Do I have to replace the battery in remote?

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fetv

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 31, 2015
Messages
114
I have 2015 Leaf, first sometimes the door would not open upon my touch, I had to use the mechanical key to open. And then sometimes after I am in the car, it says "key not detected", after trying a few times, it worked for the day. The next day I may or may not have the same problem. I tried to read the user's guide, it is really not clear how the remote key works. A few questions:

1. since I can use the mechanical key to open the door, can I not replace the battery to start the engine?
2. While inside the car, when I depress the pedal and then put the remote about 0.5 inch away from the ignition, I can see the ignition button is lighted, what does this mean? When the ignition button is lighted, does it mean the remote key is in active mode or passive mode? (active=RFID is powered by battery; passive=RFID no battery is needed). I am hoping it is passive, so that I don't have to replace the battery for the remote key.
3. I assume the door opening does not work because the distance is longer that it needs active RFID, while the ignition works because it only requires passive RFID, am I correct?

Thanks.

Update: After asked the question here, I had done some experiments, here are the results:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fotx7p8ZDRM[/youtube]
 
Yes, you need to replace the remote battery, ASAP. It's a CR2025, although most people have found that a 2032 will also fit. The fob has a chip that can enable the Start button when placed against it. Remove the mechanical key and then pry the fob open, gently.
 
Per the manual, #2 is what you do when to put the car into READY mode when the fob battery is dead. Also, per the manual, the fob batteries last about 2 years.

If you choose not to replace the fob battery, you're eventually going to need to use the mechanical key to unlock and the hold the fob up to the power button.
 
fetv said:
1. since I can use the mechanical key to open the door, can I not replace the battery to start the engine?
Engine? There is no engine! ;)

Seriously, you do not have to have a working battery in the fob to start the car. But if you don't want to replace it, I recommend at least removing the old battery to avoid damaging the fob from corrosion. That's what we do with the spare key: it is stored with no battery and when needed we just use it without a battery.
fetv said:
2. While inside the car, when I depress the pedal and then put the remote about 0.5 inch away from the ignition, I can see the ignition button is lighted, what does this mean? When the ignition button is lighted, does it mean the remote key is in active mode or passive mode? (active=RFID is powered by battery; passive=RFID no battery is needed). I am hoping it is passive, so that I don't have to replace the battery for the remote key.
That's what it means. Simply hold the fob close to the button and the RFID tag is powered by the radio signal transmitted from somewhere in or near the button. You can then press the button like normal.
fetv said:
3. I assume the door opening does not work because the distance is longer that it needs active RFID, while the ignition works because it only requires passive RFID, am I correct?
That's right, but note that the start button also uses self-powered or "active" RFID if you don't want to always dig the fob out of your pocket to start the car.

One strange side effect of not requiring the fob to power itself is that while the car will complain if the fob is not detected while driving, it will NOT shut off the car. You (or anyone) can drive as far as the car's battery will take them until they shut off the car. I suppose that is a safety feature.

That feature, combined with a mistake that I made, left BOTH my wife and I stranded one day. We were at an event with the LEAF and another car. I got in the LEAF with the children and started it, but soon I realized that I had the keys to BOTH cars. So I pulled a key out of my pocket and told one of the children to run it in to Mom. They did and we went on our way. Unfortunately, I had given my wife the LEAF key by accident! Once I drove away and the LEAF was turned off, I was stranded (not at home) and she was also not able to drive the other car. Fortunately she was able to find someone at the event who was willing to drive her to me so that I could then drive her back to the other car. It was a bit embarrassing, but fortunately the weather was nice that day!
 
RegGuheert said:
One strange side effect of not requiring the fob to power itself....
it will NOT shut off the car. You (or anyone) can drive as far as the car's battery will take them until they shut off the car. I suppose that is a safety feature.
Yes. Absolutely it's a safety feature. It could be dangerous is the car suddenly stopped if there was a communication loss between the fob and the car for whatever reason (e.g. interference, fob failure, fob battery dead.)

