Key fob

[Ladyrav]

Hi all, I'm hoping someone can help with an intermittent fault my car seems to have acquired !! Over the last couple of mornings my fob is not unlocking the vehicle. When tried later in the day it works then all throughout the day it is fine, locking and unlocking the car. I have tried both keys, red light comes up on the fob and I've also changed the batteries in both. I have taken to locking the car with the key and not the fob of an evening to ensure that I can get into it in the morning.

Has anyone got any ideas how to solve this, or is my rav just not an early riser lol

Thanks
Jo

[JuneBug]

Are you near a radio transmitter when it doesn't work?

[Ladyrav]

Hi James - no, it's parked in the same place on the drive overnight where it has been for the last 3 years - not aware of any aerials been erected recently either

[Rickl]

Originally Posted by Ladyrav

Hi James - no, it's parked in the same place on the drive overnight where it has been for the last 3 years - not aware of any aerials been erected recently either

The important question is "does it only act up when it is parked in your driveway, and works fine everywhere else?".

There may me some radio interference that you are not aware of.

Originally Posted by Ladyrav

I have taken to locking the car with the key and not the fob of an evening to ensure that I can get into it in the morning.

I assume that means the fob does work in your driveway in the evening?. It really doesn't matter if you lock the car using the FOB because you can still unlock it with the key.

[Ladyrav]

One example, I had to take my daughter to the station (totally irrelevant, but just setting the scene lol) fob wouldn't unlock car so took her car, got back from the station, tried fob and it worked. Same thing happened next morning and tried fob on return from station fob didn't work, tried an hour later and it did work. Last night, I locked with key and used key to unlock this morning, got back from station and fob wouldn't lock it so used key again. Have been in and out of car all day, fob working fine.

I thought if it was locked with fob and I used key to unlock then the alarm would go off, didn't want to chance it at 6:00 am, neighbours wouldn't be amused !!

Hope that makes sense :-)

[Rickl]

Well it sounds like all the problems you described happened in your own driveway, and at totally random times of the day.

Does the problem occur anywhere other than your own driveway?

[Ladyrav]

Yes it has only ever been on the driveway or parked out on the road, only first thing in the morning.

The fob does work on the driveway at other times though, do you think there's some weird radio interference going on round here at that time then lol ? How the hell do I go about finding the cause of that :-)

[Rickl]

Originally Posted by Ladyrav

Yes it has only ever been on the driveway or parked out on the road, only first thing in the morning.

The fob does work on the driveway at other times though, do you think there's some weird radio interference going on round here at that time then lol ? How the hell do I go about finding the cause of that :-)

Since it only happens in the morning, I thought it might have been because it had sat in the driveway overnight and some component became intermittent in the cold. But you claim that after driving it to the station and back, it still wouldn't work.

If it works 100% of the time when away from your home, I think there is some interference with the radio signal near your home.

I suggest making note of the times that you have a problem. If it is only during business hours, or only during the work week, then there may be a local business with a new radio system nearby.

You could also try circling your RAV while pushing the button to see if you can block the interference from one particular direction.

[Ladyrav]

Sorry Rick, I think I've confused you, I had to take my daughters car to the station, and on my return (10 mins) I tried the fob again on my car and one day it worked and the next it didn't. We have had snow here in the uk and it has been since then, do you think it could be temperature related? If so, is there anything I can do about that?

Thanks for your help

[Rickl]

Originally Posted by Ladyrav

We have had snow here in the uk and it has been since then, do you think it could be temperature related? If so, is there anything I can do about that?

I have never heard of a problem with the remote door locks, being related to temperature, but we can't rule out the possibility.

It looks like your temperature last night was -1'C and your daytime temperature was +1'C. So that is a very small change to explain why the locks don't work in the morning, but work an hour later. In comparison our temperature last night was -30'C, and I don't think anyone here had a problem with door locks.

The next time the locks won't work, try walking all around the the vehicle while trying to operate the FOB, see if a particular location works better than others.

You could also start the engine one morning to let the interior warm up, then shut it off, and then try the FOB again. If the problem is radio interference it is unlikely to go away during the 5 minute warm up period. If the FOB works after the warm up, it is probably temperature related. If it still doesn't work it could be interference.

If the above test shows that a 5 minute warmup doesn't solve the problem, then the next day you could also unlock the door with the key, and quickly drive a block away, park the car , and try the FOB again. If it works at this new location then I would be looking for an interference problem again.