Key failure with no warning

Faults and Technical chat for the Skoda Karoq
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Milfmog
Posts: 365
Joined: Sat Mar 10, 2018 11:35 am
Location: South Buckinghamshire

Post by Milfmog »

Yesterday the battery in my key died. No warning that it was low, no apparent reduction in operating range. It worked to get me to my destination but when I returned to the car nothing. No response from the car, no red light on the key… Fortunately, I was only about 10 miles from home and so could get my wife to bring the spare key over. Had that happened further from home it could have been a right pain (especially as my wallet was inside the car and I had a 14 foot kayak and all my paddling gear to get home.)

Has anyone else experienced similar key failures with no warning? This has somewhat knocked my confidence in the car...

Have fun,


Ian.
Karoq SE-L 1.5TSI DSG 2WD. Emerald green, beige leather, heated screen and steering wheel, lane assist, blind spot assist, adaptive cruise control.

My Fuelly page www.fuelly.com/car/skoda/karoq/2018/tazzymutt/798670

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kodiaq
Posts: 841
Joined: Fri Aug 31, 2018 6:33 pm
Location: Poole, Dorset.

Post by kodiaq »

Ian,
Did you open the car with the 'real' key? if the fob is within range of the ignition, it should have started regardless of the fob battery being flat.
I have had, in the past, with another make, have the key die suddenly with no loss of range. Admittedly it was not a keyless start.
Do you keep the fob in a pocket? If so is there anything else in the pocket heavy enough to depress a button on the fab?
Colin Lambert.
Poole, Dorset.
Diploma Auto Eng.
Moderator Karoq & HR-V Fora.
(Kodiaq Forum Moderator, resigned!)
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Milfmog
Posts: 365
Joined: Sat Mar 10, 2018 11:35 am
Location: South Buckinghamshire

Post by Milfmog »

Colin,

No, I did not use the physical key as it was dark, so I could not see which handle end cover to remove (and the book does not make that clear, now that I have checked again). I also had no tools other than the key and nothing with which to protect the paintwork.

I was not helped by the battery in my iturd collapsing from 45% to dead just five hours after a full charge (no calls made or taken). However, there was a pub about half a mile away so I carried the kit there and borrowed a phone to ring home and get the spare key brought to me. I would have got more "mechanical" and accepted the risk of paint damage if I had been too far from home to do that.

In answer to your question about where the key is stored, at home it is in a box with other keys, at work it lives in a drawer, in a pocket on its own when I am out and about and when paddling it has a small clip top box inside a larger clip top as I am paranoid about drowning the key. None of those environments is likely to result in the button being held down.

I guess the question is whether the convenience of an electronic key when it works is worth the pain when it fails. For me, KESSY is an expensive solution to a problem that did not exist. The fact that it reduces vehicle security so significantly that Skoda engineered a way for the user to disable it probably answers that question.

Have fun (and a great Christmas and New Year),


Ian.
Karoq SE-L 1.5TSI DSG 2WD. Emerald green, beige leather, heated screen and steering wheel, lane assist, blind spot assist, adaptive cruise control.

My Fuelly page www.fuelly.com/car/skoda/karoq/2018/tazzymutt/798670
wiggie35
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri Jul 20, 2018 3:13 pm

Post by wiggie35 »

I have recently experienced a similar problem. I drove the car without issue but, without warning, the key fob would not work when trying to lock it. In my case I could get back into the car. Rang my Skoda dealer hoping it could recommend a solution. Only suggestion was to call out breakdown. Didn’t fancy a 2 hour wait so got a lift home and back with spare key. Now understand that if the key fob is used to physically push the start/stop button it works. Mentioned this to a Kia dealer and he confirmed it to be correct. Shame my Skoda dealer didn’t make a similar suggestion. Now carry a spare C2025battery in car for the next time it goes without warning.
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Milfmog
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Joined: Sat Mar 10, 2018 11:35 am
Location: South Buckinghamshire

Post by Milfmog »

Wiggie, a spare in the car would be no help at all if you are locked out of the car.

I simply bought four CR2025 batteries from Amazon and replaced the battery in both my keys and both of my wife's. Then I made a note in my diary for the same day next year to repeat the exercise. Around a fiver a year is a small price to avoid the inconvenience.

Have fun,


Ian.
Karoq SE-L 1.5TSI DSG 2WD. Emerald green, beige leather, heated screen and steering wheel, lane assist, blind spot assist, adaptive cruise control.

My Fuelly page www.fuelly.com/car/skoda/karoq/2018/tazzymutt/798670
Mr Happy
Posts: 13
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2020 8:04 am

Post by Mr Happy »

I also had a kessy failure this week both key fobs were dead, called Skoda assist and an engineer arrived and said the fob batteries were dead, how do you know I said, engineer said its a regular thing he supplied me 2 new batteries and advised they are replaced yearly , he then showed me how to get into the car using the key . so I now have no worries if the batteries fail
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Milfmog
Posts: 365
Joined: Sat Mar 10, 2018 11:35 am
Location: South Buckinghamshire

Post by Milfmog »

Three hundred and seventy-three days later and I had another key failure with no warning. This time I was 30 miles from home and the air temperature was just above freezing but dropping fast as the sun had gone down. Being damp after paddling 16 miles on the canal I was not best pleased. Nevermind, I thought, I'll ping the cover off and get in using the mechanical key. WRONG!!! The mechanical key did not work; the lock barrel simply spun like it was not attached to anything.

