I like not having to use a key or even remove the key fob from my pocket, but you do have to keep an eye on the battery. I tried to use my spare fob the other day, but it wouldn't do anything. Remembering what the manual says about holding a fob with a weak battery close to the Start button, I gave it a try. With the fob close to the Start button, I pushed the button, and the car started. Batteries in both of my key fobs have been replaced now. The car is going on three years old.

I discovered that I cannot lock the car - inside or out - without the key fob.

As much as I like that remote system, how Honda can get away with charging over $300 for a replacement is beyond me. Highway robbery!

 

Mine threw a warning message about the fob battery a good 2 weeks before I got it replaced. Odd that yours didn't.

I did have one key fob fail for no reason, and it was replaced under warranty.
It was the one in which the battery had been replaced, so it wasn't that, and I didn't get a message. It started like yours did. Maybe it's not the battery?

 

That was the spare that failed. Since I wasn't using it, it didn't give me a warning. I have gotten the warning on two other remotes, though.

 

Ah, I have OCD, so I alternate fobs ;-).

 

o i c ;-)

Funny, but it wouldn't let me enter capital letters above.??

 

The fobs have to have a good battery to start the car? I know the local bus passes are simply a card-like thing with no battery and you just tap it against the reader and it validates for a ride. I thought the car key was kind of like that. The other day I tried starting the car (no start button in a LX) with a fob-less key but with another key+fob in my trouser pocket. At first it started but then a second later shut off with an invalid key warning message. I'd think if it was using a battery to actually transmit a signal it would work over more than the foot or so from my trouser pocket to the ignition.

 

I've read that even if you keep one fob aside as a spare, and are NOT using it, when the battery get's low on the one you are using, you should replace batteries in both fobs.

The reasoning presented ( I honestly don't know if this is true ) is that the system works with the fobs actually constantly giving out a signal.
Which is how you can just approach the vehicle with the fob in a pocket, and be able to unlock it when you get close.
So even if you are NOT using a fob...the fob is minimally active, just like the one you are using. So the recommendation is to replace the batteries in both.

If your "regular" fob is working but your spare fob isn't?
Well Batteries are relatively cheap, I'd still try that first. But you may have a bigger problem.

 

With the Fit, the fob has to be inside the car for it to work.

 

I thought the LX had the Key and fob as a combo unit? Did you have a key cut by itself w/ no fob?

Did you try holding the fob next to the ignition and start with the fobless key? It may need to be right next to it for the transponder to work.

Fit's with smart keys can still start the car if the battery on the fob is low. You just have to hold the fob next to the start button.

 

2Rismo2: Yes, the LX has both together but I had a key cut at a dealership with no fob. We're used a to a car with no fancy keys and I recall being in the garage with my wife in the house with a key in her pocket. I suddenly heard the car door locks activate and I wonder if she accidentally pressed the unlock button. I know I carry other stuff in my pocket which might do that and I have taken to never putting the key in my pocket but instead hanging it from my belt loop. I had kind of been hoping if all it took was the presence of a coded key that we might be able to keep it in something more secure that was present in the car with us, then just start the car with the non-coded key. It seems, however, it has to be really, really close.

I also wanted a non-coded key so should we have a third person with us who needed access to the car (e.g., on a camping trip) they could get in and I wouldn't have to spend the $100+ for a coded key. A key without electronics is also handy when you go swimming or do something where you risk getting wet.

My wife has the car right now but I'll do some tests later. My memory was I had the fob in my trouser pocket, walked out of the dealership with the new key in hand. I knew it wouldn't work alone but I was curious about if it would work with the fob key in my pocket. I think the car actually started but then a few seconds later stopped again with an error flashing on the dashboard. The car was manufactured Dec. 2015 so we're basically talking about an 18 month old battery.

 

Originally Posted by Limmie
The other day I tried starting the car (no start button in a LX) with a fob-less key but with another key+fob in my trouser pocket.

Yes, my trousers were in the car. I was wearing them even!

 

deleted, never mind

 

Where does this warning appear?

 

In the instrument cluster where mileage is shown, if memory serves.

 

Fitchet: My car is a 2015 and I've replaced both batteries in my fobs. When the first key was starting to die I changed to the back up fob and that lasted a lot longer before giving me a battery warning, so the batteries are not depleted simultaneously at a constant rate.

You say that you can't lock or unlock the car, but doesn't your fob have the key inside of it? On my car there is a lock hole on the drivers side door that you can use to lock and unlock the drivers side. When I was doing my stereo swap and had to go back into the apartment to get some tools I would lock the car with the key because the battery was disconnected.

The battery warning comes on the right side of the cluster, on the digital display. It's a really obnoxious beep so you'll never miss it.

Have a great day !

 

Mine was polite enough to never make noise. Perhaps if I waited longer it would have spoken up.

 

Why replace/buy the whole key fob? Change the battery for well under $10 (depends on whose battery and where). Easy enough even for me.

Lights up, doesn't speak unless you got an unannounced from 2020

 

Pulling a thread back from limbo to say I got the beep beep beep cluster warning yesterday indicating a low fob battery ... kinda scary initially because beeps usually are not good news. Build date is a few months short of three years and from reading here that seems about average so no complaints, I won't be losing sleep over this one.

 

Same with our two Fits - around three years. I buy those batteries ten or twelve at a time from Amazon. They're used in lots of things. I tried holding the fob to the red button when the battery is weak, and it does work.

It's criminal what they charge for them. You can buy a TV or a laptop for that price. I misplaced my spare, but I'm definitely not buying a new one.

 

I've never had to change a key battery before and was a bit disappointed because I thought it should have lasted longer but it seems the Fit system is more active and there is a constant drain (not that much, but still ...) so I guess it's just another cost that should be expected. Not to hijack or go off topic but I'd rather pay for a hundred batteries before shelling out to fix that direct injection coking I've been reading about ... that scares the crap out of me.