[Lowa]

I came out of the movie theater and tried to demonstrate to my friend how I can remote start my car. The car was unresponsive, even from a few feet away. Even the unlock/lock buttons didn't work. I almost freaked out, and then remembered to pop out the manual key. I opened my door and tried to start the car, but it said the remote was not detected. My keys were in my purse at this point, so I took them out and then tried to start the car, and it worked that time, thankfully.

The whole occurrence was very concerning because there was nothing that should have been interfering with my signal, and I can't imagine the battery in the remote is already dead.

I've heard with the Leaf if the remote is dead, you can give it a slight charge by holding it near where the ignition used to be. I don't think this applies to Volts. But, here's a tip from the Owner's Manual if you ever need to start the car with a dead remote:

To start the vehicle:
1. Open the instrument panel
storage and remove the
rubber mat.
2. Extend the key blade and place
the blade into the slot.
3. With the vehicle in P (Park) or
N (Neutral), press the brake
pedal and the POWER button
on the center stack.

 

[scottf200]

Nice job on the post and including the picture for the "Home" screen. I reminded my wife of this feature just in the past week in case this ever happens to her.

 

[Steverino]

I think this "dead fob" proccess as well as the fix a flat procedure are good to know before they are an issue.

 

[Toledolefty]

I had this problem this weekend -- first weekend I have had my 2012 Volt. I was out running with the fob in my pocket. When I got back to my car, it wouldn't unlock with the door handle buttons or the buttons on the fob. I tried several times. I called my husband to meet me with the other set of keys because I didn't know this trick. I sat inside waiting for him and when he arrived, my key fob would unlock the car but the other set wouldn't.

Just to be safe, I replaced the batteries on both key fobs, but is it possible that they didn't work because they were cold?

I am glad to know a workaround in case this happens again.