2002 BMW 325 Key won't open or lock doors remotely

RFLANNIGAN

MEMBER
2002 BMW 325
6 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
90,000 MILES

I have two keys to this car. One will open and lock the doors as it is supposed to.
The other key will not operate remotely most of the time. However, it will work occasionally.
The dealer told me I should first try to reset the key, and the instuctions were in the manual. But I was not able to find these instructions.
Any ideas on how to resolve this problem?

3 Replies

DOCHAGERTY

MECHANIC
9,601 POSTS

The battery inside the key may need charging. If it works at all then it probably does not need reinitializing, which is possibly what the dealer was trying to tell you to do. The battery recharges through the EWS ring around the ignition switch so you need to use the key to charge it.

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Saturday, September 13th, 2008 AT 11:59 PM

RFLANNIGAN

MEMBER
2 POSTS

Thank you for your response. I use the key everyday, so apparently it is not charging as it should.
Two days ago it worked for a couple of hours. Now it is back to doing nothing again. Makes me think it is a more complicated problem or the key is just defective. I was trying to avoid paying $175.00 for a new key from the dealer.

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Sunday, September 14th, 2008 AT 6:41 PM

DOCHAGERTY

MECHANIC
9,601 POSTS

If one of the keys has an intermittent issue and the other one does not then I would think that the key is the issue and not the car, however, I am not there with you to see for myself.

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Sunday, September 14th, 2008 AT 7:56 PM