Good evening! This issue started last fall after I could not start my 2016 F1. A message appeared stating that the key cannot be recognized, and to then hold the keyfob on the dashboard at the spot indicated in the graphic. I had never seen that before, nor have I ever heard of such a thing! So I checked the user manual and sure enough - Jaguar is evidently prepared for such an event! It says as an emergency starting procedure, hold the keyfob to the lower dashboard on the left side of the steering wheel, and press the start button! And it worked! But I was wondering what caused the event to happen in the first place, and so I changed the battery in each of my fobs. I figured that would fix it! But today, after the car being garaged for awhile, it happened again! But this time it took me awhile, as it seemed the keyfob needed to be in just the exact right place for the procedure to work. So I started the car, and let it run for awhile, planning on taking it for a rif=de to charge up the battery. But it was supper time so I turned the car off and tried to lock the doors. Oh no, I could not lock the doors! So I got back in the car and tried to start it again. "Key not recognized"! After fiddling for a few minutes, I got it restarted, turned it off, got out and tried to lock the doors. Nope! Cannot do! So the keyfob disconnects itself after the car is started, and won't even lock the doors!

Help - any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

I’d check to be sure the new fob battery is good. Measure it, or try a different battery, this very much sounds like a bad battery.

After that, try charging the car’s battery. A low battery can cause all sorts of weird stuff, though this sounds more like a fob problem. Do you have a 2nd fob?

 

Thanks for the reply! I do have 2 fobs, and both do (or don't do) the same thing! Tomorrow I'll get new key fob batteries and see what happens. The car battery is charged enough to start the car several times!

 

My 2015 does this, I hold the fob next to the dash and it will start. Thinking it is a weak battery or the fob itself is going bad, I only have 1 fob, so I cannot try another and I have replaced the battery and still does it.

 

Does sound like a fob issue but,

Should also check the car’s battery. You mention not driving it for a while. Just because the car will start doesn’t mean it’s happy. JLR battery was born with around 1,000 CCA’s. If it drops down to around 500 CCA all sorts of gremlins come out to play. Needs to be an appropriate tester with an AGM program. If you are not driving the car regularly, install a battery maintainer like CTEK or NOCO.