Strange fob behavior

[londo M.]

I have had my 2011 explorer since oct. with no problems or issues. Lately my 2 fobs have not worked at all. No lights, no reaction at all except when I get close enough the auto unlock works. If I open a door and close it, the fob works fine. I can lock, unlock, remote start. But if I remote start it will only work once then back to nothing.

I do not think it is a battery issue. When I went to get new batteries, I tried the remote starter outside the store. At about 30yds it started right up. But only once. I have done a reset but still acts the same.
Can the cold be causing it? It acts like my laptop when is hibernating and needs something to wake it up.

 

[blwnsmoke]

As crazy as this sounds, do a master reset on MRT and see if that fixes it. There have been issues like yours where the car randomly stops recognizing the fob at random times and this solves it.

 

[londo M.]

That is in my post. I reset it 2 times already. The reset to default on the left display, right?

 

[peterk9]

That is in my post. I reset it 2 times already. The reset to default on the left display, right?

No, the Master Reset option is on the MFT. It reboots your MFT. If you are remote starting your vehicle, then turning it off and trying the remote start again, I don't think that will work. I believe there has to be a certain time lapse between attempts. I'm going to see what I can find.

According to the Owner's Guide, the remote start system will not work if:
• Two remote vehicle starts have already been attempted within the last hour.
(the above is only 1 of several conditions)
Also a failed attempt to remote start counts as one attempt.

Peter

 

[londo M.]

I am trying a 2nd remote right away and hours or the next day. When the lights do not even flash that's says something.

I have had it flash when the shifter said it was not in park but was. It just did not change color.

 

[peterk9]

I am trying a 2nd remote right away and hours or the next day. When the lights do not even flash that's says something.

I have had it flash when the shifter said it was not in park but was. It just did not change color.

When this happens do ever get the message "Shift to Park" come up?

There is a whole thread on that issue; http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=375462&highlight=shifter

It wouldn't hurt to try a new battery in the fob. It is possible that it builds up enough power for a single operation. It may or may not help but at least you will have eliminated one possible cause and you will eventually need to replace it anyway.

Peter

 

[blwnsmoke]

On your MFT screen, go into settings and I believe it is under "vehicle" (could be wrong), do a master reset on the MFT settings (not your dashboard). Try that and see if it fixes your key fob issues.

 

[dco43054]

So did you change the batteries? It didn't seem so from your post. That's a cheap item to eliminate when doing trouble shooting.

 

[Londo M]

No, I did the master reset and found out the ford site for updating mysync only shows the last update in oct. 2012 and says it is up to date so they are sending me out a flash with the update on it.
But after I did the reset the fob worked on the first try and then the second it was not recognized and set of the alarm. So I had to put in a new battery for it to stop the alarm and recognize the key.

 

[dco43054]

So did changing the fob batteries fix the problem?

 

[Londo M]

Not sure because of the alarm going off. I was on the phone with ford tech because after my first master reset it did not show the last update done in oct. 2012. The screen was blank.
They had me do another reset to see if the software version would show up[it did not after the first reset]. It showed the 3.2 version but they said I should install the 3.6 version. Except my page on mysync said the 3.2 was up to date and did not give an option the download 3.6. They will send out the update on a drive.
The fob worked to allow me to start the car from the seat. While resetting the radio stations the car had a popup window saying no key detected. I shut it off and attempted a restart from the push button. The alarm went off and I got not reactions from the fob. I ran an got the new batteries, installed and all is well now.
So did the new batteries fix the first issue, all guesses will be accepted.

 

[peterk9]

Not sure because of the alarm going off. I was on the phone with ford tech because after my first master reset it did not show the last update done in oct. 2012. The screen was blank.
They had me do another reset to see if the software version would show up[it did not after the first reset]. It showed the 3.2 version but they said I should install the 3.6 version. Except my page on mysync said the 3.2 was up to date and did not give an option the download 3.6. They will send out the update on a drive.
The fob worked to allow me to start the car from the seat. While resetting the radio stations the car had a popup window saying no key detected. I shut it off and attempted a restart from the push button. The alarm went off and I got not reactions from the fob. I ran an got the new batteries, installed and all is well now.
So did the new batteries fix the first issue, all guesses will be accepted.

The software version 3.2.2 is two version behind. There was 3.5.1 and the current 3.6.2. For some reason many owners who went to check their SYNC account found that same message even though their software was not up to date. I had V3.5.1 installed and knew it was not the latest because of the info on this Forum. I also had them send me a flash drive to update to the latest version.
I think the low battery condition of the fobs likely contributed to most off your problems. As I said, not using them for a while likely allowed just enough power to build up for 1 or 2 functions. Then I'm guessing they finally got to the stage where they were finally 'DOA'.
Good luck.

Peter