Okay, so all of a sudden my car won't recognize either key...

[Jaeger]

Drove it around today, all was well. Came home and parked in the garage and locked the doors. Went back to the garage a couple hours later and doors won't open, trunk won't open, it basically won't respond to the key at all.

First thought was the battery had gone dead on my fob, so waited for my wife to come home with the backup and... same thing.

Car is locked up tight.

Suggestions?

 

[danygenesis]

Try Blue Link remote unlock.

 

[Jaeger]

Don't have Blue Link.

Called Hyundai roadside assistance and they got here within 15 minutes. As I walk out to meet the guy, the mirrors unfold and shine the Batsignal on the ground. The doors unlock and the car fires right up. Glad I had a witness in my wife that for the last couple hours it would not respond to the key at all.

Taking it into the dealer tomorrow to have them look it over and figure out what the problem was. At least I hope. Absent a code, it's kinda hard to diagnose a problem that isn't presenting at the time.

 

[rickfen]

Don't have Blue Link.

Called Hyundai roadside assistance and they got here within 15 minutes. As I walk out to meet the guy, the mirrors unfold and shine the Batsignal on the ground. The doors unlock and the car fires right up. Glad I had a witness in my wife that for the last couple hours it would not respond to the key at all.

Taking it into the dealer tomorrow to have them look it over and figure out what the problem was. At least I hope. Absent a code, it's kinda hard to diagnose a problem that isn't presenting at the time.

I had this happen once with my car. I walked away (15 feet) came back and the fob worked. Never happened again.

 

[Jaeger]

I had this happen once with my car. I walked away (15 feet) came back and the fob worked. Never happened again.

Here's hoping. I doubt the dealer will find anything unless it threw a code - and I sympathize with the difficulty of being asked to find what's wrong with a car that is presently working perfectly. Still - I sure wouldn't want be be somewhere far from home, in the dead of winter, locked out of my car for 3 hours.

This is the problem with electronics governing all aspects of our lives.

 

[nofaithineli]

The mechanical key is easily forgotten but is functional in circumstances such as that. Not a bad idea to give it a try for practice. It's a bit of an awkward procedure to even expose the keyhole.

 

[Seejay]

Just a guess, so take it with a grain of salt:

Many of you have heard about the rolling code car hack, where a hacker places a RF protocol receiver near the car he wants to steal and waits for the owner to attempt to open their car. The negotiation fails because the hacker's black box causes it to fail, and the fob and car roll to the next code, the owner opens his car, but the hacker's black box has recorded the failed code. Some German cars made a few years ago left this failed code valid.

I am guessing here but either someone tried to hack your car, or there was intense RF interference, or somehow the codes de-synchronized. The codes de-synchronizing should have Hyundai concerned. You may have a battery failing on the fob you first used. So this also makes sense (complete re-negotiation of the security protocol):

I had this happen once with my car. I walked away (15 feet) came back and the fob worked. Never happened again.

This is how tech fails us. We always think that failures can be fixed by adding complexity.

 

[Jaeger]

The mechanical key is easily forgotten but is functional in circumstances such as that. Not a bad idea to give it a try for practice. It's a bit of an awkward procedure to even expose the keyhole.

Yeah I need to figure that out. Just in case.

 

[Jaeger]

You may have a battery failing on the fob you first used. So this also makes sense (complete re-negotiation of the security protocol):

Except that same fob worked fine this morning.

Come to think of it, shouldn't these fobs come with some sort of low battery warning - like the little light starts flashing constantly or something? If they can manage adaptive cruise control surely they can manage this.

 

[harwax]

The mechanical key is easily forgotten but is functional in circumstances such as that. Not a bad idea to give it a try for practice. It's a bit of an awkward procedure to even expose the keyhole.

I too strongly recommend you know how to use the mechanical key. My battery went dead and it took me awhile to figure out how to access the keyhole so I could insert mechanical key.

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[GenesisAWD]

The mechanical key is easily forgotten but is functional in circumstances such as that. Not a bad idea to give it a try for practice. It's a bit of an awkward procedure to even expose the keyhole.

