How to Start a Honda or Acura with a Dead Key Fob
Starting Your Honda or Acura
- But first, if you are still locked out, click here for help getting inside!
- Second, for video help, click here!
- Finally, if you need or want another manufacturer, click here.
There are several methods for starting a Honda or Acura vehicle. To start a Honda and the newest Acura models lacking a slot, touch the “H” in the Honda logo or the “A” in the Acura logo on the remote control to the Start / Stop button until the small indicator light in the button begins to flash. For the next 30 seconds, the vehicle can be started using the Start / Stop button normally. You can also simply press the Start / Stop button with the remote control itself, while stepping on the brake of course.
Note that the Honda Insight and Clarity have a Power button instead of a Start/Stop, but the process is 
exactly the same.
The Acura ZDX EV and Honda Prologue EV marks a rather large shift in engineering. The back up start process uses a cup holder. Place the key fob in the rear cupholder in the Acura or the left cupholder in the Honda with the buttons facing down (right). Then with the vehicle in Park or Neutral, press the brake pedal and the Start/Stop button, which like the Insight and Clarity is a Power button.
In earlier Acura models (newest models are above), there is a slot for the remote control (key fob) to the left and below the Start / Stop button. Insert the remote and use the Start / Stop button to start the vehicle as normal.
Note that in these later models, there is a keyless access remote system main switch that may be turned off. The vehicle will start with the remote in its slot as described.
In the oldest keyless start Acura models, there is a cover on the ignition switch that must be removed. This will allow the use of the mechanical key built into the key fob. To remove the ignition switch cover, slip the built-in key into the parallel slot underneath the cover. Push the key in while pull it towards you at the same time and the cover will come off. Once the cover is removed, the mechanical key can be inserted and turned to start the vehicle.
Note: If you have made an attempt to start the vehicle without success, there may be residual pressure in the brake system and a new warning light may appear (left) or text message to Step on the Brake. Press the brake pedal very, very hard when trying to start the vehicle again to be sure that the release switch behind the pedal is engaged. Or wait a few minutes and try again.
Finally, we do have some video help for you.
… Return to Part I, Getting In
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Remember that only proper service and repair procedures will ensure the safe and reliable operation of your car. In addition, proper safety procedures and precautions, such as the use of safety goggles, the right tools and the equipment should be followed at all times to eliminate the possibility of personal injury or improper service which could damage the vehicle or compromise its safety.
These posts are for information sharing purposes only, and should not be used in lieu of an OEM service manual or factory authorized service procedure. We are not in the auto repair business nor do we publish automotive service manuals. Nothing we include on these pages and posts has been reviewed, approved or authorized by any vehicle manufacturer.
Technology is always changing and what is current and accurate today may be literally out-of-date and inaccurate tomorrow. And when it comes to the current state of flux in the auto industry, nothing is more true.
The author has 25 years of automotive experience and has assembled the most extensive collection of symbols and warning lights anywhere (over 1,000!) and can help you open and start any keyless start car with a dead key fob battery. BA, St. Joseph’s College, ME: MS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY
If you’ve ever walked out to your car and found all the windows open, this is the subject. Keyless start vehicles made by BMW and Mini, Honda and Acura, Ford and Lincoln, Maserati, Mercedes, Toyota and Lexus and Volkswagen Group, include what is called a convenience feature, which opens all the windows for ventilation when the unlock button is pressed and held. The sunroof will be open as well if there is one and the car unlocked.
In this case, you might try using a device like a carabiner or snap hook. It can be hooked to a strap and still actually be closed into the bag. But it won’t work its way to the bottom. The devices come in many different sizes and colors so you can be a stylish as you’d like and they can be found online or at most hardware stores.
‘clicker’). There are three different but similar key fob styles. The first one has a release button near the gap for a key ring, and is used for Acura models.
The second key fob, also used by Acura, uses a sliding button near the top of what is actually the mechanical key itself. The third one, found on Honda key fobs, uses a slide button just below the mechanical key on the main body of the remote control. See the image below right.
To remove mechanical key, pull it out while pressing the Acura release button or sliding the Honda release button. To reinstall the built-in key, push the key into the remote until it clicks. With one exception, use the mechanical key to unlock the driver’s door.
There are two exception. The first is found in the Honda Civic beginning with the 2022 model year and the Acura Integra beginning in 2023. In these models the key cylinder is hidden behind the driver’s door handle. It is exposed simply by pulling the handle into the open position (left). The mechanical key can then be inserted into the cylinder. Other models may follow.
The introduction of the Acura ZDX and Honda Prologue all electric models in 2024 also brings an entirely new door handle. In this case, the lock cylinder is hiding behind a cap at the back of the handle. Insert the mechanical key into the slot shown in the image to the right. Turn the key and the cap moves to the right and can be removed. This reveals the lock cylinder. The key can now be used in the cylinder to unlock the car.
Does Your Owner’s Manual Have a Troubleshooting Guide?
How Deep Is Your Owner’s Manual?
We’ve done a couple of owner’s manual rants and got to thinking about where the average driver might look in their respective manual if they ran into trouble, specifically with dead or dying key fobs.
So, we examined a sampling of owner’s manuals from BMW and Mini, Fiat Chrysler, Ford, GM, including Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac, Honda and Acura, Kia and Hyundai, Land Rover and Jaguar, Mazda, Mercedes Benz, Nissan and Infiniti, Subaru, Toyota and Lexus, Volkswagen and Audi and Volvo. And since we are adding this commentary, you can probably guess the results.
To Index or Not to Index
Next, we looked to see if there was an index to resort to. Several, BMW, Land Rover, and Ford, for instance, have no indexes at all. So if someone out there is from these companies, please consider adding that in. On the other hand, the indexes we did find were no help at all with dead key fobs.
The Honda and Acura chapters point to an issue with the key fob being weak. This may not be immediately obvious to the operator, but it would be a likely spot to check out if the car wasn’t responding.
Absolutely none of the other manufacturers point directly to the electronic keys in anything remotely like a troubleshooting chapter. To be clear, they all have the solutions shown, but the driver is left to contend with 400, 500 or 600 pages of information to get to what they need.
So for all of them, walk a mile in your customers shoes and try to think like someone who simply doesn’t understand what is wrong. Then make a Troubleshooting chapter and forget the clever titles like Handling the Unexpected or Volkswagens do it yourself chapter, which is where they keep breakdown assistance.
The closer your cars get to being rolling computers, the more relevant an actual Troubleshooting chapter will be to your customers.
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Remember that only proper service and repair procedures will ensure the safe and reliable operation of your car. In addition, proper safety procedures and precautions, such as the use of safety goggles, the right tools and the equipment should be followed at all times to eliminate the possibility of personal injury or improper service which could damage the vehicle or compromise its safety.
These posts are for information sharing purposes only, and should not be used in lieu of an OEM service manual or factory authorized service procedure. We are not in the auto repair business nor do we publish automotive service manuals. Nothing we include on these pages and posts has been reviewed, approved or authorized by any vehicle manufacturer.
Technology is always changing and what is current and accurate today may be literally out-of-date and inaccurate tomorrow. And when it comes to the current state of flux in the auto industry, nothing is more true.
The author has 25 years of automotive experience and has assembled the most extensive collection of symbols and warning lights anywhere (over 1,000!) and can help you open and start any keyless start car with a dead key fob battery. BA, St. Joseph’s College, ME: MS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY