2015 Honda Fit Key Fob
 

After i cleaned Brad this morning, i parked in the garage and went to eat, now im going to start the car and it wont start!

I tried pushing the start button with the key fob and it started!!
However, the smart entry key indicator light is on, and the car won’t start if i don’t put the key fob close to the push button.
Also, the car won’t unlock anymore if im only close to the door, i had to use the key fob to unlock and lock the doors.

any suggestions on why its doing it? I don’t want to put the key fob close to the push button everytime.

appreciate the response..

just get a new lithium battery for your fob. i had to replace mine a few months ago.

huh, sounds like the RF receiver is damaged or intermittent.. is your car still under warranty? id take it to the dealer in this case.

Did you try your other fob to see if it works OK?

It's rare, but the new battery could be dead. If you have a multimeter check the new battery and make sure it is more than 2.8V.

The keyless entry/smart start is on fuse 25 in the box under the hood near the strut tower. It's listed as a 7.5 amp fuse.

Another possibility is that on of the connectors going to an RF receiver/transmitter for the keyless entry system got disconnected or bumped in such a way that it no longer makes solid contact. There is one in the trunk where the spare tire is held. I'm not sure how many more there are or where they are, but they keep track of the keys location (inside or outside of the car), and allow the keyless system to work.

Along the same lines there is the possibility of mice or other rodents chewing through electrical cables. It's a nightmare when they do this, but apparently they find the soy based coating quite tasty. So if you've reached this point I would look at the air filters (intake and cabin) to see if they have taken material for a nest indicating they've been in there.

Edit:
They're is another fuse for the smart entry system in the drivers foot well. It's number 3 and listed as a 10 amp. Fuse locations and descriptions are shown on pages 423 & 425 of the user's manual.

the fob transmits radio frequency codes and there is a receiver on the car side that reads them to identify the key. my guess is that there is something wrong or interfering with the receiver since you can still start the car when you move the receiver very close to it. if the receiver was dead then you wont be able to start the car. did you recently do any stereo or electronic installs on your car?

sucks on the warranty.

From my understanding there are two methods in which the car can receive the authorization to start. The primary one is that the key has power and actively transmits allowing the position of the key(inside of the car) to be known and authorizing the starting of the car based upon the codes the car receives. The secondary system is for when the key has no power of its own it functions as an RFID device and receives power from a electromagnetic field near the start button to function and transmit the codes to start the car.

So if the OP has a good battery in his key then his car is relying on the secondary method of authentication to start. This means that something in the primary method of locating or receiving the signal from his key is failed.

On 2013 accords there was a TSB for a similar problem to this that required replacement of the Smart System PCU and a reprogramming of the FOBs.

:nod: makes sense to have redundancy.

How do you think that connector got loose?

sounds good op! GJ fixing it.

I installed my stereo system in my Fit last year and attempted to go for a test drive without the accessory socket/HDMI/USB panel plugged in. The car would not start and I had to re-trace everything I did during my stereo installation to determine if I missed something or caused a short somewhere. 4 hours later, I decided to plug the accessory socket/HDMI/USB panel back up and was going to call for a flat bed truck to tow my car to the Honda dealership, but the car started!

It's amazing how something as simple as an accessory socket/HDMI/USB panel can cause such a major headache. I'm glad you figured out your problem.