Dema

The message appeared today in cluster. Very surprising, my car is less than 2 years old. I need the car just for two more months, so how safe is driving with this kind of warning?

HIRABI

I've been driving for a couple months with that same warning...though I have the P2 w/Push Start but nothing as of yet. In terms of my Key not working or something of that sort. GL!!

BTW, why only for 2Months???

Barry45RPM

Radio Shack carries a set of two for a few dollars. Its Summer... you'll lose your summer window opening soon & you'll have to be real close to the car for it to unlock due to dead key batteries. 2 Months is a long time.

HIRABI

I knw, I knw...I've just been lazy!! Though the car is at the the Dealership so I may just have my Service Adviser replace it, save the extra trip to RS!!

gaazmon

lol, i think they told me at an MB dealership in the valley that they wanted $20 for the batteries he asked if i want to buy them, i laughed and told him i have about 300 of these in our warehouse. ya, i don't think so

Barry45RPM

Much, Much more expensive at the dealership. Needless expense. Radio Shack. Get a 2 Pack.

Roupin

Keyless Go seems to kill the batteries faster. Just less than a year for me.

gaazmon

the reason is because a signal is constantly being transmitted from the transponder chip in the remote since it is constantly looking for the car. the nice thing would be for someone that doesn't want to use it if you can turn it off within the remote.

Dema

We drive te car equally with wife, I believe she drives even more, however her key looks fine. Strange.

anewbie

I didn't even know that you can change the battery. The whole key look like completely sealed. What do you do? Pry open the casing? Never mind, I figured out. sorry!

vettdvr

I keep spare bat''s in the console and on the key rack at home. Easy to change. Don't wait to save $.10 and get locked out.

Barry45RPM

Remove the metal "valet" lock out key. Use the metal head of that key to slide the gray plastic slide lock in the top inside edge of the smartkey downward. Slide out the inner guts of the smartkey like a dresser drawer. Batteries are stacked inside. Do NOT pry the smartkey apart.

If you don't have the manual, its best to find someone at the dealership to show you how to avoid damage to the key ($$$). Bring YOUR new batteries with you.

Its really as simple as changing the wiper blades on the car.

fbsdmd

May I say how impressed I am with how easy it is to change the wiper blades. It is so much more satisfying to buy a pair of Bosch blades on line and pop them on yourself, than to pay possibly more than twice as much to have the dealer do it. And, indeed, it is equally as easy to change the smartkey batteries, following the great directions from Barry. Definitely do not pry the case apart! I will go one step further-I must have dropped my smartkey in just the wrong way, and one of the push switches cracked. I went on eBay and found a place that sells new OEM shells for $35. All that was needed was to slide the guts of the smartkey out of the broken shell and into the new shell. I think a dealer interaction could end up costing megabucks. If you have to do this job, keep an eye on the orientation of the smartkey guts, so that you put them into the new shell the same way you took them out of the old shell. There is also a little white plastic widget that centers the electronics in the case-keep track of it. My car is a 2006 E350, but I don't think the smartkey has changed much.