So I had another bizarre one today, I got a warning in the morning to change the battery in my key from the car in the driver cluster. Now, i've never had to change a key battery, and my parents have never changed the battery for their 15 year old Mazda which they've had since new.

 

So I was leaving work to go home and had forgotten about until then, and the car wouldn't unlock at all. Remembered the battery thing in the morning, then had the joyous fun of trying to find a car key battery at 7pm at night in central Cambridge. Found one after an hour and a half, so pulled the old one and sure enough multimeter confirms one completely zonked battery.

 

I've had the KESSY crap turned off since day 1, so I really really want to know how the fob has gobbled up an entire battery in slightly over 6 months without have the always transmitting rubbish running 😧

10 hours ago, GiantKiwi said:

So I had another bizarre one today, I got a warning in the morning to change the battery in my key from the car in the driver cluster. Now, i've never had to change a key battery, and my parents have never changed the battery for their 15 year old Mazda which they've had since new.

 

So I was leaving work to go home and had forgotten about until then, and the car wouldn't unlock at all. Remembered the battery thing in the morning, then had the joyous fun of trying to find a car key battery at 7pm at night in central Cambridge. Found one after an hour and a half, so pulled the old one and sure enough multimeter confirms one completely zonked battery.

 

I've had the KESSY crap turned off since day 1, so I really really want to know how the fob has gobbled up an entire battery in slightly over 6 months without have the always transmitting rubbish running 😧

 

My spare fob used a battery in the same time as my daily fob even though it had never been used. So just replaced both at the same time.

What type of batteries do the fobs take? Mine gave me a warning the other day and it sounds like I'd better be proactive about it.

They take CR2032 batteries.

1 hour ago, DManel said:

They take CR2032 batteries.

Buy the best batteries you can, kessy eats batteries as it sends a ping scanning for car in proximity, cheap batteries will only last few weeks, premium ones last nearer 12-15 months

 

Old style push the button to activate key fobs, had batteries that last years

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, SurreyJohn said:

Buy the best batteries you can, kessy eats batteries as it sends a ping scanning for car in proximity, cheap batteries will only last few weeks, premium ones last nearer 12-15 months

 

Old style push the button to activate key fobs, had batteries that last years

Even if it does eat batteries it doesn't seem normal. My father has a Renault Laguna 3 with keyless entry and the keys last a couple years, the spare one even longer.

my last volvo was keyless entry,sold it after 4 years and never had to change batteries.

15 hours ago, zetzet said:

Even if it does eat batteries it doesn't seem normal. My father has a Renault Laguna 3 with keyless entry and the keys last a couple years, the spare one even longer.

Owners of the previous model Octavia have also been commenting on the short battery life of Kessy remotes, so it's not a new 'feature' ☺️

Keyless batteries last about 1 year. 

2 hours ago, PetrolDave said:

Owners of the previous model Octavia have also been commenting on the short battery life of Kessy remotes, so it's not a new 'feature' ☺️

yes but back then you could'nt  completely turn it off, the op says he has turned it off from day 1,

if it's' turned off you would think the battery would last the same length of time as a normal remote 

i recently had the warning for all 3 of my (non KESSY) keys for my Mk3 (car just less than 3 yrs old) whereas my Mk 2.5 lasted 6 years and never needed a replacement.

I messed up when putting the new batteries in and effectively bricked 2 of the keys - when I spoke to the dealership about it to get them fixed they said their standard expectation now is that key batteries will only last 6 months.

4 hours ago, 310golfr said:

yes but back then you could'nt  completely turn it off, the op says he has turned it off from day 1,

if it's' turned off you would think the battery would last the same length of time as a normal remote 

Doesn't that just turn off Kessy at the car end?

 

How would the keys know that there is no point in them continuing to transmit as the keys do not contain a receiver and hence cannot be 'told' there is no point in transmitting all the time.

@Joss1733  I do not suppose you opened the fob to see what batteries you had!

