Keyless Entry Question

[baumgrenze]

I have a 2012 SL, took delivery on 12/7/11.

The "keyless entry" (push the button on the handle to enter and to lock) worked until yesterday. Now only the fob buttons work.

I have a fully keyless 2004 Prius fob and the 2012 Leaf fob on the same keyring. Is this a 'no-no'?

I've looked for unlocked doors (walked around and shut each one with a purpose) and the door buttons still don't work for entry/locking. I don't claim to be an expert on the dash display by a long shot, but I can't see any indication of anything amiss.

Have I failed to consider something?

Is there a car programming option that might have 'allowed me' to disable 'keyless' entry?

Thanks,

baumgrenze

 

[planet4ever]

Where is your other key fob? I believe you will see that behavior if the other one is inside the car.

Ray

 

[Tardis]

You can check the intelligent key setting in the settings menu. Confirm that it is set to ON.

 

[baumgrenze]

There is no remote in the car. It locks and unlocks with the buttons on the fob.

We have the standard 2 key fobs. Both behave the same. Neither allows keyless entry into the car.

I had to reset the clock next to the speedometer yesterday. It was a few minutes slow. I was hoping I'd inadvertently hit something that blocked keyless entry while I was in setup mode. I spent a few minutes with the owner's manual and setup and I could find nothing about turning keyless entry on and off.

As a veteran of six years of Gen II Prius ownership, I would not be amazed to learn that there is some combination of button pushes, done in just the right order, that will accomplish disabling keyless entry. If this is the case, I would hope that there is also another combination that will restore it.

Has anyone discovered this secret?

Thanks,

baumgrenze

 

[Volusiano]

I would do a master reset by disconnecting the 12v battery and reconnect. Hopefully this will clear it up. At least it doesn't hurt anything. I suspect if you take it to the dealer, they'll probably do the same thing. Unless they're given secret shortcuts by Nissan to turn keyless entry back on, if there's such a secret shortcut.

I agree that keyless entry must has been inadvertently disabled somehow. The easiest way is to reset the system so the default mode for keyless entry will enable it back on hopefully.

 

[McDavis]

Did this ever turn out? Were you able to reactivate it? I read something in the manual that said you had to push your start button with the fob in order to activate/reactivate something, but I don't remember what it was or where it was and for the life of me I can't find it. I'll keep looking, though.

 

[baumgrenze]

I have not resolved this issue. Here it is in a nutshell:

1) The buttons on the fob work (at least most of the time) and I can lock and unlock the car with the fob.

2) With the fob in my pocket the car starts and runs as expected

3) I cannot walk up and push the buttons on the doors and gain entry to the car.

I called the dealer. They advised against the 'hard reset' via a disconnect/reconnect of the 12V battery. I won't have time this week to run up to Boardwalk and let them look at the issue from their perspective.

Regarding my equivocation under (1) above, once or twice the car has refused to lock with the fob. I opened and closed all 5 doors. It still refused. I started the car and shut it down and then the fob worked. It must be an issue with the shutdown procedure.

The whole thing leaves me 'a bit uncomfortable' that I will be out shopping and I won't be able to unlock the car to drive it home. Mercifully that has not yet happened.

Has anyone else seen this behavior?

baumgrenze

 

[TangoKilo]

Maybe your car has a virus? :mrgreen:

 

[ebill3]

The whole thing leaves me 'a bit uncomfortable' that I will be out shopping and I won't be able to unlock the car to drive it home. Mercifully that has not yet happened.

If it does happen, hopefully the 'real' key inside the fob will unlock the door.

Bill

 

[baumgrenze]

Oh, aye, but will the computer recognize the fob so that the 'start' button works?

I guess it would be a blessing to be in out of the rain and/or cold.

In all likelihood this concern is covered somewhere in the owner's manual. Reading it from cover-to-cover is one thing; retaining all that I've read is another.

baumgrenze

 

[coqui]

I also have a 2004 Prius keyless fob and a 2012 keyless Leaf fob on the same keyring...no problems at all. As a veteran 7 yr Prius owner all I can suggest is change your fob battery about once every 6 months or so.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

The whole thing leaves me 'a bit uncomfortable' that I will be out shopping and I won't be able to unlock the car to drive it home. Mercifully that has not yet happened.

Has anyone else seen this behavior?

baumgrenze

just like your Prius, your Leaf also has the "legacy" way of simply removing the metal key, inserting into door handle method...archaic ya i know, but better than walking

let me know if what you find out.

FYI; i also had one incident where i was occupied and did not press the lock button on the door when exiting (i do this occasionally but usually just "pre lock" the door with inside button.

after several button presses to lock it. nothing, so walked back and pressed lock button and got a long beep. i checked all the doors and finally got in car, thinking it was still on.(it wasnt) turned it on and off and then the lock worked normally.

i am clueless as to why it did not work and it has never happened again

 

[garygid]

Opening the door before the LEAF is fully off might confuse it.

Does the fob work at the trunk to unlock the car, or the trunk (there are 2 buttons)?

If so, the RF receiver for the area outside of the driver's door ... might be defective.

 

[baumgrenze]

I looked in the manual, but not exhaustively, for instructions on how to change the battery in the key fob and could not find them.

If you have the page reference, please post it in a reply.

Here are some recent observations.

Tonight the car refused to lock. The lock button on the fob elicited the same reaction as the unlock button, a flash of lights.

I had started charging it. I disconnected the Blink. I got in and turned it on, then off. It still would not lock. I then started it again and put it into reverse, then drive, then park and shut it off. This time the fob locked it.

I resumed the charging.

Has anyone researched how the intelligent key system works? I can understand that there might be two independent electronic lock drivers, a 'classic' fob driven lock/unlock, and the keyless 'push the button on the door' system. It seems to me that the latter must also be the one that the push button start uses for recognition, but the engineering might be overly complex, a result of many teams trying to get a job done on time.

