Had a new Karoq in 2019 - the Kessy fob battery failed at 20 months.

My Superb is almost 20 months old and the battery failed today. 

I'd have thought the new style 'motion sensing' fobs would last longer, especially given that the Superb hardly ever gets used and the fob hangs on a hook untouched?

My Golf fob, now in its 14th year, has never had a battery replaced.

Mine lasted 6 years but obviously it’s not the smart key. The spare is still fine. 

My keyless fob batteries last about a year to 18 months so 20 months if fairly reasonable I’d say.

 

 

better to change at 1 year, even although not showing signs of needing changed

i changed mine at 1 year and  key fob was still working ok

costco do a pack of 12 duracell  70% extra life , i think roughly £1 per battery

Passat but same key, i’m on my third key battery for about a year. 6 years 8 months old with 190,000 miles. 
 

Word of warning replace as soon as you get the warning, i didn’t straight away. I locked my keys in the boot because the signal was too weak from a weak battery and couldn’t detect the key inside.

19 hours ago, 310golfr said:

better to change at 1 year, even although not showing signs of needing changed

for what reason? warning comes more than month before battery dries

 

23 hours ago, Berisford said:

I'd have thought the new style 'motion sensing' fobs would last longer, especially given that the Superb hardly ever gets used and the fob hangs on a hook untouched?

if diode lights, then it's more likely not battery problem, but dynamic code has moved too far forward,

can't remember what were exact procedure, ~ ~ ~ several times long press unlock button moving key fob closer to steering wheel's ignition button ~ ~ ~

 

6 hours ago, MartiniB said:

for what reason? warning comes more than month before battery dries

 

if diode lights, then it's more likely not battery problem, but dynamic code has moved too far forward,

can't remember what were exact procedure, ~ ~ ~ several times long press unlock button moving key fob closer to steering wheel's ignition button ~ ~ ~

 

keyfob batteries can fail with no warning, only £1 for a new battery once a year

On 24/10/2023 at 16:46, Berisford said:

Had a new Karoq in 2019 - the Kessy fob battery failed at 20 months.

My Superb is almost 20 months old and the battery failed today. 

I'd have thought the new style 'motion sensing' fobs would last longer, especially given that the Superb hardly ever gets used and the fob hangs on a hook untouched?

My Golf fob, now in its 14th year, has never had a battery replaced.

 

Do you really hang then on a hook? Inside a EM blocking pouch I assume? 

 

If not, I suggest doing so. Unless that hook is really really far away from the car 😂

 

 

I change mine whenever the warning comes up. Top of my head, about once a year the warning comes up. Maybe a bit more. But definitely not 20months. 

22 hours ago, KeteCantek said:

 

Do you really hang then on a hook? Inside a EM blocking pouch I assume? 

 

If not, I suggest doing so. Unless that hook is really really far away from the car 😂

 

 

I change mine whenever the warning comes up. Top of my head, about once a year the warning comes up. Maybe a bit more. But definitely not 20months. 

That’s the long and short of it, hanging on a hook.

The newer Kessy fobs aren’t at serious risk inasmuch as they, allegedly, have a motion sensor and close themselves down.

On 26/10/2023 at 21:49, KeteCantek said:

I change mine whenever the warning comes up. Top of my head, about once a year the warning comes up. Maybe a bit more. But definitely not 20months. 

Odd. I’ve owned this car for nearly 4 years and I’ve changed the battery once during that time, immediately after getting the dash warning. IIRC it was about a year ago.

On my Mk3 Octavia the Kessy battery last about 18months between changes (used daily for commute, kid taxi, etc)

I usually wait for the message in the dash which then deactivates kessy so you have to use the buttons to unlock.

Personally, I just replace the battery in the key every year when I service the car. 
costs very little and I can forget about it for another year. 

28 months of use from my battery from new, just changed it two weeks ago on the same day the dashboard warning appeared.

 

I certainly won't complain about almost 2.5 years of use out of a very small battery that is subject to heat changes, being chucked about etc etc.