Key Fob Batteries Short Life (Both)

gathermewool

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The Forester wouldn’t respond to one of the key fobs this morning - nothing worked. It turned out to just be a low battery in the fob, which is weird, because I just replaced the batteries in both fobs on 11/17/22. The last time was 6/24/19 - they usually last a long time. Also, the multifunction display usually warns you well beforehand that you should check the battery.

I checked and the battery in BOTH fobs were low. The one that worked was actually lower than the one that didn’t work. :unsure:

I keep both fobs where I always have, in a jacket pocket or in the drawer in a metal box. Both are well away from the garage. You need to pull them out and reach toward the garage to hear the horn beep.

I didn’t record the previous battery maker, but I only had two Energizer CR1620 cells left, and my last order was for four of them, so it was almost certainly an Energizer.

I guess it’s time to buy a new batch, in case these live a short life, as well. The Legacy fobs take The same battery and are less than 3.1VDC.

Forester key fob: CR1620

Fob 1

1/26/23: 2.964 VDC (replaced)
—replacement: 3.324 Energizer

11/17/22: 2.874 (replaced)
—replacement: 3.300 Energizer?

6/24/19: 2.960 (replaced)
—replacement: 3.280 Brand not recorded

Fob 2

1/26/23: 2.948 (replaced)
—replacement: 3.294 Energizer

11/17/22: 2.887 (replaced)
—replacement: 3.239 Energizer?

6/24/19: 2.924 (replaced)
—replacement: 3.258 Brand not recorded
 
My Wife's Armada FOBs take a 2032 battery and I have about the same problem you have. If I buy Energizers I can get about 4 months out of one, if I buy the bulk pack ones they only last a month.
 
Looks like battery prices have gone up a bit.

5/10/21, Energizer CR1620: $0.88/cell (4-pack)
—Now $1.83/cell

I just ordered an Amazon Basics 6-pack: $1.195/cell.
 
My Wife's Armada FOBs take a 2032 battery and I have about the same problem you have. If I buy Energizers I can get about 4 months out of one, if I buy the bulk pack ones they only last a month.

That’s a pretty big battery!

Have you found a good brand? The Duracell are more expensive, for instance, but I wonder if they last longer.
 
I've had best results with Duracell coin cells.

Apparently some gadgets don't like the bitter coating Duracell puts on them to keep kids from swallowing them. You may need to give them a quick wiping off with your choice of cleaner before installing them.
 
That’s a pretty big battery!

Have you found a good brand? The Duracell are more expensive, for instance, but I wonder if they last longer.
I've only tried the Energizer brand vs the bulk china pack stuff. Although they are probably all made in China, I know I can get about 3 times the life out of the Energizers than I can out of the bulk ones.
 
The FBI recently released a PSA about counterfeit batteries.


Always purchase batteries from legitimate and trusted sources, which include authorized dealers or distributors that sell batteries tested by nationally recognized testing laboratories.
  • Many manufacturers sell directly from their website or provide a list of trusted vendors.
  • Consumers should avoid all third-party purchases of batteries, as they can appear to be legitimate OEM batteries but are likely counterfeit.
 
Personally, I have had better luck with some off-brand batteries than I have had with Energizer or Duracell batteries.
 
I think the Energizer battery reliability depends of country of origin. I can get Japanese batteries that do well. On the other hand I have had Indonesian Energizer batteries that were not as long lasting.
 
I usually get the Sony or MuRata ones off Amazon for the dealership here for the CR2025 and CR2032 batteries, we do no charge installs of them in parts. One of my orders was a very obvious counterfeit from a 3rd party vendor. They said I could send them back for a refund, but I had to pay HAZMAT shipping, which they were not shipped to me HAZMAT.
 
2032s are super cheap at Costco. They sell Duracell in a 12 pack for around $13. They go on sale for around $10 or $11.
Lithium have a claimed 8 to 10 year shelf life, so I am comfortable stocking up on that many.

I have had good luck with both Energizer and Duracell lithium cells. I tried some generic ones from Ebay or dollar store (forget where I got them) and even though they tested fine on my "professional battery tester" :) , my BMW threw a Low Battery Fob warning on the dash with them.

The battery tester I have was from when I used to work for Duracell as a sales rep decades ago... lol

Industry secret...many of the lithium sells sold by major players like Duracell, Panasonic and Energizer, and made in the same factories...they even private label for each other on these specialty lithium cells. Duracell used to get some of theirs from Panasonic. You could identify the Panasonic ones by the "made in Japan" label on the Duracell packaging.
 
2032s are super cheap at Costco. They sell Duracell in a 12 pack for around $13. They go on sale for around $10 or $11.
Lithium have a claimed 8 to 10 year shelf life, so I am comfortable stocking up on that many.

I have had good luck with both Energizer and Duracell lithium cells. I tried some generic ones from Ebay or dollar store (forget where I got them) and even though they tested fine on my "professional battery tester" :) , my BMW threw a Low Battery Fob warning on the dash with them.

