Warranty stuff » Keyless Fob ... Covered by Warranty?

My question is in the title.

My FOB eats an entire watch battery per day. Something is wrong with it and I believe it needs to be replaced.

So ... will the warranty make that happen? If so, what steps do I take?

Best you have a word with your dealer or negotiate a good discount with your battery supplier.

Wow!. My experience is that the battery lasts over 2 years, easily.

Is there any potential that the "alarm button" has been pressed down and stuck?

Generally things fail for a reason (except for "FRED"s - being electronic and computer gizmos). Come to think of it, the fob is probably a FRED.

My fob battery lasted for three years. But you do have to use a decent name brand battery. I installed a Chinese Hi Power battery that I bought from American Scientific Surplus for something like 10 for $3 and it only lasted a few months. Once I replaced that battery with a fresh (they come with an expiration date) Duracell-brand battery, no more issues with dead batteries.

Zitat von Robin Dean im Beitrag #1

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My question is in the title.

My FOB eats an entire watch battery per day. Something is wrong with it and I believe it needs to be replaced.

So ... will the warranty make that happen? If so, what steps do I take?

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I have had the RS since Oct 15, it being an Aug 15 build.

The keyfob battery was replaced in July 17, prior to any actual fault.

I have no idea what the battery life may be, but I think at least 2 years. The battery is not difficult or expensive to replace.

My original Fob battery lasted three years before expiring.

Well, perhaps the Fob is the culprit. I've had keyless ignition in numerous vehicles and never had the battery replacement indicator go off with such frequency. I'm using Duracells so no issue with quality. I do keep my emergency (plastic) key in my tank bag and the Fob goes in the house away from the bike after riding. I'll report my findings when I've resolved the issue at the dealer. But again, this time the bike is telling me it cannot find the key, not the battery is weak.

Thanks all, for the input. Stick.

been there done that... only use top quality battery like duracell and i am sure your problems are over. I bougth a 5 pack chinese batteries in the supermarket and each of them lasted only a few days. Duracell mede the difference 😁

Zitat von XSCHR im Beitrag #9

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been there done that... only use top quality battery like duracell and i am sure your problems are over. I bougth a 5 pack chinese batteries in the supermarket and each of them lasted only a few days. Duracell mede the difference 😁

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Interesting the different experiences people are having with their fob batteries. I bough a set of the cells at Lidl year+ ago and fitted it back then.

A few months (September 2018) ago the appropriate warning on the dash said fob battery was low. I was out riding in Wales, didn't really worry about it, however when I next stopped for a break I popped the fob open removed the battery, cleaned the contacts with a careful scratch of my thumb nail and a cotton cloth and rub of cotton over the battery itself, put it back in the fob, it hasn't caused a problem since. I've previously had this with my car key fob too (same battery type).

I wonder if there is a mild chemical reaction happening that causes the battery or contacts to oxides or tarnish and become more resistive? I don't doubt some batteries will last longer than others and I know they cost relatively little but giving both quick clean has given me months more service so far.

JasonQ

Fitting any small 'long life!' batteries (watches/remotes) the biggest problem can be your own contact.

Training we had years ago on fitting replacement watch batteries was the damage we did to long term life with the chemicals from our own fingers starting a reaction on the contacts.

Your 'removal and clean' probably stopped any further issues and advice to buy premium Duracell is valid.

Well, much to my dismay, I retrieved my RS from my local dealer last night after nearly 3 weeks of observation. The service writer saw the error on the display (key fob ?) 2 Saturdays ago, but no one else saw it afterwards, and therefore they wrote it up as the problem could not be duplicated. The reason was in an effort to troubleshoot the display error, the service writer replaced the weakened key fob battery with a new one. This had been my cure for the issue 4 other times during my 20 months of ownership. Reinserting the used battery does not then display the error message, it just delays the error message from returning immediately.

This key fob either EATS BATTERIES or intermittently loses good contact to the terminals!

They involved BMW Motorrad at my insistence, and when the factory would not listen to reason, I filed a complaint as well. To no avail, as the Motorrad would not authorize a replacement.

So, back to riding for the next period of time before it fails again and then back to the dealer for another visit to see what reason they can dream up NOT to support their products.

I'm not a happy camper............ Stick.

Zitat von Stick Rockwell im Beitrag #13

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This key fob either EATS BATTERIES or intermittently loses good contact to the terminals!
Stick.

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