Fob that suddenly stops locking the doors may appear to be a dead fob. The fact is, however, that many issues are related to something small, cheap, and easy to solve. Therefore, instead of assuming the worst or ordering an expensive replacement, you should try the following. Maybe you can solve the issue yourself, in your driveway.
In order to understand the cause of troubles in the fob system, we should first determine how the key fob works. As a transmitter that sends signals when the button is pressed, the fob makes sure that the necessary functions are activated depending on the signals received: lock, unlock, or start the engine. The correct performance of all the mentioned functions depends on the normal operation of three major components: battery, electronics, and a pair of fob and the car itself. In 90% of cases, the failure occurs due to malfunction in one of these components.
It could be the battery and the signal power in case the fob reacts to pressing when you are holding it in your hand and not reacting when you are pressing the button from afar. Start testing by going a little bit further each time. It could also mean that some metal structures nearby prevent the signal from reaching the receiver. Thus, the lack of reaction from afar and the response close to the car means that the issue relates to the battery.
After a few years of being stored in a pocket or purse, the device suffers from external impacts. Check whether it has any traces of physical damage. For instance, it may have some cracks in the case, damaged, sticky buttons, or moisture inside it. The fob that has been in contact with water behaves weirdly.
In case you have two fobs and the spare one works just fine, there is nothing wrong with the second device. On the contrary, in case none of the fobs work, there is some problem with the car itself.
There are situations when the fob gets out of sync with the vehicle and you need to program it again. To re-establish the connection, you should either find the necessary option in your user manual or hire a locksmith because there is no way to do it yourself.
There are several details that you shouldn't neglect during the troubleshooting. You should check whether you pressed hard enough or something prevented the signal from sending. In case only one button stopped working, the issue is probably related to that particular button. Finally, in case there is a spare key hidden inside the fob, you can access the vehicle and figure out what was the problem.
If replacing the battery doesn't help, and the case or other parts of the device are fine, you should think about contacting a locksmith. There might be something wrong that could be revealed using special equipment. In addition, when you bought a new fob online and you need to cut and program it, a locksmith will help.
Don't forget that the keyless entry system purchased online won't work unless cut and programmed to your car. Call a locksmith first and provide information about your car in order to ensure that the product will work.
As we have seen, sometimes the malfunction of a fob is caused by something simple. Before deciding whether to get a new fob or not, you should make sure that the battery is in perfect condition, that there is no visible damage, check the spare fob if possible, and consider the possibility of losing synchronization. In case none of it helped, visit the locksmith who will help you figure out what to do.
There are situations when you should get rid of the old fob and purchase a new one. In case the fob has some serious damage, you cannot restore it. However, before buying a replacement, you should ask the locksmith to check whether a new fob really is what you need.
How they work, what to do when the battery dies, and what replacement involves.
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