BMW Vehicle Key Battery Empty – How to Deal with the Problem?

Currently, batteries are everywhere. Have you forgotten to charge your phone? Welcome to the old age where you just fall out of life and don't know what to do. Don't forget to charge your headphones, power banks, your smart snickers, smart jacket, smart backpack, and all other smart things you have in your possession.

Key battery message highlights

• Common reasons:the key is dead, problems with the keyless entry system
• How to fix:replace the key fob battery, scan the vehicle for any other problems
• Possible consequences:key fob may go dead and car won't open or start
• Priority level:Medium
• Can you drive?Yes
• DIY repair:Possible
• Repair price range:$1-$20

Predicting your key fob is going to have battery problems

You should know that, on average, a good battery in a key fob can live about 2 to 3 years. This is an estimated lifespan for a smart key. A simple car key battery will live much longer - we would say up to 6 years. So, if you haven't replaced the battery in a car key for more than that, you should do it the next time you are visiting the dealer.

By the way, you can replace the battery by yourself without paying much money to your BMW dealer. But let's talk about it later.

So, the key fob battery is going to die once and you should remember about it. Otherwise, this problem will be unexpected and will ruin your plans one day.

Here are some of the important signs that the battery is dying:

1. The shorter distance of reach. Recently you could close or open doors from 50 feet and now it barely works at the distance of 20 feet. This is a clear sign that the battery is going to be flat soon.
2. Longer reaction. Recently the doors opened or closed once you touched the button and now you need to press that button some times and the doors won't react that fast.
3. Glitches with engine start. You may know that each modern cat key has some chips inside, and one of these chips is the immobilizer. Once it doesn't get any energy, it stops working correctly.
4. The keyless entry doesn't work. In this case, the car doesn't see your key and can't let you in after you just press that button placed on the door handle.
5. The vehicle reacts unusually when you open it. In some BMW cars, the turn signals may blink several times when you open the vehicle with a key fob that has a flat battery inside. You should read the instruction for learning this.
6. The lights on the key don't work properly. Some BMW keys have small LED lights in them and when you press the buttons, these lights flash for some time. If they started flashing not so brightly as they did before, the problems are here.

So, these are just some simple problems that may show you that it's time to replace the battery in your BMW key. If you think you can drive your cool car for another month or two until you have the regular maintenance planes, here is the bad news: you can't. You are at the risk of total death of the battery.

If the battery has already started glitching as we've said above, it may die at any moment. And you will have problems getting into your car or starting the engine. So, it's not the best idea to just wait for the next regular maintenance.

Changing the battery - dealer, repair shop, or by yourself?

So, you have basically four options to replace the battery in the key or key fob of your BMW. All options are appropriate but the prices will be completely different.

Here's what you can do:

1. BMW dealer. This is the most obvious way to repair the key and let it work for another 2 years. But it's the most expensive way. A dealer may charge you $100 or $150 for this simple task. And you may think that some complicated procedures have to be completed. But no, it's nearly as simple as changing the batteries in the remote control from your TV.
2. A specialized BMW repair shop. Here, mechanics will gladly take your key and return it to you in 10 minutes in exchange for a $50 bill. It's cheaper than with a BMW dealer, but still, we wouldn't spend that much money for changing a battery.
3. A BMW parts shop. You can buy a great battery in this shop and ask a sales assistant to replace the battery in your key fob. In most cases, the assistant will take another $10 or $20 from you as a reward for this work.
4. Replace it by yourself. For some keys, you will need a small screwdriver, for some - nothing. Just look how you can take apart the key and replace the battery that may cost about $2 or something like that.

Before you buy a battery, you should learn which type you need. It's hard to say because different keys and key fobs have different types of batteries. One way is to look in the manual for your car, and the other way is to take the key apart and just see what kind of battery you have.

Even if you have never done this, it won't be hard. But if you don't want to dig in your BMW vehicle key, just ask the person who sells you the battery to replace it. It won't cost as much as you would pay to a dealer.

How to get into the BMW car when the key battery is empty?

It's not that easy. BMW cars are wonderfully protected from breaking in. So, you will not be able to get into the vehicle unless you have the proper key. If your key's battery is flat, it will not be possible to open the doors.

If you have a simple metal key, you can open the doors easily using the metal part. But the alarm may start going off and you won't be able to turn it off. In this way, you should quickly get under the hood and turn off the main battery.

If the vehicle has the keyless entry feature, your key fob will still have the metal key inside. Open the key and use the metal part to get into the car. Though, remember about the alarm going off again.

You should also remember that the only thing you can do with your car if the key battery is empty is to sit inside. You will not start the engine until the immobilizer system sees the key. The easiest option is to get the second key if you have access to it.

But what if there is no second key and you are just standing near your vehicle without any chance to get into it? Then you should call a locksmith. These guys are pretty clever these days and they can easily figure out what the problem is and replace the battery.

What if the battery dies in your key when you are driving a car?

If you have already noticed that the key was working poorly, you are at the risk of losing the key battery right on the go. The same moment as it happens, your car won't stop and turn off the engine. It will drive you to a certain point of your way until you stop the vehicle and turn off the engine by yourself. After that, you will only have problems.

The next time you want to turn on the engine or even get into your vehicle, you will not do this. The safety system will not let you in or at least will not let you start the engine. You will have to call a locksmith or to call a tow truck (depending on where you are).

What to do if the key battery dies on a desert road?

If your BMW doesn't want to start right in the middle of nowhere and you understand that the problem is with the key battery, the things are not so good. You may try one thing:

• open the key (you may need a screwdriver or at least something to unscrew the small bolt);
• take off the battery and shake it a little;
• insert the battery back and push it with your finger a little;
• try to start your vehicle;
• if it doesn't work, you can also hit the battery a little with something hard;
• this may help you get the key working for another hour or two.

We still don't recommend any spare batteries in your car because they will lose their charge very fast if not used. So, just keep an eye on the way your key or key fob works in your BMW car and replace the battery when it starts glitching.