Hi everyone,

I was hoping you could help me out here. I have a peculiar situation where both of my key fobs suddenly stopped working all together. Yesterday, I left work and the car started up perfectly normal and stopped at the store to grab a few items, I was inside for maybe 20 minutes and when I came back outside the key fob wouldn't unlock the door. So I used the key blade to open the door and the alarm went off. I then went to try and start the car and I got the messages that the keyfob couldn't be found and to reposition the key fob. Every time I tried to start the car with the keyfob next to the steering wheel the car alarm would go off. I thought maybe the battery was dead as no lights were turning on so I tried jumpstarting it, but that didn't work. I did a bit of research and found the spot where you are supposed to put the keyfob and finally got my car started. I then replaced the batteries in the keyfob with brand new Duracell DL2032 batteries and still, nothing from both key fobs. I'm thinking that the likelihood of both keyfobs suddenly going dead at once are a bit slim, but has anyone else had this happen.

Cliffnotes

• Both keyfobs stopped working and won't lock or unlock the car
• The car can't find the keyfobs when I try to start the car
• The car battery is good
• I put in brand new batteries into the keyfob
• The car only starts after putting it up against the slot under the trunk release button
• I have a video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFL32TmuQiI
Thank you for any help you can give.

 

The key fobs take CR2032 batteries and I'm not sure DL2032 are the same.
Try a couple of CR2032 instead.

 

As far as I know a DL2032 is just a Duracell-branded CR2032, so I doubt the keyfob batteries are at fault here.

Beyond disconnecting and reconnecting the battery to try and force a reboot of various modules in the car, I'd be hooking a code reader up to see if there are any faults logged, specifically with key authorization.

 

Firstly (and pls don't take offense - I'm just asking) are you 100pc sure the keyfob battery is in the right way? My dealer tells me the number of times he sees them wrong way up is amazing? And check metal tabs are bent so it's making contact with the battery

Assuming that's ok, do either of them work with any of the fob buttons for remote lock/unlock, turning on the headlights etc?

If not then car battery itself could be the next culprit as they are notoriously sensitive to a slightly lowered car battery

Also try pulling the codes from OBD port and see what's stored there

If none of that works then a trip to the dealer and you might need them either re pairing to the car or a key control module replacement. Which won't be cheap...

 

This is a trip to the dealer. The center display gives an advance warning for a while when the fob battery too low and both fobs being dead is too much of a coincidence.

 

Yep, the checkered side is facing the contacts in the key fob.


The more that I read up on this the more I think that this is the case. Oddly enough, I found someone with the same exact issue in NY like me haha. I guess New York is not a good state for these Key Control Modules lol.

 

Is there a certain code I would be on the lookout for?