What happens when the battery goes flat in the Remote for starting the car?

[berniebgf Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close berniebgf]

Had this happen last week to me, got in the car and the key would not work! (Key error on dash).
Got out, locked car....got back in.....foot on break ... no luck.

Sat in the car for 5 minutes reading the manual and found the info about touching the start button.

I was thinking, wow that's cool how it works......but I have a question.

If the Fob Battery is flat, can you still just touch the start button with the Fob to disable alarm and start car?
(E.G. Is it smart enough to receive the code from the fob "passively" from the start button?)

Bernie.

[boomer Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close boomer]

On my recent Madigans trip part of the minimum vehicle requirements was for every vehicle to carry at least one spare key, either on the outside of the car somewhere or in someone elses vehicle.

Gone are the days of a quick hotwire if you loose the key, or it get damaged or goes flat!

Cheers Andrew

Hi Andrew don't leave a key hidden outside a 150 or anyone will be able to open it and drive away. Even leaving the spare in the glovebox affects the normal operation - forget what happens but I had one there when I picked the car up and it wasn't doing things correctly. I really like all the technology - best part is not having to find the remote to open a door especially when carrying stuff.
For those that don't like it I suggest getting one of the earlier Prados. My first Prado had central locking but only from turning the lock in the driver's door. That was around 1997 I think. It was fairly basic but I suspect that if it "died" in the middle of nowhere you'd be in trouble. You really need to go back to the old cruisers with a coil and distributor and points to have one you can fix yourself. Of course you also have to treble your fuel usage!!

[wooley Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close wooley]

Don't think you'll have too much of a problem with someone getting in your car and driving away on madigans...

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

Hi Andrew don't leave a key hidden outside a 150 or anyone will be able to open it and drive away. Even leaving the spare in the glovebox affects the normal operation - forget what happens but I had one there when I picked the car up and it wasn't doing things correctly. I really like all the technology - best part is not having to find the remote to open a door especially when carrying stuff.
For those that don't like it I suggest getting one of the earlier Prados. My first Prado had central locking but only from turning the lock in the driver's door. That was around 1997 I think. It was fairly basic but I suspect that if it "died" in the middle of nowhere you'd be in trouble. You really need to go back to the old cruisers with a coil and distributor and points to have one you can fix yourself. Of course you also have to treble your fuel usage!!

I have a 120 series so no problems with carrying a spare key (just one of the many reasons its better than the 150).

As Wooley said, who is going to pinch the Prado on Madigans? There aint no one out there! Heck I never took the keys out of the ignition for 8 days.

I believe the original question was what to do when travelling remote, so car theft is not such a big issue.

Cheers Andrew

[DaveZ Member Find all posts View Profile Close DaveZ]

Arrived home around 3 AM yesterday morning from camping weekend, unloaded a bit of stuff out of the car, locked the car and went upstairs. Went back to get some stuff I'd forgotten, unlocked then locked again. dammit, pillow is still in the car, back down again. I was thinking all the beeping and flashing indicators would be starting to tick the neighbours off soon at this hour of the morning so I had a brainwave, I'll just use the little key to unlock the door and there'll be no beeping or flashing lights, brilliant! WRONG. Unlocking the door with the key sets off the car alarm, nice! Quickly shut off the alarm with the remote, grabbed my pillow and made a hasty exit.

So my question is, if the fob battery goes flat and you have to unlock the door with the key, is it just a matter of holding the remote against the starter button and starting the car to turn the alarm off? It's a bizarre setup.

[wooley Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close wooley]

Arrived home around 3 AM yesterday morning from camping weekend, unloaded a bit of stuff out of the car, locked the car and went upstairs. Went back to get some stuff I'd forgotten, unlocked then locked again. dammit, pillow is still in the car, back down again. I was thinking all the beeping and flashing indicators would be starting to tick the neighbours off soon at this hour of the morning so I had a brainwave, I'll just use the little key to unlock the door and there'll be no beeping or flashing lights, brilliant! WRONG. Unlocking the door with the key sets off the car alarm, nice! Quickly shut off the alarm with the remote, grabbed my pillow and made a hasty exit.

So my question is, if the fob battery goes flat and you have to unlock the door with the key, is it just a matter of holding the remote against the starter button and starting the car to turn the alarm off? It's a bizarre setup.

Hahaha I had my alarm going for 5 hours once when I lost the fob and only had the key attached to key ring.

If you put fob against button and start vehicle alarm turns off.

[MidLifeCrisis Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close MidLifeCrisis]

I'd rather not say what I've done. But it means I never have to worry again

Hmm, that's a messy solution Wolley, batteries don't like damp either

[wooley Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close wooley]

Hmm, that's a messy solution Wolley, batteries don't like damp either

I just wish it had a vibrate function

[jss Moderated member Find all posts View Profile Close jss]

Roo I've put one in a mates 200 fob which is the same as a 150.
You just take the key out of the fob and there's a small slit near where the key goes in. put the end of the key in the slit and twist (it will pop the casing open) then you just pull out the circuit board and the battery is there.
I keep a spare battery in the glovebox for mine, just incase i'm away on the beach for a few days or something when it decides to die.

Cheers
James

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

I keep a spare battery in the glovebox for mine, just incase i'm away on the beach for a few days or something when it decides to die.

James THAT is a brilliant idea.

On a similar but different note we "inherited" a D40 Navara through a deal we did. If the fob or main battery (in this case) goes flat you use the key to pop off the back cover of the passenger door handle and that exposes a conventional keyhole! Lucky someone knew, I had a lump of concrete ready to open the driver's side window. This one is a complete POS. Spent most of the day trying to get an idea of how bad it really is. Fixing stuff. Right rear door wouldn't open but actually managed to remove the door trim, the cabin seal and get to the release cables to open the door. Didn't think it was possible. Then put both doors back together since the other one was gutted to work out what to do on the closed one!

[ursos Member Find all posts View Profile Close ursos]

Has anyone actually put a new battery in one of the 150 fob units yet? Please tell.
Thanks, the Roo.

I asked the question about this when purchasing the vehicle and salesman suggested getting batteries replaced every year. I have not done it myself but had new batteries put into the two fobs at 30K service (coincided with 12 months old) and will do the same at 60K (which will be about 2 years). From memory there was no charge, they just treated as part of the fixed price service but had to be asked. BUT a good idea to keep a spare.

[rob_macca67 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close rob_macca67]

What Size and Type of Battery is it??

Might pick some up

[Gordon Member Find all posts View Profile Close Gordon]

Easy remove the key half way then wiggle it sideways toward the top & bottom of the fob, the fob will pop open and expose the key - a commonly available cr2032 or 1616 or something I can't remember. The car will start with no battery at all if you hold the key against the button. I kept the spare key without a battery in the console bin til I got spooked by a shed burglary... a good solution is to hide the key (or a copy) outside and the fob inside.

Beware of the other catch: if the steering wheel is under tension the steering lock binds and the car wont start, just blinks at you stupidly. A little pressure on the wheel (as you would with a key start), the motor pulls the pin out and the car starts.

Might seem like complicated technogadget voodoo but still beats the crap out of an iphone.

[jss Moderated member Find all posts View Profile Close jss]

What Size and Type of Battery is it??

Might pick some up

The battery is a CR1632 3v
I picked up a 4 pack of them for about $10 from memory

Cheers
James

[jss Moderated member Find all posts View Profile Close jss]

No worries mate.

Cheers
James