Key fob not recognized- vehicle totally dead, needed tow… thoughts?

[Donna rae]

2020 wrangler, Willy’s edition, yesterday On the beach we go to Leave and the error “key fob not recognized” came up. I tried the manual trick of pushing the key fob manually to the push start to no avail. Called for assistance, the batteries (both) were not dead, disconnected them and tried again to no avail. I had to get the Jeep towed off the beach (note couldn’t even get Jeep into neutral, had to pull the housing off under the gear shift and pulled the orange toggle thing to get it to be able to get off the beach.
I was thinking maybe bad key fob? Go back next day to get Jeep home (beach an hour away) took spare fob to try, just in case…. And the jeep started, with the spare key fob and the one that wouldn’t start it on the beach the day before.
I am at a complete loss. The Jeep is almost out of warranty, I am out hundreds for the tow off the beach over Memorial Day weekend and am hesitant about the reliability of the Jeep now. It’s at the dealer, but I’m curious is anyone else has experienced anything like this? Frustrating the Jeep is just two years old.
thanks!

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[kah.mun.rah]

Did other electrical things in the Jeep still work? Horn, lights, etc. when it wouldn't start? Was the door open when you tried to put it into neutral? Possibly a neutral safety switch going out? For now eventhough they both work, I would try the cheap route and replace the batteries in both fobs.

 

[6th Floor Mule]

I’ve encountered the same message, but it was because I locked the Jeep with the doors off and did not unlock before trying to start. Do it once, and you don’t forget again. I’m guessing your issue is more complicated. Good luck and let us know how it turns out!

 

[Donna rae]

Did other electrical things in the Jeep still work? Horn, lights, etc. when it wouldn't start? Was the door open when you tried to put it into neutral? Possibly a neutral safety switch going out? For now eventhough they both work, I would try the cheap route and replace the batteries in both fobs.

i didn’t think to try the horn when it didn’t start, but the dash lights would come on to give me the error. the Doors were on, and open when we got it into neutral. I’m planning on swapping out the batteries in both fobs tomorrow as a start. Thank you!

 

[Chief_Dan]

Well, I know of a few folks that have had this issue. One had the doors off, so that was an easy fix once figured that out. The other ended up being a loose ground on the main battery & several fuses were loose. After pushing in the fuses & tightening the battery cables & all the auxiliary cables & grounds, everything worked fine.

So, maybe check your fuses & all the battery cables. Hopefully it is something similar & simple to fix.

 

[JEEPmole]

Did you replace the battery on the key fob?

 

[Rhinebeck01]

@Donna rae

Your issue has nothing to do with a depleted fob battery or an issue with either fob.... that either of your fobs is problematic..

Your JL did not start when you pressed the correct end of the fob against the ignition button, depressing it .... while your foot was firmly pressing down on the brake pedal, so something else was going on.

You also mentioned the next day both fobs started the JL without problem...

Do, let the dealer sort it out..

Also... first thing this morning...

Call the Dedicated Jeep Customer Care: Ph. 1-866-362-2146... (Be calm and polite...ask for help) Open a case (get a case #) and hopefully Stellantis will reimburse you for the tow to the dealer. Good chance they will.

You want a Stellantis case # ... a case opened, especially if you are close to the end of your warranty period.

May give you some recourse if this issue rears it's head again after your warranty period is over.

Also:
For future reference, as long as your JL is still under warranty... when your JL needs to be towed... call Jeep Road Service at Ph. 1-800-992-1997.

Tell them you have a Jeep Wrangler JL, it is under warranty still and that you need to have it flat bedded, per the Owner's Manual, ( JL, MUST be flat bedded ) to the dealership, because.....

They will arrange for a flat bed truck to come get you right away and you never even see the bill.... another words, you don't have to get, to try to get, a reimbursement from Stellantis afterwards.

Caveat: For the flat bed ride to be free, you must have the JL, transported to the nearest authorized Jeep dealer. IF, you want it going to say a dealer a few miles further, call the Jeep Dedicated hotline and have it approved.

 

[Donna rae]

@Donna rae

Your issue has nothing to do with a depleted fob battery or an issue with either fob.... that either of your fobs is problematic..

Your JL did not start when you pressed the correct end of the fob against the ignition button, depressing it .... while your foot was firmly pressing down on the brake pedal, so something else was going on.

You also mentioned the next day both fobs started the JL without problem...

Do, let the dealer sort it out..

Also... first thing this morning...

