My Fabia is 11 months old and I'm getting a warning for both key fob batteries to be replaced on the instrument panel.

I dont want to be ripped off by main dealers and will do it myself.

What size batteries should I use?

11 months seems a bit early for those batteries to run out -- I've had keys go 6 years without a battery change. Tried getting the dealer to replace the batteries under warranty?

 

(Otherwise it's just a coin cell -- CR-something-or-other. Open a fob and check, the instructions are in the owner's manual.)

Edited 30 October, 20196 yr by ettlz

As a word of caution - my key fob completely died a couple of weeks ago (no warning to replace the fob battery).

 

Tried replacing the battery in the fob with a fresh one and it didn't work. Ended up taking the fob to the dealer - they popped an "official" battery in and that worked perfectly! Doesn't make any sense at all, but that's the experience I had.

 

Was only ~£2 for the battery from the dealer.

Edited 30 October, 20196 yr by sparckzero

They're CR2025's. I've seen reports you can stick a CR2032 in there (same size, but a bit thicker and will last longer). Buy a decent brand, like Varta or Duracell and you should be fine. Using varta in mine: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B006XE8DEC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

For me, having a pack delivered for a few quid is more convenient than going back to the dealer. Takes about 10 seconds to swap them.

4 hours ago, sparckzero said:

As a word of caution - my key fob completely died a couple of weeks ago (no warning to replace the fob battery).

 

Tried replacing the battery in the fob with a fresh one and it didn't work. Ended up taking the fob to the dealer - they popped an "official" battery in and that worked perfectly! Doesn't make any sense at all, but that's the experience I had.

 

Was only ~£2 for the battery from the dealer.

The manual says the battery for my superb is rechargeable. The service department says if the car has not been used for a while the warning will come on but after some use the car will actually recharge the battery very slowly. Non-rechargable batteries come with a warning not to recharge them as they may explode. The parts department is not aware if the official part is rechargeable.

I should point out that my vehicle has KESSY GO (keyless start), if that makes a difference...

@drawrof Could you link me to the manual where it says that? I've never heard of a key fob battery being rechargeable, especially by the car itself... unless its charging the key via the ignition barrel but that sounds crazy! 🤔

4 hours ago, Confused_Cheese said:

@drawrof Could you link me to the manual where it says that? I've never heard of a key fob battery being rechargeable, especially by the car itself... unless its charging the key via the ignition barrel but that sounds crazy! 🤔

It's in the Superb manual on page 205 where says both use specified type and take care to get the polarity right with rechargeable batteries. Contacted Skoda and both technical and spares technical say they are not aware of any Skoda needing rechargable batteries so they suggest that the manual is wrong. In one dealer service said it's rechargeable and parts said it's not. I will go to the dealer tomorrow and see what the approved part is and if it's the 2025 or 2032 size. The manual has real glaring errors and one that comes to Ming is air cooling needs air temperature to be below 2c to work. Who do you believe especially if the car is under warranty?

CR2025 = lithium 20 mm diameter and 2.5 mm thick and not rechargeable.

CR2032 = lithium 20 mm diameter and 3.2 mm thick and not rechargeable.

 

LiR2025 = lithium-ion 20 mm diameter and 2.5 mm thick and is rechargeable.

LiR2032 = lithium-ion 20 mm diameter and 3.2 mm thick and is rechargeable.

 

Some cars where you put a bladeless key fob in an ignition key hole can recharge the key's battery.

 

Thanks AG Falco

13 hours ago, Confused_Cheese said:

They're CR2025's. I've seen reports you can stick a CR2032 in there (same size, but a bit thicker and will last longer). Buy a decent brand, like Varta or Duracell and you should be fine. Using varta in mine: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B006XE8DEC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

For me, having a pack delivered for a few quid is more convenient than going back to the dealer. Takes about 10 seconds to swap them.

Thanks,ordered.

Replaced both key fob batteries today;easy-peasy and cheap as chips🙂

2 minutes ago, RickW said:

Replaced both key fob batteries today;easy-peasy and cheap as chips🙂

I have had confirmation from Skoda the batteries are basic non-rechargable cr2025.  Now I know how to take the cover off it is easy. I have damaged remote controls in the past as manuals do not seem clear until you have actually done it.

Yes,I used Varta CR2025 as recommended by Confused-Cheese above ^

changed mine yesterday on spare key had to reprogram the key was a bit of a fight doing it but got there in the end

3 hours ago, casperlad said:

changed mine yesterday on spare key had to reprogram the key was a bit of a fight doing it but got there in the end

 

The 2-3 times (usually in winter, batteries don't like cold) i've replaced mine, it took a moment for the key to start working again, but never required reprogramming it. I guess leaving it a really long time won't help it.

Change mine to a CR2032 today, a squeeze but it is in.

Changed mine this week. Now replaced both batteries in both keys in just under 3 years. 

