Car on Charger in Key Fob Dead - trifecta

[BKipp]

I made an idiot move...

E-Golf is parked, plugged in to charging port and I turned the car on [not thinking] to roll window down while washing it [old gas car maneuver].

Car is ON sitting in my driveway, I CANNOT turn it off because it is plugged in to the charger AND the key fob has JUST died -- so I am unable to follow the manuals instructions on pg 349 [press & hold immediate charging button at the same time press the unlock button on the vehicle key - due to the dead key fob battery - the 2nd key battery died last weekend, so no spare].

Tried to turn it off - but you need the charger to come out - again, I cannot remove it.

EPC indicator light is lit on dash, as is the key battery light.

Super annoyed -- letting everyone know so they can be sure to have a CR2032 battery on hand as well as NOT accidentally start the car while the charger is in.

 

[NeilBlanchard]

You can push the locking pin in, to be able to unlock the charging cable. And you can try to buy a replacement battery at a store you can walk to? There is also a mechanical key to unlock the driver's door.

 

[johnnylingo]

Super annoyed -- letting everyone know so they can be sure to have a CR2032 battery on hand as well as NOT accidentally start the car while the charger is in.

Hmm..mine has a CR 2025. Not sure what the difference is since they're all 3V. Anyway, mine died a few weeks ago. Was a bit surprised it went suddenly with no warning. On my Subaru, the range begins decreasing, which is an indication it's time for a new battery.

 

[miimura]

Our 2015 e-Golf showed a dashboard message when the key fob batteries got low. I dragged it out a couple months on the secondary key and it never died on us. My wife was the primary driver, so I always made sure to replace her battery as soon as it showed the message.

 

[BKipp]

Haven’t found the un-locking pin in the manual. Will search.

Car turned off. My honey brought a battery home a few hours later (absolutely no low battery warning — just straight from working to dead key fob)

Let the car sit overnight. New battery in fob, put a heavy foot in the brake and started car. YES it started. Not sure what happened to resolve it.

Will be sure to chat with technicians next time the EGolf needs some TLC.

 

[JoulesThief]

Haven’t found the un-locking pin in the manual. Will search.

Car turned off. My honey brought a battery home a few hours later (absolutely no low battery warning — just straight from working to dead key fob)

Let the car sit overnight. New battery in fob, put a heavy foot in the brake and started car. YES it started. Not sure what happened to resolve it.

Will be sure to chat with technicians next time the EGolf needs some TLC.

Why bother talking to technician, keep spare keyfob batteries, problem solved. That's what I've been doing, I get 14 to 16 months out of a battery. Seems like a no brainer to me. Don't mess with the car in the cab when it's recharging, also. Maybe read the owners manual, too, a couple of times, for proper procedures.

 

[msvphoto]

Anyone know for sure what battery to get for the fob? I would prefer not to open it up before buying spare batteries. The owner's manual says go to dealer and calls it a "20mm battery" which is not super helpful, but to be fair the manual at least does show how to replace it.

Stocking up on spares before this crisis seems like a good idea. Over 90% of our car's use is with my wife's key which lives in her purse. My key hangs out on our key holder in the house, mostly as a spare, since the car is her daily driver. Swapping her key's battery before it dies might be a good thing also.

 

[johnnylingo]

Crack it open and see if yourself. There's no tools required, just extend the key and rotate on the plastic flap on the opposite side of the buttons. Mine came with a Panasonic CR2025 3V (made in Indonesia). I replaced it with an Energizer (made in Japan) that cost $6 for a 2-pack at the supermarket. Call me old-school but I always trust the Japanese stuff over anything from China or SouthEast Asia.

I tested the old battery with a multimeter and got 2.9V. In hindsight, I probably could have just removed and re-inserted the battery and gotten enough juice out of it to at least unlock the car I'm sure for at least one or two times. But I can't test that theory right now because my girlfriend has the e-Golf.

 

[msvphoto]

Crack it open and see if yourself. There's no tools required, just extend the key and rotate on the plastic flap on the opposite side of the buttons. Mine came with a Panasonic CR2025 3V (made in Indonesia). I replaced it with an Energizer (made in Japan) that cost $6 for a 2-pack at the supermarket. Call me old-school but I always trust the Japanese stuff over anything from China or SouthEast Asia.

I tested the old battery with a multimeter and got 2.9V. In hindsight, I probably could have just removed and re-inserted the battery and gotten enough juice out of it to at least unlock the car I'm sure for at least one or two times. But I can't test that theory right now because my girlfriend has the e-Golf.

I went ahead and did just that. It appears the battery cases on these are better than older Audi keys (where my fear of opening too many times came from). It is indeed a CR 2025, made by Sony and it is lithium. My experience using lithium batteries at work (AAs and AAAs) in things like wireless microphones is they they suddenly drop to nothing when they reach end of charge, unlike NiMh rechargeables or alkaline batteries which have a much longer slope of discharge and give some warning before going dead. That probably explains why people have experienced sudden death of the key fob. Spare batteries sound like a very good idea to keep on hand.

 

[SocaleGolf]

Confirming the battery on my 2017 e-Golf is a Panasonic CR2025 3V. Here is a link to video that takes you through the procedure for changing the fob battery on the e-Golf.

https://youtu.be/sTvw8bMLDEE

 

[JoulesThief]

Anyone know for sure what battery to get for the fob? I would prefer not to open it up before buying spare batteries. The owner's manual says go to dealer and calls it a "20mm battery" which is not super helpful, but to be fair the manual at least does show how to replace it.

Stocking up on spares before this crisis seems like a good idea. Over 90% of our car's use is with my wife's key which lives in her purse. My key hangs out on our key holder in the house, mostly as a spare, since the car is her daily driver. Swapping her key's battery before it dies might be a good thing also.

20 25.... 20mm wide, probably 2.5mm thick, VS 20 32 20mm wide, 3.2mm think. It takes a 2025

 

[BKipp]

Energizer CR-2032 [Lithium] - worked perfectly. Bought at Target.
—2017 VW EGolf key fob

 

[JoulesThief]

Energizer CR-2032 [Lithium] - worked perfectly. Bought at Target.
—2017 VW EGolf key fob

And it's the wrong battery for this application... read the owners manual, next time. Don't damage the springs tension by using too large a battery for the application, those Key Fobs are $250 to $300 each to replace. A very expensive mistake.

 

[msvphoto]

Energizer CR-2032 [Lithium] - worked perfectly. Bought at Target.
—2017 VW EGolf key fob

And it's the wrong battery for this application... read the owners manual, next time. Don't damage the springs tension by using too large a battery for the application, those Key Fobs are $250 to $300 each to replace. A very expensive mistake.

That's the problem. The Owner's Manual states "20mm battery" with no reference to thickness. You are right, the number indicates size. According to what I found searching is that the 2025 and 2032 are regarded as interchangeable with the 2035 having slightly higher capacity. I wouldn't be too concerned about the contact spring being deformed by a 7 tenth of a mm difference (that really isn't much), but to be safe if a fob gets a 2032 installed it should probably stay that way and not go back to a 2025.

Anyway, glad to get a definitive on this since the Owner's Manual is so vague.

 

[GdB]

I used a 2032 for awhile until it didn't. Tried replacing with new 2032 on my only KeyFOB and it would not work. I was not able to use my e-golf (2nd car anyway) until I realized it works with a 2025 cell. Really need to get a spare KeyFOB before this 2032 damaged one dies.