Keyless cars aaargh!

[artimrj]

Yesterday morning I went up to Visionworks to get a replacement screw in my glasses. It was fun driving with out them. I have a 2016 Cruz with keyless everything. So I pulled into the lot and foot on the brake I hit the ignition button and the car did not shut off. After several tries it finally stopped. Got out and hit the door handle button to lock it and it did not lock. Not thinking much of it I went in and got a replacement screw installed. I came back out and foot on the brake and hit the button and nothing happened. A small message appeared on the screen stating Press the button on your remote. That did nothing. My FOB also comes with a key, however there is no ignition hole to put it in. I can only unlock the doors by removing a small button that is used for opening the door. Makes it kind of useless if the car doesn't start.

Went back in to Visionworks and asked to use their phone and called my dealer. They gave me a number for Chevy Road side service. This guy kept me on the phone for 1 1/2 hours, putting me on hold then asking more questions 6 times. Finally he has a tow truck set up to come get me and take the car to my dealer. Disgusted I went out to the car and attempted to do all the things he told me to re program my FOB. I got my manual and had the thought let me try this again. Foot on the brake and hit the start button and it fired right up. Shut it off and on several times with no problems. No clue what was wrong. So it goes into the shop for diagnostics this week. Fortunately I bought a 5 year extension to the warranty. This gives me a loaner car.

The keyless thing is pretty nice to have, but if it breaks it becomes a real pita. To top it off, I was calling my wife's cell phone for some assistance and she saw it was from Visionworks and not me and just ignored it, 3 times.

Our 20th anniversary is Wednesday.

[EngineerJohn]

Someone I knew had a problem similar to that. I can't remember the vehicle though. It was a keyless system but the sensors in the car wouldn't detect her fob's "password" when she put the fob down in the car to push the start button.

She ended up having to have the car towed because of a tiny scanner. Everything else on the car was in complete working order.

Electronics are great until they break. You learn to fix cars by becoming a computer programmer first these days. Gone are the days of popping the hood and using a flashlight to find the problem.

[gtrtroger]

Happened to me too.... 6hrs from home! After diagnosing, it was a fob battery telling me it was about to fail. Replaced it and all was well. I did have to retrain the fob though.....

[buzz456]

My bride has a Nissan that's keyless and has had her adventures some of it involving it getting too cold in the dead of Winter and refusing to talk to the car. The wonders of modern devices.

[artimrj]

My car also has AUTO STOP when you get to a red light or stop sign it shuts the engine off to save gas... in 3 months it did it twice. Now that it is warmer, it does it all the time now. I have to wonder if saving gas is better than getting a new starter. I go through Beaver and there is a stop sign on each intersection. That's 12 to get to Wendys and 12 back. 24 restarts.

[jamesphh]

Can hardly wait for self driving cars!!!!!
Car computers have already been hacked, might be interesting when self driver have the same problem.

[CArailroader]

I don't know about the Cruz, but some vehicles have a button to turn auto-stop off. Unfortunately, the button has to be pressed once every time you start your car.

[artimrj]

The Cruz doesn't I am stuck with it. I guess I will get used to it. I really like the car. 2016 model has a larger body width and length starting with that year. They also stopped making them along with the Malibu and Impala. My wife has a 2014 model and when I drive it I feel like I am in a fighter jet cockpit. I can not move around any. My 2016 fits me perfect. And with a 4 cylinder with a turbo, it kicks. 0 to 60 in less than 7 seconds. Holds the road nicely too. Funny thing is my speedometer goes to 160 mph. Where can you drive that fast? Why would you?

[_o_OOOO_oo-Kanawha]

[...] To top it off, I was calling my wife's cell phone for some assistance and she saw it was from Visionworks and not me and just ignored it, 3 times.

Our 20th anniversary is Wednesday.

[gtrtroger]

My 2016 fits me perfect. And with a 4 cylinder with a turbo, it kicks. 0 to 60 in less than 7 seconds. Holds the road nicely too. Funny thing is my speedometer goes to 160 mph. Where can you drive that fast? Why would you?

Mine’s fits me perfectly too. It’s a 2011, V8 non-turbo. 0-60 in 3.1 seconds. Holds the road like a magnet. Speedometer reads 210. I can go fast whenever and wherever I can get away with it. And it’s a blast to drive fast (yes, I race too.)

[artimrj]

My co worker was following me and we ran in to traffic. Where people were going way too slow and had 3 or 4 cars lengths in between them in both lanes. Speed limit was 50 they were doing 35. I put the pedal down and the turbo kicks in and I zig zagged in between all of them and was gone. Next day he ask if I had a rocket in that car, he said he looked up and I was gone.

[latimers]

Apparently the auto-stop doesn't use the starter. It stops the engine in exactly the right position so that when it restarts it fires the spark plug in the cylinder that's already primed and under compression. If it stops the engine more frequently in warm weather than in cold, it's working correctly. There is a long list of conditions that have to be true before it will stop the engine. One of them is the temperature of the engine.

[artimrj]

Thanks Latimer, good info for someone who is living in the past No one at the dealer told me any of that. Just that it would save gas. I don't have to worry about gas. My wife buys so much cat food I always get $1.50 to $2 off a gallon with fuel perks from Giant Eagle. I only have to get gas every 3 weeks. Only 4 miles away from work. We have emissions along with inspection. I am usually exempt as I drive less that 4K a year. We have 7 cats in doors and 5 more out doors and another dozen at our "second" home, all outsiders. And then there is the neighbors cats. She feeds them all.

[AmericanSteam]

A friend who is also a auto technician had issues with a certain make and model randomly not starting and when towed in nothing unusual could be found. After a few days a pattern was noticed that these cars were parked in a certain part of town. He and his service manager went to the area with a receiver tuned to the frequency of the fobs and found an faulty automatic door at a business transmitting on the same frequency "jamming" the signal for blocks around. They convinced the store owner to fix the issue. Sometimes one needs to think outside the box.

[artimrj]

I was wondering that also. Like someone else's FOB was hacking mine. There is a Starbucks right next to where I was and people came and went continuously. So far since them everything is fine. Went shopping with Kerri the other night and she ask" Will we get home?" I said, "I don't know". It was really windy and cold. About 28 F. But we went and survived. Who knows for sure.