WolfgangGullich

Anyone else experienced the keyless not working very well? The other day my wife had to pop the start/stop button out and insert the key for the GLK to start, kept saying the key wasn't present even though it unlocked the doors just fine with the touch pads on the handles. Also, battery in the fob is just fine and stored on the other side of the house (learned that lesson).

Any ideas?
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ble2716

Looks like it needs new battery.
Have you tried with another key fob?

formerjeepguy

There are a lot of bad batteries out there so have a look at where yours were made. The cheap batteries from China and Indonesia are utter crap. The cheap batteries in my '15 didn't even make it 6 months before needing replacement. I replaced them with the good made in Japan batteries and a year later they are still good. Look for the made in Japan batteries with the hologram seal. I think they are hitach or maxell.

WolfgangGullich

So, the battery is fine, we've replaced it once and as I said, it recognized the fob just fine for opening the doors by touch (located in my wife's purse as usual). When it came time to hit the start button, nothing...acted like no key was present. Also, no low battery warning like in the past.

One thing I was wondering was can the fob's transceiver go bad? My wife's key is the one that acts up and mine works fine. It's a '15 and still under full warranty

formerjeepguy

Sure, anything can break. If you have already done the obvious and replaced the battery then it is time to take it in and take advantage of the warranty.

ZZGlk

Wikipedia has a good article describing how keyless go and smart keys work. there is quite a bit of smarts in the system. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_key

Sounds like you have a bad key or something interfering with the signal from the key. If your key works and hers doesn't, swap keys with her and see if it might have to do with things she is carrying with her key or where she carries it. The key measures signal strength to tell when it's inside or outside the car and interfering devices can confuse it.

LesF

The fob is under warranty as long as it wasn't abused. I've replaced one on my C300 as it failed under normal service.

cindyclk

Battery issue...my dealer will give new ones life car...they change both keys ...check yours.

ZZGlk

I've been having trouble finding good 2025 batteries for my keys. I bought some Maxell batteries, made in Japan, with the hologram pack and they lasted about 8 months after I figured out not to keep my keys too close to the car at night. I recently bought what I thought were Maxell - Japan made hologram pack, but they came without the hologram and lasted about 3 weeks.

I decided to do a little research and found that the 2032 battery is the same diameter and voltage but a little thicker. It also a higher nominal current rating than the 2025 (150 mah for the 2025 and 225 mah for the 2032). It appears to be easier to find the good Maxell hologram packed batteries in 2032 than in 2025. The 2032 is used in almost all computer motherboards and a lot of other devices.

I found that by applying a little extra pressure inserting the battery, the 2032 will work fine in my GLK keys. Thought I would pass on this info in case others out there are looking for batteries. Even if you buy the cheap brands, the additional current capacity in the 2032 should last longer than the 2025.