[MPDano]

Hello all,

Bought a 2013 with a bad 12V AGM, which is now all sorted with a new AGM battery.

The weirdness is that in the morning, the fob wont open the doors. I use the key and get the alarm chirp, then alarm sounds the horn. I try to hit the start button and I get the key not found message and to put in the compartment. Panicking and not trying to piss my neighbors off, I put it in the compartment and nothing, I put it in the top compartment hole and am able to start and stop the volt.

After all that, the fob works fine for the rest of the day. It's just when it sits overnight.

The fob has a brand new battery and measures over 3 volts. Is there a software update I need from the dealer? Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Leo

 

[hellsop]

Hello all,

Bought a 2013 with a bad 12V AGM, which is now all sorted with a new AGM battery.

The weirdness is that in the morning, the fob wont open the doors.

What do you mean here? The button on the door handle doesn't unlock the doors? The button on the fob doesn't unlock the doors? The button on the fob doesn't open the charge door?

I use the key and get the alarm chirp, then alarm sounds the horn. I try to hit the start button and I get the key not found message and to put in the compartment. Panicking and not trying to piss my neighbors off, I put it in the compartment and nothing, I put it in the top compartment hole and am able to start and stop the volt.

After all that, the fob works fine for the rest of the day. It's just when it sits overnight.

Is that the only time during the day that you use the fob in the exact same spot? That is, do you do your morning thing exactly the same any other time of day? When do you unplug the car in relation to all this? Where is the fob when you open the doors? Is it in a bag in the morning and in a pocket the other times? How often is "in the morning"? Daily? Once a week?

The fob has a brand new battery and measures over 3 volts. Is there a software update I need from the dealer? Any suggestions?

 

[Barry]

Normally that would indicate a bad battery in the fob, but you changed that. Do you have another fob? Does that one work better?

You could try rebooting the car by disconnecting the 12 V battery again. Sometimes that sorts out strange problems.

 

[MPDano]

I guess I was assuming the fob and remote buttons, but I''l clarify. By pushing the unlock or lock buttons "on" the fob does nothing. I didn't try any other buttons like the charging door.

Volt wasn't using or connected to any charger during these times as I didn't even have a working charger till I repaired it last night. Volt is new to me so I have no previous history on it.

I have it charging now for most of the day and should be completed by 9pm tonight. I will disconnect it before I hit the hay and see if I get the same symptoms tomorrow am. Symptoms meaning unlock/lock on the fob not doing anything on the Volt.

 

[oldstuff]

I guess I was assuming the fob and remote buttons, but I''l clarify. By pushing the unlock or lock buttons "on" the fob does nothing. I didn't try any other buttons like the charging door.

Volt wasn't using or connected to any charger during these times as I didn't even have a working charger till I repaired it last night. Volt is new to me so I have no previous history on it.

I have it charging now for most of the day and should be completed by 9pm tonight. I will disconnect it before I hit the hay and see if I get the same symptoms tomorrow am. Symptoms meaning unlock/lock on the fob not doing anything on the Volt.

All you need is the fob in your pocket and press the button on the door handle to unlock the doors

 

[FI Spyder]

There is one other method of unlocking the doors mentioned above that you didn't reply to. If the fob is near (like in your pocket) if you press the button on the driver's door handle for a second or two, it should lock/unlock the door like the fob buttons. Does it do that?

 

[MPDano]

All you need is the fob in your pocket and press the button on the door handle to unlock the doors

Yup, this I know. But of course I didn't try that, lol. Even then, the remote should have worked using the buttons and it didn't. Tomorrow am, I will try to just use the door handle button with fob in my pocket.

 

[MPDano]

Ok, update. Removed the charger last night after it was showing 100% charged. This morning, same thing. Button on door did nothing and nothing from unlock button on fob. Started pushing on the lower right button (not sure what it does, but highlighted in the image below) and then pushed the unlock on fob and it unlocked.

Maybe my fob is defective and was woken up by pushing the lower right button? Any thoughts?

 

[twoheeldrive]

Ok, update. Removed the charger last night after it was showing 100% charged. This morning, same thing. Button on door did nothing and nothing from unlock button on fob. Started pushing on the lower right button (not sure what it does, but highlighted in the image below) and then pushed the unlock on fob and it unlocked.

Maybe my fob is defective and was woken up by pushing the lower right button? Any thoughts?

View attachment 154553

It could be the fob. I had to replace one under warranty (and it was the spare that we hardly ever used). The one I had would run its battery down in about two days.

