Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

Has anybody had to replace the battery in their intelligent key fob?

I am wondering how long they last, and how to replace them.

I don't see any obvious way to open the thing up to change the battery. And I don't want to take a screwdriver to it and just start prying around.

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

It's easy to open up - I've done that with my spare to remove the battery so my wife can carry it in her purse as a backup. With the battery out, she can leave her purse in the trunk if she wants.
Remove the physical key from the fob. That will expose a slot in the casing, along the seam. Insert the tip of the key into the slot and twist. Voila. You're done.

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

I purchased my car last dec.and my fob failed about a month ago.my dealer just took the numbers from my fob and ordered it.I got it the next day and they programed it with a computer and away i went.
this was the second time it failed,the first time i held it to the power button and it started but the second time got nothing.I keep my spare in my glove compartment wrapped in tin foil so it dont talk to the car.
the dealer said he had not replaced one prior to mine failing.

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

I have interference problems in a couple of places I park regularly where the fob has trouble getting picked up by the car. First time totally freaked me out, and I had to open the door with my physical key and dig in the manual to find out how to turn it on. But usually I can manage to get it to recognize a button-push to lock/unlock if I have the fob about.. just behind the driver's door, mid-low window level, and the deal with holding the fob to the ignition button to get the car to read it works consistently.

But otherwise, almost 18 months and still no problems.

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

I suggest that you remove the battery from the spare and tape it to the outside of the fob. Keeping it wrapped in foil may stop it from talking to the car, but it still lets the fob drain the battery. You might find it dead the day you need to use it.

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

No need.

If the fob battery is dead (or removed) you still have functionality!

- Physical key doesn't need the battery. You can still open the doors.
- Hold the fob right up to (almost touching) the "start" button - the car WILL start!

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

True enough - from an emergency use perspective, you're still fine. I was thinking more of the convenience aspect. Your main fob's battery dies, or it just quits, and you want to switch over to the other one, only to find it dead too.

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

I carry my extra FOB inside my car. So the car won't sense the FOB is nearby and the battery won't wear down, I opened it up and put a strip of cellophane between the batttery and one of the contacts with a small piece sticking out of the FOB case.

I can still use the FOB to start the car by holding it close to the start button and in case of wanting the battery reactivated, I can simply pull out the cellophane strip and let the battery make contact again.

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

That works. I like that better than my taping the battery to the outside.

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

I had been wondering about the battery life of the fob for a long time and was about to take it to Toyota to get another one sometime soon as a precaution . I've had the car 2 years now...it HAS to be wearing down by now.

Well today as I am exiting the vehicle, it see on the display LOW BATTERY ON KEY FOB.

Cool, so the car will let you know in advance. I like that.

I opened the FOB using the directions above, but I don't see the battery, only the circut board.

I was/am hoping it's a basic battery that I can purchase (less expensively) from Radio Shack.

Does anyone know the type of battery it is, and how I am possibly missing seeing it when I open the FOB.

Thanks

Byron

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

Byron,

The circuit board will fall out and the battery is on the back side.

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

Just flip the little circuit board over, battery is on the other side. There are no screws or anything holding it down.

I'm an expert at changing these batteries, and can do it in about 15 seconds. Mine ran down a few months ago, and thinking it was a greal deal, I bought a batch of 10 on eBay dirt cheap. The batteries must be defective because even though the date is recent on them, testing them shows they were all almost dead on arrival. I get about 2 to 4 weeks use out of each one. I've changed my battery 8 times now. :confused:

I've got 1 more spare to go before I hunt down a good one!

Be leary of Energizer 1632 batteries on eBay. I think they were meant for Chinese watches!

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

David

I was afraid you were going to say that. I hate taking things apart....well, I like taking them apart...lol...I seem to have problems putting them back together.

I did take it apart and have the battery now.
Heading over to Radio Shack now to see if they have it.

I probably should have done this at home with the other FOB nearby.

lol

I may need a ride home tonight guys.

Byron

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

Ok....

Here is the battery

http://www.radioshack.com/search/ind...20battery&sr=1

Radio Shack has it available only on their website. I tried a few kiosks in the mall that replace watch batteries, they didn't have it, neither did Best Buy or Ritz camera.

I'll swing by Toyota and pick up two.

I am curious to see how much Toyota charges for it.

Byron

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

Probably a very good idea for everyone to keep one or two in that front slot under the center arm rest, just in case...along with a printout of the instructions on how to replace it.

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

I opened mine and it was a Panasonic CR1632 and they can be gotten at Radio Shack, see below:


http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=2715429

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

Why do you need a print-out?

The instructions and all the information you need about the key fob- and how to replace the battery are in your owner's manual.

I don't see the need to carry extra batteries in the car. The car tells you well in advance when the battery is going to die... and even if you wait too long to replace the battery- the system will still work even if the battery is completely dead.

Having extra batteries in the car is wasteful. The temperature extremes will reduce the life of the "extra" batteries anyway. Might as well save your money until you actually need to replace the batteries.

They sell them at any retail store- Walmart, Target... heck, even most grocery stores around here sell them.

Not trying to be sarcastic or anything, but just trying to make the process simple... because it is.

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

I bought a "spare" battery a couple of years ago, but have not needed it yet.
It's still in its original blister pack, somewhere near the bottom of the console.

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

I searched a few months ago here in our town. Even walmart did not stock this battery. I found a supplier on the internet. It's Bodytronics, a exercise supplier. I was told they used this battery number in some of their Pedometers and etc.

I only needed the two but at $1.99 I decided to get 6. I also bought two other with different numbers for my watch. That made a total of 8 batteries which gave me free shipping and no tax. The total was only about $16. I receive them in about a week.

