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Intermittent key fob?

TrailJoy

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Has anyone had problems with their fob randomly just not working? The “fob not detected” message came up once for my husband and twice for me.
It’s a 2020 JLUS with less than 600 total miles.

Today I drove to the ski hill and couldn’t lock the doors (not with proximity lock, or by pressing the button on the FOB). I made sure (three times) that I could still start the Jeep by pressing the fob into the button (I could) then I locked the doors from the inside and sent my husband a message warning him of what happened (on the off chance it won’t start when I got back), and went skiing.

When I got back the fob was working as normal. As mentioned the Jeep is brand new so this shouldn’t be a battery problem.

Tomorrow I’m going to lock the doors from the inside then use the key to unlock it and hope the alarm doesn’t go off (if it does and my fob isn’t working then I can’t disable the alarm which means I can’t lock the doors at all). Then what?
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GreyFox

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Yes, it happens periodically. I assume it's because I keep the FOB in my backpack/purse. Usually when it does this, I just wait a few seconds and try again. No biggie, it starts.
 

MtCamper

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The battery in my FOB failed at about 8 months. It took the dealer two days to figure it just needed a new battery. The OEM one is stupid expensive so get one from Amazon or Ebay. I keep a spare on hand. Size 2450 if I remember right.
 

JIMBOX

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Give your SECOND SET a try at the same time and see if the problem continues--then it's real dealer time !

Good luck

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dsgrey

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As mentioned the Jeep is brand new so this shouldn’t be a battery problem.
Never assume. It could be that simple and while it shouldn't be the FOB battery, it could be the issue. Especially if the other FOB works w/o issue.
 

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sdynak

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Have never had a problem with either of my FOB's as you have but as others say just because it is new doesn't mean the battery is good. You may have just gotten a bad battery. It can happen and the easiest to try along with your other fob before going down the long road.
 
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TrailJoy

TrailJoy

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Thank you. I wasn't at home when this happened so I didn't have the second FOB with me to test it out. The lights still lit up though when I pressed the buttons (which is why I think it's as if the Jeep just isn't receiving the signal), so I know the battery was connecting. And I did wait a few seconds and tried again (no luck) but maybe I didn't wait long enough. I also went around and opened/closed every door thinking maybe one wasn't closed properly.

As for the three "FOB not detected" warnings when starting the Jeep, the proximity entry worked to open the door so there's no reason why it wouldn't work to start the vehicle. Having the FOB not work AT ALL yesterday was a first (and would have made it the fourth time I had to press the button using the FOB to start it).

I'm the primary driver but my husband does drive it as well (he now refers to his truck as "the sofa" LOL), so maybe I'll ask him if we can swap FOBs and see if it still occurs before bringing it in.

If this happened once or twice I would maybe blow it off, but I'm starting to think that something might actually be wrong. I just don't know what (and I don't want to take it in YET if there is something else I could try first). She's in for a tire change right now and I miss her already. LOL
 

sdynak

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It always helps to know yourself a bit before bringing it in if possible. In this case finding out if it is related to one or both fobs is a huge help to yourself and the dealer. It will be worth that test itself knowing the outcome. Hopefully it is something simple.
 

JeepCares

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Has anyone had problems with their fob randomly just not working? The “fob not detected” message came up once for my husband and twice for me.
It’s a 2020 JLUS with less than 600 total miles.

Today I drove to the ski hill and couldn’t lock the doors (not with proximity lock, or by pressing the button on the FOB). I made sure (three times) that I could still start the Jeep by pressing the fob into the button (I could) then I locked the doors from the inside and sent my husband a message warning him of what happened (on the off chance it won’t start when I got back), and went skiing.

When I got back the fob was working as normal. As mentioned the Jeep is brand new so this shouldn’t be a battery problem.

Tomorrow I’m going to lock the doors from the inside then use the key to unlock it and hope the alarm doesn’t go off (if it does and my fob isn’t working then I can’t disable the alarm which means I can’t lock the doors at all). Then what?
Hi TrailJoy,
We're sorry to hear about this. Should you decide to have your dealer look into this, we recommend reaching out to Canadian Customer Care if additional support is needed. I have included a link with their contact information below.
https://www.fcagroup.com/en-US/footer/Pages/contacts.aspx
Alex
JeepCares
 
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TrailJoy

TrailJoy

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viper88

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I noticed in certain areas of Downtown Chicago radio frequencies must interfere with my FOB or remotes. Maybe because of all the high-rises or concentration of cell towers? This is not FOB or vehicle specific. Happens with my other cars in the same areas. New batteries is always a quick try and not a bad idea every couple of years.
 
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Indio

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I just bought a new economy car, and it uses something called a "key" to unlock the doors and start the engine. :) Seriously though, I love it. In contrast, both key fobs on our van have malfunctioned, causing among other things the auto-liftgate to open on it's own. Does the base JL Sport come with a regular key?
 

GreyFox

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I just bought a new economy car, and it uses something called a "key" to unlock the doors and start the engine. :) Seriously though, I love it. In contrast, both key fobs on our van have malfunctioned, causing among other things the auto-liftgate to open on it's own. Does the base JL Sport come with a regular key?
Not a regular key used for starting, but a "key" in the FOB to unlock the doors, glovebox, console and rear gate.
 
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TrailJoy

TrailJoy

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Not a regular key used for starting, but a "key" in the FOB to unlock the doors, glovebox, console and rear gate.
Actually, I'm curious. Has anyone ever removed the battery in their FOB to test if the push button start still works by using the FOB? Also, if you lock the doors from the inside, then use the key to unlock the doors, does the alarm still trigger?
 

JeepCares

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