smart key battry lifetime

[samera]

any idea how long does the battries in the smart key last before they wore out ? just a rough estimate is fine.

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[firstkill]

In a 95.. i changed my battery about (2 of them in the key) after 5 years or so. You will notice that it doesnt work as well from far away...

I think it was 5 bux at radio shack... sure its cheaper elsewhere if u hunt for them

~fk

[MB-BOB]

My '01 C320 is two years old this weekend, and the SmartKey battery is still going strong. And I even press the lock button twice every time I get out of it, just to be sure.

[RI203]

My smartkey battery was replaced after only a little over 1 year of daily use. At first I didn't know what was going on since the key would fail to work only occasionally. I was afraid there was a problem with the key itself as I remembered reading some post about Smartkey failures. I complained to the dealer about the problem and they simply replaced the battery for me with a $17 charge. Needless to say I felt taken.

[rrf]

CR2025 $1.75ea at Fry's Electronics.
You need a pair of batteries per key.
I suggest you keep an extra set in the glovebox.

[brabus c]

Originally posted by RI203
My smartkey battery was replaced after only a little over 1 year of daily use. At first I didn't know what was going on since the key would fail to work only occasionally. I was afraid there was a problem with the key itself as I remembered reading some post about Smartkey failures. I complained to the dealer about the problem and they simply replaced the battery for me with a $17 charge. Needless to say I felt taken.

definitely taken

my batteries died on both keys a month ago (would be a year in sept). now i enter the car using the metal key. before the alarm would come on, i'd put the smartkey into the ignition. no, i'm not cheap, i'm just too lazy to go change the battery.

[Matt230K]

I don't think the alarm will come on in that situation. You aren't arming the alarm if you lock the car with the metal key. At least I think that's right??

[trench]

I was at the dealer once and there was this older guy raising Cain because of his SmartKey had failed after they had just replaced the battery. The guys at the counter popped it open and the insides were totally corroded.

They looked at him and said, "Hmmm.... Looks like it went through the washing machine."



- BT

[MB-BOB]

Originally posted by moomeh
my batteries died on both keys a month ago (would be a year in sept). now i enter the car using the metal key. before the alarm would come on, i'd put the smartkey into the ignition. no, i'm not cheap, i'm just too lazy to go change the battery.

WOW. For want of two standard batteries you can buy almost anywhere, you decide it's better to fight twisting that little metal key and racing the alarm (mine blares the microsecond I open the door with the metal key).

That's some MAJOR LAZY... (Just having some fun, moomeh!)

[Matt230K]

Originally posted by MB-BOB
and racing the alarm (mine blares the microsecond I open the door with the metal key).

But only if you locked it with the remote, right?

[MB-BOB]

Originally posted by Matt230K
But only if you locked it with the remote, right?

I've never had to lock it with the key, so yes, I always lock it with the remote. The one time I couldn't get the remote to unlock the doors, I used that itty-bitty key and the alarm sounded the instant I opened the door (just like Mr. O. Manual says it will).

Turns out the batteries were jostled loose in the remote. Once I bent the metal contacts to grip the batteries better, the problem went away.

[Matt230K]

Ok, that's what I thought, I just didn't want to state it as fact. moomeh said he would put key in ignition before the alarm would go off, but I didn't think it ever would because he obviously would have locked it with the metal key as well, and thus no alarm.