[FloatingBob]

March 2020 G05 X5 here. Apologies if this has been discussed before but I'm getting "Vehicle key battery empty" notification of the dash despite replacing the battery in my key fob.

Had the car for 2 1/2 years and it's always unlocked on approach, but now I have to touch the inside of the door handle to unlock even though I've replaced the battery.

I've always had problems if I've had my phone in the same pocket at the key fob, but now the car ignores me like a spurned lover despite the new battery and the phone in a different pocket. Any thoughts?

[nZtiZia]

try an iDrive reboot, but from what i've seen in this forum, the only permanent fix is to disconnect the 12V battery for a few minutes. also, sometimes those button cell batteries have a protective coating or film applied on them. just make sure it's been removed.

[TurtleBoy]

What brand battery did you use? Some folks have reported this issue with Energizer battery.

[streborx]

"Battery empty" - a literal translation for sure.

[streborx]

Originally Posted by FloatingBob

March 2020 G05 X5 here. Apologies if this has been discussed before but I'm getting "Vehicle key battery empty" notification of the dash despite replacing the battery in my key fob.

Had the car for 2 1/2 years and it's always unlocked on approach, but now I have to touch the inside of the door handle to unlock even though I've replaced the battery.

I've always had problems if I've had my phone in the same pocket at the key fob, but now the car ignores me like a spurned lover despite the new battery and the phone in a different pocket. Any thoughts?

Do both of your fobs behave this way?

[1Boxer]

I've ran into this with batteries that are coated with a bittering agent. It's used on small items to prevent children from swallowing them, which I never knew was a problem. Anyhow, wipe the battery down with an alcohol wipe and reinstall in the keyfob, that should remove the bittering coating and it should work again. I've only came across this due to changing batteries in my Apple Airtags and they would not work, and upon doing some research, I found out about the coating applied to the batteries..

[mmm50i]

Originally Posted by TurtleBoy

What brand battery did you use? Some folks have reported this issue with Energizer battery.

This.

Use a Panasonic battery and it’ll resolve your issue. An Energizer battery produces a slightly different voltage that’s incompatible with our fobs.

[FloatingBob]

Ahh thank you all. I'll try a Panasonic battery.

[streborx]

I've used Panasonic, Energizer, Duracell and (in a pinch) even Harbor Freight's Thunderbolt brand batteries in my key fobs and multiple other devices, and while there seems to be some lesser service life with the bargain brands, I've never observed any malfunctions attributable to voltage. "CR" coin cells are all lithium chemistry and deliver nominally 3 volts.

All the brands listed above are made in one or more Asian venues, and perhaps even in the same factories. CR batteries are supposed to have a 10 year shelf life, but some devices such as key fobs draw minuscule power even when not in use, so an unused key fob laying in a drawer somewhere will eventually discharge in a couple years.

In addition to the points posted above, also make sure you have the correct battery size. A CR2032 battery specifies "20" mm diameter and "3.2" mm thickness. CR2012, CR2016 and CR2025 appear very similar, but have slightly different thicknesses. Putting a CR2025 into a key fob that specs a CR2032 will probably result in poor or non-existent contact with the battery contacts.

[FloatingBob]

So to follow up - I replaced the battery with a Panasonic CR2032 battery and still the same issue - the car won't unlock unless I grab the inside of the door handle.

Interestingly, as mentioned by an above poster, the spare key still unlocks from a distance.

Could it be the key fob itself? The car is only 2 1/2 yrs old so I don't imagine it's anything wrong with that, but the original fob has been used pretty much daily. I struggle to understand why that might make a difference but all thoughts welcome!

[nZtiZia]

Originally Posted by FloatingBob

So to follow up - I replaced the battery with a Panasonic CR2032 battery and still the same issue - the car won't unlock unless I grab the inside of the door handle.

Interestingly, as mentioned by an above poster, the spare key still unlocks from a distance.

Could it be the key fob itself? The car is only 2 1/2 yrs old so I don't imagine it's anything wrong with that, but the original fob has been used pretty much daily. I struggle to understand why that might make a difference but all thoughts welcome!

1) after placing the Panasonic battery, you didn’t mention whether or not you still get the “Vehicle Key: Battery Empty” message

2) with the regularly used key fob on your person, have you actually verified “unlock on approach” setting is still enabled? (in the off-chance it got disabled for some reason)

[FloatingBob]

Ahh. So good point. I went back and tested with the original key to see if I got the "Battery Empty" message, and low and behold as I was walking towards the car it just unlocked... So for what ever reason the issue seems to have resolved itself despite my earlier trials. Maybe the battery just needed to wake up and realize it had a purpose in life...

Thanks for the comment. Made me double check the original key rather than use the spare for the next x many years!

[jad03060]

Some stuff is saved in the cloud, so it might take a moment for things to synchronize across servers and get to the vehicle and back.