Sunday morning we went to start the E-Pace, and got a message"smart key not recognized", so went out & bought new battery for the key fob.(as per the owner's manual) Still same message. The dealer in Shreveport, La. where we bought the car, has lost the franchise; had to have the car towed to Jackson, MS to have the car/key reprogrammed, which they did next day. Called & said had to order 2 new keys...So far we have spent over $1800 to get new smart keys. We had no warning that the key battery was about to go dead. Somehow we should be notified of this. I don't understand why replacing the key battery would not work & glad we got home Saturday night or we would have had to spend the night at the restaurant we went to.

 

You can still use the KF even with a failed or dead coin battery. If the remote does not work, there is an emergency key inside the KF. On the door handle of the driver's side, there is a KEY icon, below that there is a a small square slot. Pry that with your emergency key blade. Once it's out you'll see a key hole where you can insert your emergency key blade. Once you're inside the car, even "smart key not recognized" message is on the dash, you can still start the car by placing the KF on where the rib section on the steering column. On my XF, the rib section is on the left side.

Changing the coin battery will not loose your KF programming. Since ownership of my 2018 XF, I've done changing the coin battery several times. Never had a problem. When buying a coin battery, buy the top quality brand like Enegizer and Duracell. Do not buy online there are lot of fake batteries.

 

Always a newb willing to spend the money!
Seriously, this is a tale of what NOT to do.
If you really believe that all these car owners with FOB’s pay to have their cars programmed just because the battery died, then I have some land to sell you.
ALL FOB’s (domestic and foreign) have the ability to start the car without a battery in the FOB. Jags are no exception.

Let me introduce you to my little friend called “Google”!

 

My2018 E-Pace has been re-programmed by Ritchie Auto Group in Jackson. MS. But they ordered 2 new key fobs about 2 weeks ago; but only the blade arrived instead of the part that they need which is the
part that works with the programming......I sent 2 key fobs with the car & both have the blade which Jaguar
just sent. Why Jaguar did not send the important part is beyond me. New date ETA for the part they need is August 2. I can't understand why Jaguar sent the part they don't need......I have made at least ten calls to follow up & guess I will have to continue.

 

Either way, this sounds expensive and I do hope you are able to get it sorted out

 

I'm told that the proper piece of the key fob will arrive at the dealership on Aug. 2nd. Jaguar sent the piece which does not have the program mechanism.....I don't understand how they could do that.....

 

I just cannot believe the time and money being spent on something that may have been a false error message. I received the "SMART KEY NOT RECOGNIZED" error message on my 2016 F-Pace several years ago and all I had to do was place the Fob against the underside of the steering column and the car started immediately. The error message never returned.

Like all dealers, I believe this one is taking you for a ride!

 

We tried moving the key fob to all the places you suggested, but none of them worked. As per the owner's manual, I bought a new battery, but it did not work either. I do appreciate all the actions suggested in the forum, but eventually ai had to take it to the closest dealer.