Key Fob Battery Life

[Awake]

As I said in my post last September 27th, the batteries in both my key fobs were in excess of 3V. The other curious thing was that both key fobs were rejected after the same time (independently) even though one had been used much more than the other. It makes me think the timing is set by the car and not the state of the key fob at all. That way VW will get to charge a proportion of owners over the odds for replacing them.

 

[bizzle]

I went back and read your post. What was the remedy if you found one?

I have a VCDS. I wonder if there is a battery state setting or is it as simple as removing/replacing the battery? I'll ask my wife if she gets the message when she drives to Costco in about an hour.

I'm more inclined to believe VW has set timing parameters so owners don't neglect their remotes rather than conspiracies related to service costs. It seems more likely to be causing costly in-warranty service checks than it does lucrative battery sales.

 

[Awake]

I changed the batteries which fixed it even though the new batteries only had slightly greater voltage.

 

[NeilBlanchard]

We just had to replace ours - for the second time. We go the car late in February 2015, so they are lasting only 10-11 months.

Which is just silly. VW has to figure out how to make them last at least 3-4 years.

 

[RonDawg]

We just had to replace ours - for the second time. We go the car late in February 2015, so they are lasting only 10-11 months.

Which is just silly. VW has to figure out how to make them last at least 3-4 years.

The ones in my Leaf barely lasted 18 months. So it's not just VW.

 

[NeilBlanchard]

We have a Leaf and an e-Golf. We got the Leaf ~4 months earlier than the e-Golf, and we have only replaced the Leaf's key batteries once. So, the Leaf key batteries last about 2X longer.

 

[TwoCarsAWeek]

My 2016 eGolf key fob eats battery. In less than 18 months, both of my key fob batteries are dead.

I have a 2006 Prius and only replaced key fob battery once in 10 years!

There are many things that VW needs to learn about designing EVs...

 

[schleppy]

My 2016 eGolf key fob eats battery. In less than 18 months, both of my key fob batteries are dead.

I have a 2006 Prius and only replaced key fob battery once in 10 years!

There are many things that VW needs to learn about designing EVs...

It's pretty common for the current-gen keyless FOBs like the e-Golf to go through battery quickly. The older FOBs didn't "talk" to the car as frequently as the e-Golf one does.

 

[forbin404]

My 2016 eGolf key fob eats battery. In less than 18 months, both of my key fob batteries are dead.

I have a 2006 Prius and only replaced key fob battery once in 10 years!

There are many things that VW needs to learn about designing EVs...

It's pretty common for the current-gen keyless FOBs like the e-Golf to go through battery quickly. The older FOBs didn't "talk" to the car as frequently as the e-Golf one does.

Hmmm I'm still on my first battery. But then I store my FOB's about 20' away from the car, that might explain the battery drain usage

 

[Nonyaz]

To the people who have been getting this message, are you also getting "key fob not in range" while driving? I get this message all the time, but no low batt message (I didn't know it had a separate error code for that until reading this thread). I keep my fob in the little spot to the left of the cup holders, I think that should be a reasonable spot to be detected.

 

[forbin404]

To the people who have been getting this message, are you also getting "key fob not in range" while driving? I get this message all the time, but no low batt message (I didn't know it had a separate error code for that until reading this thread). I keep my fob in the little spot to the left of the cup holders, I think that should be a reasonable spot to be detected.

I put mine there as well and got that message once.

 

[JoulesThief]

To the people who have been getting this message, are you also getting "key fob not in range" while driving? I get this message all the time, but no low batt message (I didn't know it had a separate error code for that until reading this thread). I keep my fob in the little spot to the left of the cup holders, I think that should be a reasonable spot to be detected.

I put mine there as well and got that message once.

I started getting that rather frequently, and within a week, it was time for a new battery.

 

[Nonyaz]

I started getting that rather frequently, and within a week, it was time for a new battery.

Listen up kid, any ace contractor such as myself would know that your typical 2025 battery only produces 3V at nominal, that's just contracting 101, try to keep up. You see, german cars and their electrical systems, well, need I say more? Frankly you would never pass as a fighter pilot flying around with low key fob batteries like that, didn't you do your preflight checklist? I have half a mind to write my congressman and get your FAA license revoked for even suggesting you can wait this long to replace the battery. Really, doing this on public streets is a health hazard and a nuisance. If you want to be reckless on a closed course that's your business, but to attempt this sort of stunt on public roads is just in poor taste.

 

[GlennD]

I just replaced my main fob battery. I was getting not detected messages and it did not want to unlock. The old battery measured 3.03V unloaded.

I agree that the fob is poorly engineered. My fob was 6 months old. The battery is cheap and it is easy to replace, but still.

 

[Demmer]

I`ve had quite great experience with this guy https://locksmithtoronto365.com/. He replaced my battery for, i believe, 50 Canadian bucks, far less than my dealer tried to charge me

 

[forbin404]

lol a shill.

 

[JoulesThief]

For 100 Canuck bucks we should replace the shill, who's gonna start a Go Fund Me.

 

[Kosta]

fob for my BMW never needed a battery ( think it recharged while in the receiver ) proximity key fob is always working I think and uses more power, not just when a button is depressed, also if it is too close to the car while parked, the car is in a higher state of power use...? friends Mercedes battery went flat , security system was the culprit , at least that was the explanation offered by the service rep after tow and recharge , car left unlocked in garage for a few days while key was in bowl 10 feet away , modern tech forces changes in how we behave .... growing pains :roll:

 

[Kosta]

To the people who have been getting this message, are you also getting "key fob not in range" while driving? I get this message all the time, but no low batt message (I didn't know it had a separate error code for that until reading this thread). I keep my fob in the little spot to the left of the cup holders, I think that should be a reasonable spot to be detected.

I put mine there as well and got that message once.

rented a diesel Nissan in Greece with proximity key , got that message a few times on the dash display while fob was in cup holder .. I think the cup holders are lead lined ;-)

 

[JoulesThief]

I had to replace my key fob battery after just ten months. Figuring that this will thus be a regular thing, I ordered a pack of FIFTEEN of these suckers for just $7 and put them in my glove compartment. Here's the Amazon link: http://goo.gl/mL2QFM

Don't store them in the heat of your glove box, store them in the refrigerator. heat is not good for batteries.