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Car does not recognise keys


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Hello All,

 

Longtime lurker, first time poster..

 

Looking for a little help.

Here's a story on what's happened so far:

 

Saturday I went to best buy with no issues. I park the car and notice a yellow warning saying I need the to restart or need the key next time I start the car. thought nothing of it. I then try to lock the car with my keyless remote... does not work. think nothing of it, and lock the car with the manual button inside the door.

 

I get out of best buy and try to unlock it and it works...

 

Fast forward to yesterday.

My morning worked great.

I leave work and cannot grab my handle to unlock, car doesn't see key inside the car.. I needed to use the "emergency" slot to get home.

I tried to lock the car with the remote, didn't work. Tried to lock the car with the little bump on the handle, didn't work either which I thought was really funky as I didn't think that was key related.

Since yesterday after work I've tried my spare key, replacing the battery, nothing has worked (also checked setting in car to allow keyless access).

 

TLDR;

car doesn't see keyless remote. cannot do anything with key other than put in emergency slot and push start car.

 

Thanks in advanced for all your help!

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Try the door lock/unlock from the passenger side. There are separate proximity sensors on each side of the vehicle for the doors. Also check trunk access.

 

Do you have to put the key in the slot inside for it to start and run along with the door sensors not working - and on both keys? If so that sounds like a system problem with one of the modules or a flaky battery.

 

If you're still on the OEM battery I would just go ahead and replace it. At the very least you can rule that out and you have a fresh battery for the next 3-4 years for $100.

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Doesn't work on any door, or trunk for either key.

to start it requires the key in the slot in the console.

I didn't think that it would be battery as there were no other electrical issues, no issue starting yesterday or today cranking wise (was -15c), other than needing to use the emergency slot to actually start the car.

 

Any other ideas?

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Trust me - it's probably the battery even if you don't see any other typical symptoms. With all the electronics it can be sensitive to voltage fluctuations. It's certainly got guaranteed but there have been report after report of flaky electronics behavior with a seemingly good battery that were solved with a new battery.

 

I don't know if there is a single module that controls the ignition start, door sensors and trunk sensor - if there is then it could also be that module. If there are separate modules then that points back to a battery problem.

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But here's the thing - you're going to need a new battery within the next year or two anyway so why not go ahead and get one? Worst case you don't have to worry about it going out later and you're set for another 3-4 years for only $100. And there is at least a good chance it fixes this problem.

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Side question to replacing my battery in the car.. Last time I did this in my acura i needed a code for my stereo, does my ford need a code for the sync stereo as well?

 

No.

 

Do you think the issue of the door lock bump on the handle not working is related as well?

 

See post #7

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

I know I am late to this, but OP did not mention trying the other key fob! Shouldn't replacement of the key fob battery be the 1st thing to try?

 

I have the same issue with my 2011 Sport. I end up smacking the fob on my hand a few times and it seems to work again for a while. My thought was the fob battery would be the first thing to try...but it sounds like this thread is discussing a replacement of the car battery...it's a bit ambiguous. Any updates would be appreciated.

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I have the same issue with my 2011 Sport. I end up smacking the fob on my hand a few times and it seems to work again for a while. My thought was the fob battery would be the first thing to try...but it sounds like this thread is discussing a replacement of the car battery...it's a bit ambiguous. Any updates would be appreciated.

Try the Key fob battery first. I believe what was meant earlier in the post is that if the Car's battery is old, it might affect a lot of the electronics in the car, so it would be a good idea to change it since it would require changing anyway (4-5 years old) and this way you'd at least know it is not the reason for electronics going haywire.

 

The attached TSB might also be related.

TSB 11-4-14_Inability to unlock.pdf

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