RegGuheert said:
That feature, combined with a mistake that I made, left BOTH my wife and I stranded one day. We were at an event with the LEAF and another car. I got in the LEAF with the children and started it, but soon I realized that I had the keys to BOTH cars. So I pulled a key out of my pocket and told one of the children to run it in to Mom. They did and we went on our way. Unfortunately, I had given my wife the LEAF key by accident! Once I drove away and the LEAF was turned off, I was stranded (not at home) and she was also not able to drive the other car. Fortunately she was able to find someone at the event who was willing to drive her to me so that I could then drive her back to the other car. It was a bit embarrassing, but fortunately the weather was nice that day!
When I picked up my 06 Prius w/Toyota's version (Smart Key System) in 06, my salesman specifically went over the scenario of having to hand the (right) key over otherwise, once it's shut down, it can't be restarted w/o the proper key.
 
interesting about taking out the battery. Another question I have:
4. The user's manual says that if the remote is next to some radio signals, the battery would run out fast. I only have this car for more than 1 year, is it possible because the remote and my cell phone are in the same pocket?
5. Instead of taking battery out, can I put the remote in a metal box to shield any radio wave? Or does the metal box short circuit and that on the contrary, the metal box would speedup the battery draining?

RegGuheert said:
fetv said:
1. since I can use the mechanical key to open the door, can I not replace the battery to start the engine?
Engine? There is no engine! ;)

Seriously, you do not have to have a working battery in the fob to start the car. But if you don't want to replace it, I recommend at least removing the old battery to avoid damaging the fob from corrosion. That's what we do with the spare key: it is stored with no battery and when needed we just use it without a battery.
fetv said:
2. While inside the car, when I depress the pedal and then put the remote about 0.5 inch away from the ignition, I can see the ignition button is lighted, what does this mean? When the ignition button is lighted, does it mean the remote key is in active mode or passive mode? (active=RFID is powered by battery; passive=RFID no battery is needed). I am hoping it is passive, so that I don't have to replace the battery for the remote key.
That's what it means. Simply hold the fob close to the button and the RFID tag is powered by the radio signal transmitted from somewhere in or near the button. You can then press the button like normal.
fetv said:
3. I assume the door opening does not work because the distance is longer that it needs active RFID, while the ignition works because it only requires passive RFID, am I correct?
That's right, but note that the start button also uses self-powered or "active" RFID if you don't want to always dig the fob out of your pocket to start the car.

One strange side effect of not requiring the fob to power itself is that while the car will complain if the fob is not detected while driving, it will NOT shut off the car. You (or anyone) can drive as far as the car's battery will take them until they shut off the car. I suppose that is a safety feature.

That feature, combined with a mistake that I made, left BOTH my wife and I stranded one day. We were at an event with the LEAF and another car. I got in the LEAF with the children and started it, but soon I realized that I had the keys to BOTH cars. So I pulled a key out of my pocket and told one of the children to run it in to Mom. They did and we went on our way. Unfortunately, I had given my wife the LEAF key by accident! Once I drove away and the LEAF was turned off, I was stranded (not at home) and she was also not able to drive the other car. Fortunately she was able to find someone at the event who was willing to drive her to me so that I could then drive her back to the other car. It was a bit embarrassing, but fortunately the weather was nice that day!
 
fetv said:
interesting about taking out the battery. Another question I have:
4. The user's manual says that if the remote is next to some radio signals, the battery would run out fast. I only have this car for more than 1 year, is it possible because the remote and my cell phone are in the same pocket?
Perhaps, but since the cell phone operates at different frequencies, I doubt it. More likely the key was close enough to your LEAF or some other car that is talking to it. Another possibility is that it simply had a low-quality battery in it. We try to make sure we purchase a name-brand CR 2025 for the LEAF fob since it lasts about 1/3 as long as the same-size battery in the fob for our 2003 Honda. For now, you could just use the other LEAF fob, or at least the battery from it.
fetv said:
5. Instead of taking battery out, can I put the remote in a metal box to shield any radio wave? Or does the metal box short circuit and that on the contrary, the metal box would speedup the battery draining?
Perhaps, but how would you know if it is helping? If you just keep the fob far enough from the car you will be fine. Our key lives about 20 feet from the LEAF with two walls in between and I just replaced the fob battery for the second time recently. The car is just over five years old.
 
When I first turn my Leaf on for about 30 seconds to a minute it displays a screen with a meter showing the condition of the battery in the remote that I am using before it switches to the screen I last selected as the default to display.

What does the battery meter that is displayed on the dash when you turn the car on show about the condition of the battery in your remote? If it says its weak/dead or near to dead then yes its time to replace the battery.