The battery tester I have was from when I used to work for Duracell as a sales rep decades ago... lol

Industry secret...many of the lithium sells sold by major players like Duracell, Panasonic and Energizer, and made in the same factories...they even private label for each other on these specialty lithium cells. Duracell used to get some of theirs from Panasonic. You could identify the Panasonic ones by the "made in Japan" label on the Duracell packaging.
Question - when these were private-labeled, did the private labelers pay more for batteries that tested better after production? Like with computer electronics, parts with better manufacturer testing get purchased and labeled as a premium products, while units which didn’t test as well are sold at lower costs to lower-end brands. Ever see that with the batteries?
 
Garbage batteries.... It happens, even with name-brand ones. I now only buy batteries in person so I could look at them. If the cells don't say "Made in Japan", I keep looking.

That’s a pretty big battery!
I thought 2032 was pretty standard for fob batteries. If your fob specs a 2025, try a 2032. They're the same diameter but the 2032 is slightly thicker and stronger.
 
Garbage batteries.... It happens, even with name-brand ones. I now only buy batteries in person so I could look at them. If the cells don't say "Made in Japan", I keep looking.


I thought 2032 was pretty standard for fob batteries. If your fob specs a 2025, try a 2032. They're the same diameter but the 2032 is slightly thicker and stronger.

Thats a good point. I only buy Eneloop and Fujitsu NiMH batteries for the most part. Maybe cheaping out on these is foolish

I also know that voltage doesn’t mean crap with regard to capacity, but I figured it was better than nothing. Is there a load tester equivalent for these? :ROFLMAO:
 
What’re the chances of Amazon Basic batteries being bootleg
They won't be. Doesn't mean they'll be high-quality (mid-grade at best and that's by design / choice) by any means either. They're just going to a large manufacturer, in this case, one that makes batteries, and private-labels them. These are the same batteries that other "brands" will be selling too only no one knows who is sharing them.
 
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Question - when these were private-labeled, did the private labelers pay more for batteries that tested better after production? Like with computer electronics, parts with better manufacturer testing get purchased and labeled as a premium products, while units which didn’t test as well are sold at lower costs to lower-end brands. Ever see that with the batteries?
No, they are essentially the same. When I was at Duracell, we private labeled to Ace Hardware, Sears, Costco, Coast to Coast, True Value, Safeway, Albertsons and many other retailers....other than the battery jacket and package, they were identical product quality and performance. We asked "why not make them with less chemical or performance to protect the Duracell brand?" Our R&D team said when you start messing with what is already an optimized design, even lessening the chemistry could induce unintended quality concerns...leaking or some other problem. So they only manufacture to one quality and performance standard. Most private label contracts for retailers were swapped back and forth between Duracell and Eveready who were very cutthroat against each other for those agreements.

We expected the same from our partners that private labled to us. Panasonic (many years ago) made a lot of lithium products for Duracell. That packaging was the same Duracell you would expect to see, as were the part numbers, but instead of "made in USA" they would say "made in Japan". We never knew what product our customers got, we shipped side by side USA and Japanese product. Duracell (at the time) simply did not have the capacity to meet customer volume demands and needed another supply source.

I know in the last decade or so, that all the private label agreements Duracell and Eveready had for retailers appear to have ended with the exception of Costco Kirkland Signature (still Duracell). All the other retailers use off shore battery manufacturers in China, Indonesia and Malaysia. Just read the package "made in" :) Varta used to private label for Ikea for decades, but I noticed a few years ago Ikea batteries are made in Asia now too.

You can figure out a lot from looking at what country the battery is from, construction shape and style and packaging to determine who made it.
For low volume selling products like watch or camera batteries, I noticed Duracell is going private label and getting them from other sources rather than make their own. Many of their watch batteries say "made in switzerland" which means probably made by Renata. Which is a very respected European watch cell manufacturer.

It was a long time ago, but when I was there it was rumored we made some camera batteries for Eveready. Companies do that a lot. I aways questioned "why help your competition", but the CEO of a medical company I now work for, said "its just good business sense". "As long as it is profitable, we will sell to our competitors...if we didn't, someone else will. While there are secrecy agreements, we can still glean some competitive information on their sales volumn based on how much product they buy from us."
 
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they were identical product quality and performance. We asked "why not make them with less chemical or performance to protect the Duracell brand?" Our R&D team said when you start messing with what is already an optimized design, even lessening the chemistry could induce unintended quality concerns...leaking or some other problem. So they only manufacture to one quality and performance standard.
That's something that so many believe to be not true. They think a manufacturer would make a bunch of different "versions" of an item to sell at different price points, with different quality levels, etc but from a manufacturing standpoint, it makes very little sense. No one wants to source different raw materials, different setups, having to track the different batches, etc.

Varta used to private label for Ikea for decades, but I noticed a few years ago Ikea batteries are made in Asia now too.
I found VARTA batteries at Parts Express and was buying AA, AAA, 2032, 9-volt, etc as they were high quality, made in Germany, etc. Noticed a few years ago that they moved production to China and the quality changed....
 
I found VARTA batteries at Parts Express and was buying AA, AAA, 2032, 9-volt, etc as they were high quality, made in Germany, etc. Noticed a few years ago that they moved production to China and the quality changed....
Interesting, so the Ikea batteries may be still made by Varta, but in their Chinese factory.
 
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