Thanks to all those who have responded and clarified things especially given the misinformation going round. In summary  the batteries are not a rechargable type, the correct batteries are 2025 but 2032 can be squeezed in. I don't know what the manufacturer would say if they found non-specification batteries in the event of a claim. The car is able to detect the batteries are getting discharged but allows a good margin before they . Even then if they fail the car can be opened with the key. I am not certain if there are any exceptions depending on the car model or style. The life of the batteries can vary from one to more than three years. When one assumes the battery gets used for a very short time when opening or closing the car it's difficult to understand the variation unless the car is locked and unlocked more than three times of another. I was told the key communicates with car when in range so uses power all the time. Keyless entry systems seem to hence the security issues if the signal is intercepted.

Is there a warning on the dashboard when the battery is getting low?

 

There is, if it works. It didn't for me, my key just stopped working 🤦‍♂️ It did have the cheapest poor quality batteries the previous owner could find though. I keep a spare in my work bag now just in case.

i had no warning just door wouldnt open i changed battery on xmas day last year and then again other week so getting less than a year out of it

Hi there. I have a Fabia Mk3 2018 model which has a keyless stop/start. 
Today, the fob would not recognise the car. 
I have a spare fob set, and that set did recognise the car, so it’s clearly an issue with the original fob. 
The orginal has a Panasonic CR2025 battery. A brand new (non Duracell) CR2025 has not rectified the problem. Nor has putting a 2032 battery inside the fob instead. 
is this really a case of putting a Duracell battery inside?

The non Duracell battery I put in does not even trigger the fob light indicator when I press any of the lock/unlock buttons. 
l've seen mention of having to reprogram the fob so that it recognises the car. How is that done? Or do I have to take the car to a Skoda dealer 

On 28/08/2020 at 19:58, Stainesy said:

Hi there. I have a Fabia Mk3 2018 model which has a keyless stop/start. 
Today, the fob would not recognise the car. 
I have a spare fob set, and that set did recognise the car, so it’s clearly an issue with the original fob. 
The orginal has a Panasonic CR2025 battery. A brand new (non Duracell) CR2025 has not rectified the problem. Nor has putting a 2032 battery inside the fob instead. 
is this really a case of putting a Duracell battery inside?

The non Duracell battery I put in does not even trigger the fob light indicator when I press any of the lock/unlock buttons. 
l've seen mention of having to reprogram the fob so that it recognises the car. How is that done? Or do I have to take the car to a Skoda dealer 

 

If the light doesn't flash, the battery is dead. If pressing the buttons makes the light flash/flicker continuously, it's working but not in range of the car.

 

What's the "expiry" date of the "new" battery you just put in? In the past i've tried using older (unused, still sealed in packet, but old) batteries and they either didn't work or worked for barely a day.

Batteries generally have a 10 year "expiry" date, but all the rubbish ones that didn't work were around 4-5 years old, so they appear to fail well before their expiry date.

 

Last december i bought a pack of 10 Duracell 2025's from Amazon, they were dated as being manufactured barely a couple weeks before my purchase and have an expiry date of december 2029, both keys have been good for about 10 months now without any warnings.

 

So far i've not had to reprogram any key, despite one being dead for a good few months before it got a new battery, it usually took a few moments for it to pair up (helps being in range of the car while doing the battery swap) and start working again, but otherwise no hassle.

Thanks for your reply. 
The key fob lights are not working at all even after inserting a brand new Duracell CR2025 battery. 
l have booked it into a Skoda service centre for diagnostics. In my mind, it’s clearly a faulty fob, because the spare fob set works perfectly with the car. 

3 hours ago, Stainesy said:

Thanks for your reply. 
The key fob lights are not working at all even after inserting a brand new Duracell CR2025 battery. 
l have booked it into a Skoda service centre for diagnostics. In my mind, it’s clearly a faulty fob, because the spare fob set works perfectly with the car. 

Try taking the known good battery from the working fob, and put it in the currently non working fob, and see if there's any change.

 

If it still doesn't work, then you know it's the fob, but if it does work, then it's just a **** pack of batteries.

 

As i said before, i went through about 5-6 "brand new" CR2025 cells and a couple of CR2032s trying to find one that worked, i was only successful with one of each size and they only lasted a day or two, they were of differing brands energizer maxwell and panasonic, the only similarity between them was that they were all 5 years old (bought when my parents got a Yeti in 2014), despite being "brand new" and still sealed in their damn hard to get into packets, they were trash.

 

They don't seem to last even being unused and still in the packet. Being "brand new" doesn't matter so much, it's the age that's important, if you go to buy some from a shop i.e tescos or whatever, make sure their expiry date is 2030 or at least 2029, that way you know they're fairly recent and probably good. Ordering online or even getting some from skoda dealership is a bit of a crapshoot because you dont really know what you're getting, i got lucky with Amazon, and that's probably not a bad bet either as they'll sell so many of them their stock will constantly be refreshed with new. I've had batteries from the dealership that've lasted barely a month.

Edited 7 September, 20205 yr by FabiaGonzales