does the range on your remote key suck?

mine does. i basically have to stand right next to the drivers side door or right in front of the car and point the infrared directly at the mirror. if i am aiming to the side at all or stray from a 5 foot radius of the mirror sensor, pressing the button on the remote does nothing. i might as well just use the key to unlock the doors!

with the clifford alarm on my old car, i could use the alarm remote from like a block away.

i thought that this lack of signal strength might be due to a weak remote battery, but i have replaced the ones in both of my remotes to no avail.

anyone else have this problem? how far away can you unlock your doors from?

range sucks specially with tinted windows
but oh well at least it works better than having to use the damn key to lock and unlock a car ;p

Isn't there a sensor in the driver's door? My doors unlock from about 40 feet but there is a dead zone at the back of the car. My range did drop with battery age.

Change your battery, I did with mine, gained about 15-20 feet.

Also here are a few tricks. We all know the one about holding the transmitter to yout head (which works) but even better is use someone else car or there antenna as a booster. On my other car which has an aftermarket alarm. I can open the doors from over 40 parking stalls (~9-10 feet each stall) when I use the antenna of a parked car. Great for locating you car!

Range about 20- 30 feet depending on angle and how far i raise my hand-MOE

yeah it does... kinda stupid standing there aiming ur key and trying to find the spot just to lock it

Huh? Not all of us know about this....
Mine works from maybe 5 ft. on a good day with a new batt.
For the windows to roll up or down, I have to be RIGHT in front of the sensor.

which battery are you referring to? the small cr2025 battery in the remote itself, or the cars battery?

i already got new batteries for the remotes, that didnt seem to help at all. i have an interstate gel cell on order for the car, which should be coming in tomorrow or the day after. i have my fingers crossed that that will help.

maybe the store i went to to buy the remote batteries had some old inventory? the flat alkaline batteries dont seem to have any "best by" date, at least not the energizer ones.

Yes the small cr2025 bats. is what I was referring to. Well what I'd do is test the battery voltage using a voltmeter.

As for the window roll up/down feature, that uses infrared and not radio frequency that’s why you must point the transmitter to the door handle where the receiver is (behind the small black piece.)

Same here!!! And I have to be about 5 inches for the windows to work. Does anybody know how to increase the distance. Could you add an antenna to the unit in the car or something. Or is it that these smart keys are really dumb in the long run?

The main problem is that the keyless entry system Mercedes offered at the time was the infared style. This style had a poor range because you had to aim directly at the infared location sensors. The other day, I was talking to the car customizer about the keyless entry system on my C Class. He told me that it would be worth it to get rid of the old system, and put a new keyless entry system. On my other car, I put a Bulldog brand remote starter with keyless entry system in by myself. It has great range, and I was able to install it by myself. The best part was that the system was only $50.00 from Sam's Club, and functions as a remote starter, keyless entry sytem, and trunk lid opener. In fact, the kit comes with an installation video. So, for now, I am keeping the stock keyless entry system, and making best of it.