Fob battery dead in less than 2 years

[Addos]

With relay attacks on the rise, I don't understand why it is so hard for car manufacturers to add an "off" button to the fob.

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[yngwenli]

Old thread, but I just got this error this weekend. One question I had after reading the whole thread is if having it in a RFID shielding bag makes it use the battery more because it's constantly failing to contact the car so tries more vs. without a shielding bag/pouch?

 

[bshaw]

Old thread, but I just got this error this weekend. One question I had after reading the whole thread is if having it in a RFID shielding bag makes it use the battery more because it's constantly failing to contact the car so tries more vs. without a shielding bag/pouch?

I wouldn't think the shielded bag makes any difference at all in battery life. Where did you have the bag/fob stored during the past ~2-yrs?

 

[yngwenli]

I wouldn't think the shielded bag makes any difference at all in battery life. Where did you have the bag/fob stored during the past ~2-yrs?

Pretty much instantly in a shield bag after purchase...About a year now.

 

[bshaw]

Pretty much instantly in a shield bag after purchase...About a year now.

Was it a cold environment, or something else in the drawer that could have depressed a button accidentally?

Several years ago we had one of those Amazon buttons for ordering products, but we didn't use it very often, and kept it in a drawer.
Then, over a couple of weeks we started getting a shipment of paper towels like every 1-2 days.

Turns out, the button was in a drawer that we opened and closed for other reasons. Something had shifted and was effectively pressing the button once every time the drawer was used. It was the last thing I would have expected to have happened as the cause.

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

As an aside, if you’re storing the fob in the car as an emergency backup, you don’t actually need to keep the fob in a faraday bag. Just remove the battery. You can always use the slot in the center arm rest storage area to start the car with your batteryless fob. Test it out first, of course, make sure all other fobs and PAAK phones are out of range or off.

The odds of a car thief knowing about the fob slot and where it’s at are fairly low.

 

[krafty81]

You don’t have to remember it. Presumably, she does.

You like to live dangerously General....

 

[Mach-Lee]

Pretty much instantly in a shield bag after purchase...About a year now.

Did you test the shield bag in the car to verify it doesn’t start? If it can still barely hear the car, it might keep trying to transmit.

The shield bag could also be pressing on the buttons if it’s tight.

 

[yngwenli]

Was it a cold environment, or something else in the drawer that could have depressed a button accidentally?

Several years ago we had one of those Amazon buttons for ordering products, but we didn't use it very often, and kept it in a drawer.
Then, over a couple of weeks we started getting a shipment of paper towels like every 1-2 days.

Turns out, the button was in a drawer that we opened and closed for other reasons. Something had shifted and was effectively pressing the button once every time the drawer was used. It was the last thing I would have expected to have happened as the cause.

No, I'm in So Cal so it's not overly cold.

I have my key in shielded bag with me often actually as a backup, but use PAAK always. It could be pressing, but it's probably no different from having a fob without a bag in my pocket.

I'll chalk it up to a fluke for now, but will test it again or just buy a few spare batteries.

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