This is their main page below. Type, CR1632 into the search. Then select the RE1632 and it will take you to the purchase page I pasted below.

These are swiss made lithium batteries. I have used the new ones for about 2 months with no problems.

BODYTRONICS homepage:
http://bodytronics.com/CTGY/Pedomete...FQuwGgodpgTuVg

http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/1...acr1632ce9.jpg

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

This is a closely related (but different) question. I've never seen the low battery warning spoken about, but recently have started to see "Key Not Detected", even with the key in my pocket where it always is (always with the car already on - so it hasn't been a problem). This is new - I never saw it in the first year of owning the car, but I now see this at least 3 or 4 times a week. I thought maybe the battery was weak, but for some reason wasn't getting the low battery warning. I changed the battery to a new one, but still see the key not detected warning with the same frequency.

If I take the key out of my pocket and bring it closer to the dash, the warning goes away and everything is fine again (even when I return the key to my pocket). Any ideas as to what's going on?

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

If you happen to use a cell phone belt clip, keys in your pocket and easily end up right next to your cell phone. This has caused me issue once in a while. I make an effort to put my keys in opposite pocket from my cell phone.

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

That's a good thought. I do tend to carry my cellphone on the same side as the keys. I'll try separating them for a while and see what happens.

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

I picked up the battery at Toyota yesterday $6.99

It is easy to replace.

I would suggest opening the FOB yourself a few times just to have a comfort level in doing it.

It really isn't a big deal, but until you do it yourself - it will seem like it.

"It's all magic until you know the trick."

Byron

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

If you have a Fry's Electronics nearby they carry the CR1632 battery for $1.49. I keep a spare in the glove box just in case. My TCH is a bit over 2 years old (June 2006) and one keyfob is still working fine. The other died due to keeping it too close to my Wireless router. The signals from the Wireless router killed the keyfob battery in about 4 months!

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

Other key fob killers....
Flourescent lights
Cell phone chargers

Keep the key at least 3 feet away.

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

My fob batteries lasted about 18 months and were still useful but I replaced them when their range was cut to about 200 feet. I sometimes forget to lock my doors and hate to walk all the way back to my car. They are #1620 size and were very easy to replace. II buy ten at a time from Starlight Watch Co. here in Atlanta. Coincidentely they also are needed for my Timex Expedition compass watch, a must for hiking.

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

Are you sure they are #1620? I'm pretty sure mine is a #1632.

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

Both of mine also used the 1632 battery.

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

You are correct. #1632 is called for and my other fob has a #1632 installed but when I opened my case a #1620 was in it so that's what I replaced. They are the same size so perhaps the difference is in milliamperage. Any way it works fine with no apparent difference in range

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

After a web search I found the answer to the 1620 vs 1632.

the 1620 is 16mm across x 2.0mm thick and puts out 68 Mah

the 1632 is 16mm across x 3.2mm thick and puts out 125Mah.

Both are 3volts.

I will replace the 1620 with a 1632 but i'm not in a hurry. The range on both fobs is the same. They both stopped working [locking and unlocking the doors] at 225 feet.

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

ok, dumb ques.

I took my fob apart.

When I flip it upside down the circuitboard doesn't fall out. The battery is underneath from what everyone says. I see that there's four small black plastic tabs holding it in place?

am I suppose to pry them back and pull the board or just try to pry the board out without pulling on those little tabs?

the tabs look darn fragile and I don't want to bust them leaving a loose connection.


tx

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

The tabs hold the battery case to the circuitboard. They don't hold the circuit board in place.

There is a block of sticky foam under the circuitboard that keeps it from falling out. Look at the board, the for plastic tabs are on one half, the other half has one corner notched. Slowly and gently pry the notched side and it will release from the sticky foam and fall out.

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

Thanks to rburt, I ordered from bodytronics as well. I bought 2 and with 2 dollar shipping that's a grand total of 6 dollars. It was an easy install using the TCH manual. It's been over a week and so far so good.

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

Update: It's been a while since I bought those from bodytronics. I used them in my keyfobs and put some in a friends keyfobs that also owns a hybrid. I gave them 2 extra batteries.

For my latest replacement, I went to Amazon.com/ and typed in their search for, Energizer lithium cr1632 battery. I found one page that listed 5 batteries for $7.99 with free shipping. I can't find that exact page tonight. I did find the 5 pack that says, used. That link shows 5 for the same price. At the bottom it says they are 'new'. One review did say his were dated 2006. I did not find any dates on mine and the one I installed tested in middle of the good range.

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

The Energizer lithium CR1632 battery can be purchased on Amazon at the following link:

http://www.amazon.com/Energizer-Lith.../dp/B001D0E21Y

They are $1.66 each + $2.49 shipping. You can buy more than one and still only pay the $2.49 shipping (I just ordered 3).

These do come from a third-party seller but the reviews indicate that the batteries purchased worked well, which is encouraging.

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

Wow- great deal, and thanks for that amazon link!

Couldn't find that friggin battery anywhere!

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

The warning came up on my Dash that the FOB could not be read or something like that. I held the FOB up to the Power Button and it was fine. The next couple of starts were fine but then it said that the battery in the FOB needed changing. So I changed it with a new CR1632 Energizer.

Out of curiosity - I used my Fluke voltmeter to see what was left of the battery I just replaced (thinking it would be around 1v)...

2.8v left!

Measured another new battery and it was 3.02v

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

http://www.batteryjunction.com/energizer-ecr1632.html

http://www.wholesaleforeveryone.com/...1632CUren.html

Re: Intelligent Key Fob Battery Replacement
 

Under a very light load the old battery may have read nearer 2 volts.