On my 2014 S it is showing that I have about 25% battery left in the remote so I plan on replacing the batteries in both remotes very shortly. It has been giving me plenty of warning each and every time I turn the car on so if I post shortly that I had to use the key to open the door and hold the remote to the start button we will all know that its my own fault for ignoring the constant low battery warnings that have been popping up on the dash every time I hit the start button.
 
What does the battery meter that is displayed on the dash when you turn the car on show about the condition of the battery in your remote? If it says its weak/dead or near to dead then yes its time to replace the battery.

That display can't be trusted. I seem to recall that it isn't even a display of actual fob battery charge - just a generic icon that doesn't change. You do get an actual low battery warning, though, and that's definitely time to replace the battery. You can also tell earlier, when you have to get the fob closer to the door to unlock it. I did both my fob batteries this Spring: the spare with OEM battery got another CR2015, and the one I usually use, with a replaced-once battery, got a 2032.
 
LeftieBiker said:
What does the battery meter that is displayed on the dash when you turn the car on show about the condition of the battery in your remote? If it says its weak/dead or near to dead then yes its time to replace the battery.

That display can't be trusted. I seem to recall that it isn't even a display of actual fob battery charge - just a generic icon that doesn't change. You do get an actual low battery warning, though, and that's definitely time to replace the battery. You can also tell earlier, when you have to get the fob closer to the door to unlock it. I did both my fob batteries this Spring: the spare with OEM battery got another CR2015, and the one I usually use, with a replaced-once battery, got a 2032.

I've paid attention and watched the black area grow as the white area on the battery icon gets smaller. Mayhaps they have improved it since you got your 2013.
 
I've paid attention and watched the black area grow as the white area on the battery icon gets smaller. Mayhaps they have improved it since you got your 2013.

Or maybe the 2013 has the improved version. I don't look at it, and replace the batteries when the fob range is down.
 
LeftieBiker said:
I've paid attention and watched the black area grow as the white area on the battery icon gets smaller. Mayhaps they have improved it since you got your 2013.

Or maybe the 2013 has the improved version. I don't look at it, and replace the batteries when the fob range is down.

I probably won't wait that long. Its a 2014 and its almost 2017 so the batteries in both remotes will get replaced before they start failing or showing signs of aberrant operation. They are a safety feature for my wife and daughters when they use the car so they will be getting the best from me on that front.
 
I probably won't wait that long. Its a 2014 and its almost 2017 so the batteries in both remotes will get replaced before they start failing or showing signs of aberrant operation. They are a safety feature for my wife and daughters when they use the car so they will be getting the best from me on that front.

The symptoms I mentioned come before the dash warning to replace the fob battery.
 
LeftieBiker said:
I probably won't wait that long. Its a 2014 and its almost 2017 so the batteries in both remotes will get replaced before they start failing or showing signs of aberrant operation. They are a safety feature for my wife and daughters when they use the car so they will be getting the best from me on that front.

The symptoms I mentioned come before the dash warning to replace the fob battery.

That warning and the symptoms mentioned come a bit too late for my liking. Its like waiting for the idiot light in the old GM cars that really told you that you've already waited too long. The same as with brakes I am not going to wait until after they starts to fail before I service them. The gauge as it sits now is already warning me that its getting close so I am not going to procrastinate until imminent signs of failure start to become apparent.

Come from maintaining production lines. If you wait until after the signs and warnings then you've already lost production.

I've learned also over the years that when you wait too long that other folks will damage remotes pressing harder on the buttons and such in reaction to batteries failing which can cost much more over time for new remotes or even remote rebuild kits than a few early battery replacements will.
 
Does anything need to be done after you put in a new battery?

Both of mine give me the low battery warning and I replaced 1 remote so far and the car thinks it's dead. I used Energizer brand and thought they would be reliable vs. no name or HF.
 
Battery counterfeiting is rampant, especially on Ebay. Assuming the battery wasn't dead when you put it in, I think that some programming is needed if the original battery was completely dead. Hopefully someone will confirm or correct that.

A little OT, but our 2013 Prius PHEV needs new fob batteries. Any trick to replacing those? I had little trouble with the Nissan fobs. The PIP uses CR1632 cells.
 
LeftieBiker said:
Battery counterfeiting is rampant, especially on Ebay. Assuming the battery wasn't dead when you put it in, I think that some programming is needed if the original battery was completely dead. Hopefully someone will confirm or correct that.