 

The thing is we have no idea how often you were at your car or near it or in it, daily several times a day, weekly or monthly or how many miles driven in 4 years. 

4 hours ago, PetrolDave said:

Doesn't that just turn off Kessy at the car end?

 

How would the keys know that there is no point in them continuing to transmit as the keys do not contain a receiver and hence cannot be 'told' there is no point in transmitting all the time.

not sure how it all works to be honest, you could be right about key still transmitting even when switched off

when my car arrives, i'll be turning kessy off , we shall see how long the battery lasts

My car is now almost 13 months old and I still have the first batteries in the keys. 

I switched the batteries, but it still shows that dumb "Replace key batteries" error everytime I start the car?

1 hour ago, OctaviaMK4 said:

I switched the batteries, but it still shows that dumb "Replace key batteries" error everytime I start the car?

 

Ditto. Oh well, more electrical gremlins on to the already 3 page document i'm giving to the technicians at the end of the month.

 

On 22/01/2022 at 09:46, crisdevis said:

Keyless batteries last about 1 year. 

 

Maybe that's the case in a VW group car, but japanese brands have clearly mastered the skill of not wasting battery excessively, I had a suzuki with Kessy and it had the original battery after 6 years.

I had a 2015 Mazda 3 before my current VRS & l had to replace the battery after 2 1/2 years 

I've just received the wonderful 'Replace key battery' message today (car registered Sept '20, and done about 10k miles - so, not quite 18 months old). First car key battery I've ever had to change!

 

If/when I change the batteries does the key-user association remain or do I have to redo it? Thanks.

1 hour ago, sneal said:

I've just received the wonderful 'Replace key battery' message today (car registered Sept '20, and done about 10k miles - so, not quite 18 months old). First car key battery I've ever had to change!

 

If/when I change the batteries does the key-user association remain or do I have to redo it? Thanks.

I got the message today. After 13 months and 20k km. After battery replacement I tried to unlock and lock the car with the key, I tried kessy and  I checked that my name is displayed on the welcome screen. Didn't try to start the car though.

I've now also got a key battery error. I had already changed my first battery 6 months ago. Now it's showing again so changed it for a new battery but still saying replace battery so I tried another new one........yep and still the same message. Getting really fed up with the poor tech on this car. 

9 hours ago, Ad@m said:

I've now also got a key battery error. I had already changed my first battery 6 months ago. Now it's showing again so changed it for a new battery but still saying replace battery so I tried another new one........yep and still the same message. Getting really fed up with the poor tech on this car. 

This isn't a new problem with the Octavia 4 - the same thing happened on the Octavia 3 key batteries with kessy - the keys are VERY sensitive to battery voltage, the only "cure" was to fit fresh batteries from a major manufacturer.

On 15/02/2022 at 11:17, SaintMac said:

I have now had the issue with ACC slowing down when undertaking last week. Had my car just over 4 weeks. Had it on the M3 from Winchester to around Basingstoke, then seemed to correct itself, started again and stopped around Farnborough. Was fine heading back down the M3! Did it again briefly on the A303 just before Wincanton.

 

Anyway, mentioned it to my dealer who said there is a UK version of the software that will fix that and is booked in on the 1st to get loaded. Anyone else heard of this?

 

2 minutes ago, PetrolDave said:

This isn't a new problem with the Octavia 4 - the same thing happened on the Octavia 3 key batteries with kessy - the keys are VERY sensitive to battery voltage, the only "cure" was to fit fresh batteries from a major manufacturer.

Ok, well I work in a dealer and have used the same batteries we use? I did contact my dealer who said change the battery in the spare one too which is somewhere at home? 

Just to get ahead, what battery goes into the key? I might need to buy some in advance!

49 minutes ago, matrix2020 said:

Just to get ahead, what battery goes into the key? I might need to buy some in advance!

It's a cr2032, dealer has since told me to use Panasonic ones.