Key fob (Nissan/Infiniti Intelligent Key) battery life ?

[Hall]

In my case, my car is an Infiniti/Nissan but other cars may be similar..... How long does the battery last in people's keyless start key fob ? I try and use VARTA (used to be made in Germany) or Energizer batteries but it seems like I'm replacing them at least twice a year (or more).

This latest time (today), it gave no warning of a low battery (in the dash) and the fob was pretty much 100% dead. Car would still start by inserting the fob into the 'hole' but you couldn't lock or unlock the doors and after starting, when you remove the key from the 'hole', it said "No Key" in the dash (car still runs though). My wife drove it today and ran into this but since the car was at home, it wasn't locked. If this happened elsewhere, it would likely have been locked and would have been an annoyance !

Almost tempted to keep a 2032 battery in my wallet at this point.

 

[miden851]

in our Hondas 2-3Y is the time interval

 

[PimTac]

What is the distance between the fob and the car when parked at home? The car sends signals to the fob if it is close. I have mine in a Faraday pouch. Batteries usually last one year or more.

 

[GSCJR]

My Nissan fob used to eat batteries too. What made a difference on mine, is how I snap the case together, it must have been making contact and draining it sooner, if not carefully shut. Happened several times until I said, "this is nuts!, how many batteries does this thing go through?" which caused me to disassemble and assemble while carefully inspecting the contacts and buttons. It's no wonder that when I bought the car, there were spares left in the center console. I'm not sure if I understand the part about lock and unlock, there's a mechanical key in the fob and a lock and unlock switch on the door?

 

[JustN89]

Pretty sure the battery in both my Nissan key fobs are original. Of course, now that I say that, they're of course going to die on me.

 

[Hall]

What is the distance between the fob and the car when parked at home? The car sends signals to the fob if it is close.

The proximity zone, at least with Nissan, seems to be pretty small. If I'm not mistaken, the car won't start or won't unlock the doors if the key isn't within 1' of the car. The car has small lock/unlock buttons on the outside door handles that will lock/unlock the car if the key is close. So while the car might send out a "ping", I don't believe the fob receives it or answers. Who knows though.

 

[Hall]

What made a difference on mine, is how I snap the case together, it must have been making contact and draining it sooner, if not carefully shut.

I've no idea how to determine is this is the issue

I'm not sure if I understand the part about lock and unlock, there's a mechanical key in the fob and a lock and unlock switch on the door?

Haha !! Yes, it does have a door lock key in the fob. Completely forgot about it...

 

[PimTac]

Another thing, if you are buying batteries online they may not be up to par.

Interestingly, I buy Eveready at the local Fred Meyer store. They are made in Japan and I get about one year or more from them. I can see where cheaper batteries won’t last as long.

My originals from Mazda went about 2.5 years.

 

[GSCJR]

I've no idea how to determine is this is the issue

After replacing several baterries in a short period of time, I could feel the two halves were not going together correctly. As silly as this might seem or impossible to mess up, you will understand after taking it apart, inspecting and closing it a few times. My owner's manual also describes how to close the case correctly; top to bottom IIRC, not left to right like shutting a book. It made a differrence with mine; who would have thought? Additionally, brand didn't seem to matter until the case closing was sorted out. I tried brand name batteries made in Japan to the cheapest no name from the dollar store which all died prematurely. Hope this helps.

 

[mightymousetech]

Stop buying batteries from Amazon that are 90% cheap fakes.

 

[Pelican]

I've had mine in the FOB for just over 4 yrs now and still going strong, but I do switch the FOB off when not in use or needed.

 

[Escape08]

Another thing, if you are buying batteries online they may not be up to par.

Interestingly, I buy Eveready at the local Fred Meyer store. They are made in Japan and I get about one year or more from them. I can see where cheaper batteries won’t last as long.

My originals from Mazda went about 2.5 years.

I agree, branded coin batteries made in USA, Japan & Switzerland are the best. Don't buy a coin battery without a country of origin stamped on it because definitely, it wouldn't last long.

 

[Hall]

Where did I say I was buying cheap batteries off of Amazon ? The VARTA batteries I mentioned are ones I used to buy at Parts Express (they're local to me) and the others I buy at regular retail stores.

 

[Escape08]

In my case, my car is an Infiniti/Nissan but other cars may be similar..... How long does the battery last in people's keyless start key fob ? I try and use VARTA (used to be made in Germany) or Energizer batteries but it seems like I'm replacing them at least twice a year (or more).

This latest time (today), it gave no warning of a low battery (in the dash) and the fob was pretty much 100% dead. Car would still start by inserting the fob into the 'hole' but you couldn't lock or unlock the doors and after starting, when you remove the key from the 'hole', it said "No Key" in the dash (car still runs though). My wife drove it today and ran into this but since the car was at home, it wasn't locked. If this happened elsewhere, it would likely have been locked and would have been an annoyance !

Almost tempted to keep a 2032 battery in my wallet at this point.

Maybe, something wrong with your FOB. Take the battery off on the one you are using & use the other FOB that came with car. I have a strong feeling that the FOB you are using now have a glitch in the circuitry that uses the battery 24/7.

 

[Hall]

I've been thinking of swapping fobs to see how the other one behaves. I did have (2) factory/OEM fobs but one got lost (the backup one) but I bought an OEM replacement (it has FCC tagging linking it to Continental/VDO).

 

[bbhero]

Hall...

My key fob batteries last a year to a year and3- 4 months.

I hope you can get that sorted out.

Opening that darn key fob I have ripped my fingernail a time or two.

 

[bbhero]

Another thing, if you are buying batteries online they may not be up to par.

Interestingly, I buy Eveready at the local Fred Meyer store. They are made in Japan and I get about one year or more from them. I can see where cheaper batteries won’t last as long.

My originals from Mazda went about 2.5 years.

Exactly right Pimtac.

Hall does buy them at a local store which is what I do to.

Strange but I typically buy mine from Harris Teeter a grocery store. They had a fairly good battery section.

 

[Leo99]

About 3.5 years in my Camry. Got a low battery warning and changed it out. No drama.

 

[Hall]

Got a low battery warning and changed it out. No drama.

This latest time (today), it gave no warning of a low battery

If I got a warning, I wouldn't be as concerned. I have two concerns - 1) no warning (battery seemingly died so fast it didn't trigger anything) and 2) short battery life.

 

[Hall]

Here's the batteries I use too....