to my kids and put one inside my owners manual on the key fob section.
The new technology sucks. I wish we still had the slider controls from cold to hot and a three speed fan. I've run off the road looking at the control screen trying to turn the heat up.

 

[jbtrucker]

Thanks for the post forgot about the key fob on my 2017 Mustang . There is a emergency key inside the fob . Push the key tip in a slot bottom of a cover on the door handle slide back expose door lock ,use slot on fob to use as key handle . Inside the car remove cup holders inside console and put the fob in a slot . then push the start button on the dash

 

[hittman77]

Last time I had a key fob battery go bad I got a warning on the dash of my Silverado that fob battery was low. That’s a mighty handy feature there.

 

[FlyFish]

Something else to try-
You had been out in the cold, and the fob was probably also cold. Use your body heat to warm the fob up. That MIGHT help the battery have enough juice to start it.

This. If I'm outside on a cold winter day and I have my fob in an outside pocket it won't work. A couple minutes inside my coat and it works fine.