Call the Dedicated Jeep Customer Care: Ph. 1-866-362-2146... (Be calm and polite...ask for help) Open a case (get a case #) and hopefully Stellantis will reimburse you for the tow to the dealer. Good chance they will.

You want a Stellantis case # ... a case opened, especially if you are close to the end of your warranty period.

May give you some recourse if this issue rears it's head again after your warranty period is over.

Also:
For future reference, as long as your JL is still under warranty... when your JL needs to be towed... call Jeep Road Service at Ph. 1-800-992-1997.

Tell them you have a Jeep Wrangler JL, it is under warranty still and that you need to have it flat bedded, per the Owner's Manual, ( JL, MUST be flat bedded ) to the dealership, because.....

They will arrange for a flat bed truck to come get you right away and you never even see the bill.... another words, you don't have to get, to try to get, a reimbursement from Stellantis afterwards.

Caveat: For the flat bed ride to be free, you must have the JL, transported to the nearest authorized Jeep dealer. IF, you want it going to say a dealer a few miles further, call the Jeep Dedicated hotline and have it approved.

thank you so much for the advice, I truly appreciate it.

 

[Donna rae]

Just an update- Jeep dealer ran diagnostics and there was nothing .They did report that the key fob battery needed to be replaced and that was most likely the issue, though i am still concerned that the manual override using the key nose to push the start button didn't work. Mechanic suggested keeping spare, new batteries for key fob in my center console in case i ever have an issue again.

 

[garykk]

Just an update- Jeep dealer ran diagnostics and there was nothing .They did report that the key fob battery needed to be replaced and that was most likely the issue, though i am still concerned that the manual override using the key nose to push the start button didn't work. Mechanic suggested keeping spare, new batteries for key fob in my center console in case i ever have an issue again.

I guess Jeeps don’t have the low battery for the key fob warning. My F-150 and wife’s Toyota will warn you if the battery gets too low before it’s too late

 

[NULL POINTER]

I guess Jeeps don’t have the low battery for the key fob warning. My F-150 and wife’s Toyota will warn you if the battery gets too low before it’s too late

My 2018 JLUR puts out a message when I shut it off telling me the key fob battery is low. Just replaced it after seeing the message every time I shut down. No more message.

 

[hardtop]

Carry a volt meter and if it happens again check for power. It wasn't the key fob, you proved that twice.

 

[pvanwinkle1980]

2020 wrangler, Willy’s edition, yesterday On the beach we go to Leave and the error “key fob not recognized” came up. I tried the manual trick of pushing the key fob manually to the push start to no avail. Called for assistance, the batteries (both) were not dead, disconnected them and tried again to no avail. I had to get the Jeep towed off the beach (note couldn’t even get Jeep into neutral, had to pull the housing off under the gear shift and pulled the orange toggle thing to get it to be able to get off the beach.
I was thinking maybe bad key fob? Go back next day to get Jeep home (beach an hour away) took spare fob to try, just in case…. And the jeep started, with the spare key fob and the one that wouldn’t start it on the beach the day before.
I am at a complete loss. The Jeep is almost out of warranty, I am out hundreds for the tow off the beach over Memorial Day weekend and am hesitant about the reliability of the Jeep now. It’s at the dealer, but I’m curious is anyone else has experienced anything like this? Frustrating the Jeep is just two years old.
thanks!

New to this forum. Actually new to forums period… so I had to join to give you my experience with this issue. I changed the AUX battery in my 2018 JLU and everything worked fine. No issues with the fob so I went about my business. We had a trip planned this weekend and we were loading up in my wife’s vehicle but I needed to grab something out of the Jeep and my Fob would not unlock the doors. We were in a hurry so i said forget it and we left for the weekend. Of course I was sick all weekend thinking about my baby and doing research etc to be ready to make an easy repair. Got home yesterday, same thing. I opened the door, alarm went off, key fob not detected etc… I pride myself on performing all maintenance and repairs on all of our vehicles, toys and implements and here I was about to bring it to the dealership when my wonderful, beautiful, very sharp wife said what about the invisible fence? It is the type of device that has a transmitter that the range can be adjusted and if the dog with the collar exceeds that range then the collar will vibrate and eventually shock. I installed the fence after I replaced the battery before we left. I unplugged the invisible fence and to my surprise the key fob works just fine. She had spoken with my MIL who has a new Buick and she mentioned the her key fob did not work when she stopped by our house over the weekend. Not sure if this issue only effects people with these types of devices but I thought it would be worth mentioning. I have not dug into why exacy but I’m sure it runs on the same frequency as the Jeep. Very weird… hope this helps someone!!

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