I too strongly recommend you know how to use the mechanical key. My battery went dead and it took me awhile to figure out how to access the keyhole so I could insert mechanical key.

So where is the actual keyhole on the car anyway? Can't say I've ever looked for it or noticed where it is concealed.

 

[Jaeger]

So where is the actual keyhole on the car anyway? Can't say I've ever looked for it or noticed where it is concealed.

I looked but couldn't find it (on the door anyway, the one on the trunk is easily visible and accessible as it should be). I'm assuming you have to pop off part of the handle covering on the driver door to access it. There's a small slot underneath the handle that is about the same size and shape as the key, but you can't just insert it.

 

[Alwaysforward]

Information from the manual - Hope this helps:

Mechanical key

If the Smart Key does not operate normally, you can lock or unlock the door by using the mechanical key.
Press and hold the release button (1) and remove the mechanical key (2).
Insert the mechanical key into the key hole on the door.
To reinstall the mechanical key, put the key into the hole and push it until a click sound is heard.




Smart key precautions:

The smart key will not work if any of the following occur:
• The smart key is close to a radio transmitter such as a radio station or an airport which can interfere with normal operation of the transmitter.
• The smart key is near a mobile two way radio system or a cellular phone.
• Another vehicle’s smart key is being operated close to your vehicle.

When the smart key does not work correctly, open and close the door with the mechanical key.
If you have a problem with the smart key, contact an authorized HYUNDAI dealer.

If the smart key is in close proximity to your mobile phone, the signal could be blocked by your mobile phones normal operational signals.
This is especially important when the phone is active such as making and receiving calls, text messaging, and/or sending/receiving emails.
Avoid placing the smart key and your mobile phone in the same pants or jacket pocket and always try to maintain an adequate distance between the two devices.

Immobilizer System:

The immobilizer system protects your vehicle from theft. If an improperly coded key (or other device) is used, the engine’s fuel system is disabled.
When the Engine Start/Stop button is in the ON position, the immobilizer system indicator should come on briefly,then go off. If the indicator starts to
blink, the system does not recognize the coding of the Smart Key.

Press the Engine Start/Stop button to the OFF position, then press the Engine Start/Stop button to the ON position again.
The system may not recognize your Smart Key’s coding if another immobilizer key or other metal object (i.e.,key chain) is near the Smart Key.
The engine may not start because the metal may interrupt the transponder signal from transmitting normally.
If the system repeatedly does not recognize the coding of the key, contact your HYUNDAI dealer.

 

[danygenesis]

Here you have how to use mechanical key.

 

[Jaeger]

Very helpful gents, thanks.

Dealer said they found a code for low charge on the battery and tested it to confirm it was below spec. Replaced under warranty. Here's hoping that's the end of that issue.

 

[trespinosranch]

So how long did your fob battery last before getting low? Also (so I don't have to look it up...lazy) what is the battery size? I would like to have a couple in the house and one in the center console (in case the battery fails when I'm travelling).
UPDATE: Found it...CR2032. Four pack on Amazon for $5.50.

 

[Pamplona/Beige]

I have had an issue with unlocking or unresponsive key when I housed my phone in the same pocket as my key. Could this be relevant here as well?

 

[Jaeger]

So how long did your fob battery last before getting low? Also (so I don't have to look it up...lazy) what is the battery size? I would like to have a couple in the house and one in the center console (in case the battery fails when I'm travelling).
UPDATE: Found it...CR2032. Four pack on Amazon for $5.50.

Sorry - I see now that I wasn't clear - it was the car battery that was low and replaced - the fobs are fine. Mine was one of the last 2015s available locally, purchased in April 2016 - so it sat at the dealer a looooong time - and through the better part of two winters. Not so shocking that the battery wasn't at its best.

Thanks for the info on the fob battery though - that will come in handy at some point.

 

[Jaeger]

I have had an issue with unlocking or unresponsive key when I housed my phone in the same pocket as my key. Could this be relevant here as well?

Yep - that's a known problem and mentioned in the manual - but my phone and key are kept separate .