Sometime next week I hope to get back to the dealership to show the problem to the service department. An adviser I spoke with on the phone predictably advised against disconnecting the 12V battery to reset the computer.

thanks,

baumgrenze

 

[planet4ever]

I looked in the manual, but not exhaustively, for instructions on how to change the battery in the key fob and could not find them.

There is a section under "Maintenance and do-it-yourself" called "Intelligent key battery replacement". It's on page 8-18 in my copy. But that battery should be good for several years; at least that's been our experience with the two Priuses we have owned.

Ray

 

[TomT]

6 months?! Really? Why do they need it that often? I've never changed any fob battery more often than every 5 years or so and some, like the later model BMWs, never need to be changed...

I also have a 2004 Prius keyless fob and a 2012 keyless Leaf fob on the same keyring...no problems at all. As a veteran 7 yr Prius owner all I can suggest is change your fob battery about once every 6 months or so.

 

[Nekota]

I have not resolved this issue. Here it is in a nutshell:

1) The buttons on the fob work (at least most of the time) and I can lock and unlock the car with the fob.

2) With the fob in my pocket the car starts and runs as expected

3) I cannot walk up and push the buttons on the doors and gain entry to the car.

I called the dealer. They advised against the 'hard reset' via a disconnect/reconnect of the 12V battery. I won't have time this week to run up to Boardwalk and let them look at the issue from their perspective.

Regarding my equivocation under (1) above, once or twice the car has refused to lock with the fob. I opened and closed all 5 doors. It still refused. I started the car and shut it down and then the fob worked. It must be an issue with the shutdown procedure.

The whole thing leaves me 'a bit uncomfortable' that I will be out shopping and I won't be able to unlock the car to drive it home. Mercifully that has not yet happened.

Has anyone else seen this behavior?

baumgrenze

I was looking for the information about headlight auto shutoff and saw how to program the auto locking of the doors. It's in the Nav manual page 6-4 and hopefully that helps solve your problem if not already resolved.

COMFORT & CONVENIENCE SETTINGS
This key does not appear on the display until the
power switch is pushed to the "ON" position.
1. Push the MENU button and touch [Settings].
2. Touch [Comfort & Convenience].
3. Touch the item you would like to set.
Available settings
. [Auto Interior Illumination]:
When this item is turned on, the interior
lights will illuminate if any door is unlocked.
. [Speed Sensing Wiper Interval]:
When this item is turned to ON, the wiper
interval is adjusted automatically according
to the vehicle speed.
. [Light Sensitivity]:
Adjust the sensitivity of the automatic headlight
by touching [+] or [-].
. [Light Off Delay]:
Select the duration of the automatic headlight
off timer from 0, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120,
150 and 180 second periods.
. [Selective Door Unlock]:
When this item is turned on, only the driver’s
door is unlocked first after the door unlock
operation. When the door handle request
switch on the driver’s or front passenger’s
side door is pushed to be unlocked, only the
corresponding door is unlocked first. All the
doors can be unlocked if the door unlock
operation is performed again within 60
seconds. When this item is turned to OFF,
all the doors will be unlocked after the door
unlock operation is performed once.
. [Intelligent Key Lock/Unlock]:
When this item is turned to ON, door lock/
unlock function by pushing the door handle
request switch will be activated.
. [Return All Settings to Default]:
Touch this item and touch [Yes] if you want
to return all settings to the default.

 

[baumgrenze]

Thank You Nekota,

You provided the answer. You illustrate why it is important/useful to read all the owner's manuals from cover to cover, and then remember what you read.

The heading "Comfort and Convenience" is not indexed in either manual. The subject "Settings" is not indexed. I guess RTFM is a useful instruction; look in the index is not.

Who would have thought to look in a Nav System manual for instructions on how to set the Keyless Entry System?

baumgrenze

 

[Nekota]

Thank You Nekota,

You provided the answer. You illustrate why it is important/useful to read all the owner's manuals from cover to cover, and then remember what you read.

The heading "Comfort and Convenience" is not indexed in either manual. The subject "Settings" is not indexed. I guess RTFM is a useful instruction; look in the index is not.

Who would have thought to look in a Nav System manual for instructions on how to set the Keyless Entry System?

baumgrenze

I'm guilty as well but what I have found is downloading the manuals in PDF into your favorite electronic device and then you can use find to look for the information. I started in the user manual for headlight and it mentioned setup in the Navigation manual so I switched to that one. While I was reading about the headlights I also read the "keyless stuff" and recalled this thread.
I'm glad it worked for you and wish I had read about the valet trunk switch in the glove compartment in our Altima - we couldn't open the trunk during our Thanksgiving trip and the dealer showed us the valet trunk switch in the glove compartment when we took it in for repair. It's not in the contents, nor in the index but if you search for trunk - one of those 50 hits talks about a valet switch - reading the manual isn't as helpful as searching it.

 

[baumgrenze]

I hate to prolong this thread, but I, too, thought of how easy it would be to download a pdf copy of the manual and then search it in lieu of a proper index. I quickly discovered that, in all likelihood, the manual was written "by a committee" who failed to use the same terms to describe the same part of the car.

The intelligent key battery replacement on page 8-18 is not found if you search the manual for 'keyless,' the word used to describe the 'entry system' on the Leaf by Nissan. Some of the team apparently favored the term 'keyless' and others favored 'intelligent key.'

The 'logic' that placed the function that turns on and off the 'keyless' or 'intelligent key' entry system in the Navigation System Manual escapes me altogether.

I much appreciate not having to drive to the dealership to get my 'keyless entry' function restored.

baumgrenze