A call to Skoda Assist, who very helpfully told me how to get in using the mechanical key (Nope; I already tried) then told me how to change the battery and get in using the mechanical key and how to re-synch it (Nope; can't buy a battery here, I'm miles from anywhere and as I can't get in how am I supposed to synch the key?) Eventually, the (very polite and friendly) young lady agreed to send the AA. Fortunately, I did not have to wait too long and after about 15 minutes fiddling he eventually managed to get into the car. (He had to press the key into the lock VERY hard and just managed to get sufficient engagement to open the lock).

I have now changed the batteries in both of my keys, but the one that would not work yesterday is still showing no signs of life. The spare is working normally and I will visit the local garage on Monday to see what they can do. I never had this problem with any non-kessy system. Kessy remains one of the features on the car that I like least and would have preferred to go without if the option were available. It is complicated, adds very little advantage over the push button fob and makes the car far easier to steal if you forget to disable it. Simply clever or complex and stupid? No prizes for guessing my opinion on that.

Have fun,


Ian.

PS The Skoda technician who tried to talk me through getting into the car commented that she'd had loads of Karoqs fail with no battery level warning in recent days and that the batteries only just about last a year. I replaced all the batteries just under a year ago with new Duracells (and had a note in my diary to do it again next week). You have been warned...

PPS I recommend checking that you can get into your car using the mechanical key before you need to do it for real; no need for you to risk frostbite just because I did...
Karoq SE-L 1.5TSI DSG 2WD. Emerald green, beige leather, heated screen and steering wheel, lane assist, blind spot assist, adaptive cruise control.

My Fuelly page www.fuelly.com/car/skoda/karoq/2018/tazzymutt/798670
LancashireLad
Posts: 22
Joined: Thu Jun 21, 2018 10:10 am

Post by LancashireLad »

Hello Ian, we have also had a similar failure. Drove to our allotment spent a couple of hours tending the vegetables etc.. then tried to unlock the car. The key fob was dead, no red led flashing when buttons pressed, this was even with a replacement battery fitted some time ago. I was convinced the fob was faulty. I was aware of how to unlock the car using the key but that didn’t work completely, as soon as I opened the unlocked door the alarm sounded & I couldn’t stop it, no way could I get the car to start. So, we walked the 3 miles home, got the spare key fob & drove back for the Karoq in our 2cv ( no key issues with this car). I replaced the battery in the ‘faulty fob’ still no good, so I arranged a visit to the dealers for investigation. After researching the problem online it seems there are good batteries & not so good ones, with that I ordered some replacement Panasonic cr2025 cells. 3 days later the spare fob failed this time thankfully outside the home. This prompted me to try replacing both key fob batteries with the new cr2025 cells & Lo & behold it worked. Cancelled the dealer appointment & now have replacement cr2025 cells in the glove compartment, just in case. Friends tell me their cars alert them to low battery condition on the dashboard but can’t say have noticed on our
Happy motoring,
Geoff.
Mike sandy
Posts: 33
Joined: Wed Feb 27, 2019 11:21 pm

Post by Mike sandy »

Hi the week before Christmas when I turned the key to start the car a message popped up on the speedo screen "key fob battery needs replacing " and disappeared after a few seconds , I know it doesn't help you guys .
Thanks for the warning ,I will now have a go at unlocking with the key in the door
Karoq 1.5 SE with tow bar
Dark blue metallic
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CJJE
Posts: 450
Joined: Sat Mar 28, 2020 6:39 pm
Location: Stone, Staffordshire

Post by CJJE »

Mike sandy wrote: Thu Dec 31, 2020 6:42 pm Hi the week before Christmas when I turned the key to start the car a message popped up on the speedo screen "key fob battery needs replacing " and disappeared after a few seconds , I know it doesn't help you guys .
Thanks for the warning ,I will now have a go at unlocking with the key in the door
One of the unquoted 'benefits' of KESSY is you don't get to turn the key in the ignition switch anymore. So when you press the starter button any warning message comes and goes so fast that it's not seen.

I've heard people suggest that you try to start the engine in a way that you know will fail (for instance without touching the brake pedal in a DSG car). That way you will turn the ignition on to see the warning message without the starter turning and removing the message!

The latest cars have motion detectors on the keys which turns off the radio signal. Hopefully their batteries will last longer, but time will tell. Otherwise a routine changing of batteries seems to be the only answer!

Chris
VW Golf GT 1.9TDI from 11/98 to 3/06; Skoda Octavia L&K 2.0TDI from 3/06 to 12/11; VW Golf Plus SE 1.6TDI DSG from 12/11 to 2/15; VW Golf SV SE 1.4TSI DSG from 2/15 to 11/20; Skoda Karoq Sportline 2.0TSI 4x4 DSG from 11/20.
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