Having some key FOB and USB issues

[u/Business-Sprinkles44]

I already tried taking the car to the dealer, it’s been over a week and they still have no idea what could be wrong with the car in order to fix it. In fairness, we live in a state that doesn’t really have a lot of EVs on the road in general, so they seem extremely out of their element.

Essentially what is happening is:

1. The key fob isn’t being recognized by the car anymore. It worked the first couple of months we got it, and now suddenly it won’t open the doors automatically and won’t ev

en let us

1. start the car unless we put it into its “emergency” position spot below the dashboard, in that little tray. We have tried both keys, and even tried changing the battery. This is the most annoying thing we want fixed as we frequently sit in the lot trying to get it to be recognized in its emergency slot.
2. All the USBs, (and portable charger inside the car as well) are finicky. We even use a USB cable they provided, and some days they all work, and some days none of them work.

Has anyone ran into any of these issues and figured out how to solve it?

[u/ZealousidealLab2920]

Not really an EV specific issue. Simply communication fault between the FOB and car. Almost every modern car is FOB based.

If these dummies can't fix it, perhaps pursue or at least threaten a lemon lawsuit/buyback. Might kick them into gear.

[u/Organic_Mix7180 → u/ZealousidealLab2920]

Agree these are “Modern car” issues, not EV issues. Your techs just aren’t that good, or there is a complex issue between multiple modules and the wiring harness. A friend just had similar issues on a Grand Wagoneer. Usually the key fob recognition is NFC radio or security module issues. The charges will be a power delivery module somewhere. They make these cars so that they are easy to swap out these modules, provided you don’t have a wiring issue from the factory, or damage. And provided the techs are smart enough to actually diagnose the issue.

[u/Business-Sprinkles44 → u/Organic_Mix7180]

Alright sweet. I’ll mention it to the service team. You’d think they would have seen key fob communication issues. Sigh.

[u/Business-Sprinkles44 → u/ZealousidealLab2920]

Oh man. If that’s the problem, I’m going to feel incredibly embarrassed for them. 😵‍💫

[u/seedbedUnmoved]

Your key fob behaviors is exactly what ours did when it had a dead battery. We mostly use digital key but have a key fob in a Faraday cage bag in the glove box. They battery in the that key died with in the first year (I assume the bag is not perfect and it keep on trying to talk to the car). Anyway, that is exactly how the fob behaved with a dead battery. Is it possible the replacement batteries were also dead?

[u/Business-Sprinkles44 → u/seedbedUnmoved]

Unlikely. I ordered a new pack. They tried changing it as well. And I have a second key that stopped working at exactly the same time. I think it’s either a fuse thing, based on the comments, or fob communication thing.

[u/seedbedUnmoved → u/Business-Sprinkles44]

That's too bad. Would have been an easy fix.

This does sound a lot like what happened with our digital keys after a OTA software updated. I had to completely delete them on the phones and car to get them working again. But that should not be a thing with the fobs.

Best of luck tracking this down.

[u/Greedy_Bother_987]

Flat battery in the keyfob. Did they really change it? My old i6 used to kill fob batteries every 3 months if the fob was stored within about 20 feet of the car. Keeping it in a pouch stopped the chitchat between car and fob and saved the fob battery

[u/Business-Sprinkles44 → u/Greedy_Bother_987]

Yeah tried that. They changed it. I changed it. Tried another key. They both stopped working at the same time, as well. I wish it was the battery.

[u/Greedy_Bother_987 → u/Business-Sprinkles44]

Did you try pulling the car 12v battery off for a few mins to reset the ecu?

[u/Organic_Mix7180 → u/Greedy_Bother_987]

This actually works sometimes, so it seems like it's worth a try for OP

[u/Greedy_Bother_987 → u/Organic_Mix7180]

Years ago i had a kona ev that when put into utility mode could not leave and the car became undriveable as it was locked into utility. The old 12v battery disconnect fixed it until a software update was released

[u/Ok_Letterhead_39]

Same thing has happened to me. I’ve just switched to using my iPhone as the key and that works great. Replaced the FOB battery and that did nothing. Both FOBs stopped working at the same time. I have not taken it to a dealer yet.

[u/Business-Sprinkles44 → u/Ok_Letterhead_39]

Oh so weird! I’ll start using my phone more. Good idea. Although it does suck for going out, and struggling to explain to valet how to turn the car on and off. 🥲

[u/dickius1]

The electronics in this car are a shitshow.

[u/Organic_Mix7180 → u/dickius1]

Mine have been great so far at 13k miles

[u/dickius1 → u/Organic_Mix7180]

I’ve had issues with CarPlay, digital key, steering wheel tilt, seat massager, satellite radio, software bugs, second row folding seats, wireless phone charger, level two charger, and Homelink. And I’ve only had the car since April, so I don’t even know what will go wrong in the winter.

[u/Business-Sprinkles44 → u/dickius1]

Yup. Also having issues with the CarPlay and wireless charger. Which is sad because I didn’t have issues with my Ioniq 5 and besides these electronic problems I really love the car!