The dealership didn't believe me and was sure there was something wrong with the car. They wanted to keep the car and fob to troubleshoot. I really didn't want to leave the car and had the other fob with me, so I just gave the defective fob (with a new battery) to the service writer. He verified that is was working and I told him I would be back in a couple of days. When I came back, the service guy took the fob out of his desk went to the car and ..... nothing. Got a new fob. They coded it to the car and it has been fine ever since.

 

[Barry]

It is sounding more and more like a bad fob. You didn't say if you have another fob. If not, I would order one (they are more expensive at the dealership).

Meanwhile, if you are concerned about the alarm going off and annoying your neighbors, you could leave the car unlocked so that the alarm won't arm. You may also be able to keep the alarm from arming by putting the car into transport mode.

 

[FI Spyder]

Maybe my fob is defective and was woken up by pushing the lower right button? Any thoughts?

View attachment 154553

That's a good safety feature. If some one stole your fob they wouldn't be able to steal your car because they wouldn't know how to get in. I'm surprised Chevy never thought of this before.

 

[Dutch]

A few ideas....

Here are my thoughts, (them and a buck will get you a cup of coffee).

When you say the fob has a new battery, do you mean that you replaced it yourself?

• I have had "brand new" button cells (specifically 2032 and 357) that were 3/4 dead right out of the package. I feel like button cell manufacturing isn't as reliable as the other types (purely subjective of course)
• I have learned to wipe the terminals in the device (the fob in this case) and the contact surfaces of the button cell with rubbing alcohol before install. It seems like they can be very sensitive to -any- finger oils/grease and make a poor contact.
• It sounds like when your fob is "cold" (room temperature) it isn't working and when it gets "warm" (from being in your pocket) it starts working again. I would test this by refrigerating the fob later in the day and see what happens when you try to use it. If you can affect operation by changing the fob temperature then you are either looking at back battery contacts, or something jacked up with the circuit board, in which case I personally would just get a different fob.

 

[Tacoma]

To stop alarms from sounding, if you lock it with the key, then the alarm won't go off.
Also, there is a charge cord theft setting you can disable on your infotainment screen.
Or you can always just leave it unlocked for now.

 

[MPDano]

Yeah, almost positive this fob is malfunctioning now. I now get a "replaced remote battery" message on the Volt. FYI, the battery measured over 3 volts when "I" put it in a few days ago. Outside of the dealer, how can get once quick and take to the dealer to get programmed?

 

[MPDano]

Just called the local Chevy Dealer near me and it's only $80.82 plus tax for the FOB/Key and Programming. They are ordering it for me and have it by Thursday. You need your old working key and they go from there. Done deal. Will report back with my new FOB after Thursday.

Leo

 

[Sly Bob]

Yeah be sure to let us know how it goes. I had a similar problem with another car I own. Turned out to be the crappy batteries I was buying off of eBay.
Went to my local store, bought a new and fresh battery and no more issues.

 

[FI Spyder]

Yeah, almost positive this fob is malfunctioning now. I now get a "replaced remote battery" message on the Volt. FYI, the battery measured over 3 volts when "I" put it in a few days ago. Outside of the dealer, how can get once quick and take to the dealer to get programmed?

I got that message once too. About a week later I replaced it. Old one read 2.98 volts. New ones are about 3.3 volts. When I replaced them be careful to handle by the edges. Finger oil on the face is a no no. Alcohol or stronger solvent like lacquer thinner (toluene)cleans it.

 

[MPDano]

Yeah be sure to let us know how it goes. I had a similar problem with another car I own. Turned out to be the crappy batteries I was buying off of eBay.
Went to my local store, bought a new and fresh battery and no more issues.

Yes, will do. Batteries were fresh from Napa.

 

[Barry]

You can also get them for about $40 from eBay. You can program them yourself. They come with an uncut key. You can either get it cut, or you can swap the old key blade into the new remote, but that is tricky because you have to remove a press fit retaining pin.

If a new remote solves your problem, it probably would not be a bad idea to get another working remote so you have a spare/backup. It's too easy to lose one and then you have no car.

 

[hellsop]

Just called the local Chevy Dealer near me and it's only $80.82 plus tax for the FOB/Key and Programming. They are ordering it for me and have it by Thursday. You need your old working key and they go from there. Done deal. Will report back with my new FOB after Thursday.

It'll be difficult to get there without a working key, wouldn't it?

(The reason they tell you that is that the programming of a new key creates a new "these are valid keys" list for the car, and any key that you don't have handy to program during the same session will no longer be paired with the vehicle. So all the keys you want to use in the future have to be there at the same time. The upside is that if you have a key lost or stolen, you can reprogram with the remaining one and lost key becomes all but useless in about 20 minutes of work. It won't start the car, it won't turn off the alarm, it's just a really easy to use lockpick at that point that will set off the alarm the instant it is used.)