New BMW open and start video
New BMW open and start videoWe recently dropped a new BMW open and start video to our YouTube channel to help drivers when the battery in their key fob dies. The video covers 2021 and newer BMW 4-Series, 5-Series, and 7-Series electric and gas powered sedans as well the larger X-Series SUVs
The video helps with new flush door handles and key fob styles, and while a mechanical key can be used, BMW also offers a key card or phone app as back up.
We’ve added the video to our BMW video, which now holds now 11 videos. You can see the page here. You can also see the video on YouTube here.
Smart Keys or Intelligent Keys, or Access Keys – or whatever the manufacturer of your chooses to call them – that let you into your car and start it with just a touch use up their internal batteries at alarming rates, catching busy drivers unawares – even though the car had tried to warn you.
Our goal is to help you feel safe – and keep you moving or get you moving if at all possible – rather than leave you fretting whenever your key fob stops working. The instructions for getting into and starting most keyless start cars can be found on our pages – without roadside assistance.
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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Technology is always changing and what is current and accurate today may be literally out-of-date and inaccurate tomorrow.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
To start your Alfa Romeo Giulia, Stelvio or Tonale with a dead key fob battery, you will need a back up location to place the fob. For the first two models, it can be found in the center console.
In the Tonale, the spot is in the front cup holder, as shown to the right. There is no marking we are aware of.
They use the same key fob.
The back cover can now be pulled away moving, it towards where the key ring was attached. The mechanical key is seen inside and can then be pulled out.
Newer Mitsubishi models use a Start / Stop button. With the newest models, built roughly 2018 and later, simply press the the Start / Stop ignition button with the back of the key fob, as shown to the right, while stepping on the brake. The key fob or FAST key will be recognized and the car will start.
In earlier models, there will be a slot to accept the FAST key fob. It may be inside the glove box (right) or somewhere near the front of the console (below). Early Outlander models are the only ones we are aware of that has a slot in the glove box, although later models also use a slot near the console. See examples below.
In other models, the back up slots will be found somewhere on the dashboard, generally in the vicinity of and in front of the shifter. We did find one model, sold outside North America, the Shogun, where the slot is actually alongside the console, as seen to the right. Wherever the slot is, it will look like a small rectangular opening just the right size for the key fob. You may be using it for business cards or coins! Remove them!
Once found, insert the FAST key fob into the slot. The engine can then be started normally, stepping on the brake while pressing the Start / Stop ignition button. Mitsubishi recommends removing the key fob once the vehicle is started.
If there is a keyless turn knob, on the steering column, it is a three step process however. Start by slipping the back end of the mechanical or emergency key into the FAST key fob. It will then look like the illustration and the feel of a more traditional ignition key (right).
This assembled key will be needed to turn the ignition switch, which is hiding under the turn knob on the steering column. When the key elements are assembled, the transponder is close enough to the switch’s antenna module to be recognized. The module supplies the power when the key’s battery is discharged.
Remove the ignition knob cover (above right) by pushing the lock release buttons on the each side. Then insert the emergency key into the now exposed lock cylinder (right). The vehicle can now be started in a traditional key-start manner by pushing, then turning the key. See the illustrations.
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.
saw a brand new model in a parking lot. They are coming from somewhere – Suzuki still sells cars worldwide – and it turned out to be a push button start model. Keyless start versions exist in models sold in North America in the past, so the brand deserves coverage.
There are at least two key fob styles. The fob for older models looks like the one shown above to the right. Turning it over, slide the button found on the back down relative to the image to the right and pull the mechanical key away.
They also have a button on the back. Slide it to the side and pull the mechanical key away.
Early keyless start Suzuki models still use an ignition switch that needs to be turned to operate. A slot for the mechanical key is hidden by the cap shown.
Newer, push button start models work like other models from Japanese manufacturers. Push the start stop button with the key fob while stepping on the brake. The car will recognize the fob, even though the fob’s internal battery is dead and start.
Why Are All My Windows Down??
Who Opened the Windows?
Here, we discuss a feature found in cars from a number of manufacturers that catches people with their pants down. Or rather with their windows down. So, this is not about a fault or a system failure or a warning light, but about something working exactly as it is supposed to, but doing so seemingly at random on its own.
Can it be Shut Down?
From what we’ve discovered only Mercedes and some vehicles made by the Volkswagen Group offer the option to close everything again using the lock button. The Honda we had for demonstration (below) did not.
So, what is causing the surprise window openings can be explained by accidental button presses. Whether carried in a bag or in a pocket, something pressing on the unlock button for an extended period can and will activate the feature, if the key fob is within 50 feet or so. Remember that while the fob’s keyless access can only operate within 18 to 24 inches of the vehicle’s door handle, the buttons on the key fob will work from a much greater distance.
For a fob carried in a pocket, preventing this may be a simple as turning the fob over on the key ring. The buttons will face the other way if your keys tend to rest in the pocket the same way each time.
If it is carried in a bag, the nature of keyless open and start can easily lead to the fob migrating to the bottom of the bag. Anything and everything sitting on top of the fob can and will activate the feature.
To finish the discussion of the functions of the actual convenience feature, the windows will stop short if the button is released, and will continue down if it is pressed and held again. Some vehicles require the unlock button to be pressed and released once before the convenience feature will work.
In Honda and Acura vehicles, the feature can also be activated by holding the mechanical key turned to the right in the key cylinder, but this will not happen accidently. Also, turning and holding the key back to the left will close the windows and sunroof.
The feature can be disabled in Ford, Lincoln, Toyota and Lexus vehicles, but you’ll need your dealer. In fact, the feature in a Toyota and Lexus must have first been activated in this way.
So, if ever you find your windows wide open one day, don’t panic — find a new way to carry your key fob.
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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