A little OT, but our 2013 Prius PHEV needs new fob batteries. Any trick to replacing those? I had little trouble with the Nissan fobs. The PIP uses CR1632 cells.
Not sure if your '13 is the same as our '07 but replacing the FOB battery on our Prius is a snap. It's been a while but the last time I replaced it I searched YouTube for Prius remote battery replacement(or something to that effect) and found several short videos showing how it was done, YouTube is really your friend in cases like this. If you have a question about something, more than likely someone else has and someone else has posted a video on it :)

To the OP, I can't believe even if the battery was dead that any sort of programming would be required, I mean it wouldn't make sense since when you replace the battery the remote loses power and would need to be reprogrammed. I'd test the battery or try a new battery, something doesn't sound right.
 
LeafMuranoDriver said:
Does anything need to be done after you put in a new battery?

Both of mine give me the low battery warning and I replaced 1 remote so far and the car thinks it's dead. I used Energizer brand and thought they would be reliable vs. no name or HF.

This is what the 2015 owners manual cautions about what can damage the Intelligent Keys:

"To avoid damaging it, please note the
following.
• The Intelligent Key is water resistant;
however, wetting may damage the In-
telligent Key. If the Intelligent Key gets
wet, immediately wipe until it is com-
pletely dry.
• Do not bend, drop or strike it against
another object.
• If the outside temperature is below
14°F (-10°C) degrees, the battery of the
intelligent key may not function prop-
erly.
• Do not place the Intelligent Key for an
extended period in a place where tem-
peratures exceed 140°F (60°C).
• Do not change or modify the Intelligent
Key.
• Do not use a magnet key holder.
Do not place the Intelligent Key near
an electric appliance such as a televi-
sion set, personal computer or cellular
phone.
• Do not allow the Intelligent Key to
come into contact with water or salt
water, and do not wash it in a washing
machine. This could affect the system
function."


NISSAN INTELLIGENT KEY BATTERY REPLACEMENT is covered in section 8 of your owners manual on page 19 and its pretty straight forward:

"CAUTION
• Be careful not to allow children to
swallow the battery and removed
parts.
• An improperly disposed battery can
harm the environment. Always confirm
local regulations for battery disposal.
• When changing batteries, do not let
dust or oil get on the components.
• There is danger of explosion if the
lithium battery is incorrectly replaced.
Replace only with the same or equiva-
lent type.
Replace the battery in the Intelligent Key as fol-
lows:
1. Remove the mechanical key from the Intelli-
gent Key.
2. Insert a small screwdriver into the slit of the
corner and twist it to separate the upper part
from the lower part. Use a cloth to protect the
casing.
3. Replace the battery with a new one.
Recommended battery:
CR2025 or equivalent
• Do not touch the internal circuit and electric
terminals as doing so could cause a malfunc-
tion.
• Hold the battery by the edges. Holding the
battery across the contact points will seri-
ously deplete the storage capacity.
• Make sure that the + side faces the bottom
of the case.
4. Align the tips of the upper and lower parts 1,
and then push them together until it is
securely closed.
5. Operate the buttons to check that it is func-
tioning properly.
See a NISSAN certified LEAF dealer if you need
any assistance for replacement."

Many Nissan Owners and Supplemental Information Booklets are available on-line at the following link:
https://owners.nissanusa.com/nowners/navigation/manualsGuide
 
Thanks for the info, much appreciated.

I assumed all of that info so I'll have to try another new battery. I got the Energizer 5 pack off of Amazon and would think they're legit.

It seemed to go in just fine and didn't have an issue snapping it back together. The old battery was giving the low warning but wasn't dead. I think I tossed it already though but I do have the other remote that has the low warning still.
 
LeafMuranoDriver said:
Thanks for the info, much appreciated.

I assumed all of that info so I'll have to try another new battery. I got the Energizer 5 pack off of Amazon and would think they're legit.

It seemed to go in just fine and didn't have an issue snapping it back together. The old battery was giving the low warning but wasn't dead. I think I tossed it already though but I do have the other remote that has the low warning still.

I generally do not buy disposable batteries on-line unless they have a local outlet to return them at. At a place like Batteries Plus at least you can confirm that the battery is good before you leave the counter as they will assist you in replacing the battery or just do it for you at no charge and your good to go.
 
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