ive done this battery replacement once before 2 years ago, its a walk in the park.

car was telling me smartkey battery was low, went to Autozone, got a new battery. swapped batteries and now the remote doesnt work. buttons wont work, car wont recognize that the key is around. I can still slide the key in the slot to start the car, and it says "smartkey battery low" even with the new battery. i even tried putting the old battery back, no dice

any thoughts? is there a risk that the battery can die completely and i cant start the car with the key in the slot? I wont be able to take it to the dealership until at least friday.

 

interesting development. i took apart the remote and found that the contact points are not exactly touching the battery anymore.

there's 2 contact points........a 4-post prong that touches the negative side of the battery, and a smallllll little tiny metal arm that touches the positive EDGE of the battery. when i manually make them connect, the battery works. but when i assemble it, there's no connection.

this is annoying. but at least i know the root of the problem

 

update #3...spent about an hour playing with the connectors, bending the metal so it would touch the battery perfectly.

remote is working correctly now. thank you for reading

 

Well known design flaw. And once you bend the little tabs, they're weakened and it won't be long before you start getting random "dumb key not found" errors. At least temporary cure is to make a little round shim, maybe ten to twenty thousandths of an inch, to help push the battery against the contacts.

 

The remote key and the inability to start this model without any form of an old fashion metal key is the SCARIEST thing ever to me. I changed my car battery a year ago and list ALL COMMUNICATION between the fob and the vehicle ! After numerous attempts to remedy, I was forced to tow to dealer for $5000 worth of electronics replacement. Too much to list. But think of it. On the 2009, there is NO way of even opening the glove box if the little touch sensor refuses to open. Love the car but we now call ours "Christine" after the novel about an independently minded, evil car capable of doing what she pleases.

 

At least we have a key to get in but I'd be afraid to ever take off the little cover. In my experience with modern cars where everything snaps together like a plastic model for children ages 3 to 8, every time I take something loose for repair access, it literally "snaps" right off and then I'm having to glue it back together.

 

well, even without the battery making an electrical connection, i was able to put the key in the slot and it started up without a problem. My understanding is even if the battery dies, you can still start it up.

if the remote COMPLETELY dies, then yeah you're a little stuck.