Possible malfunction of keyless entry & push start electronics

**restituto** · July 15th, 2020 10:35 PM

I have experienced in my 2018 City VX, sometimes it won't start. What I did is get out of the car, close the door and click close and open in the remote control several times and try to press start button again and engine starts.

What seems to be the problem? Has any one encountered similar problem?

Is there any relation with weak car battery that it will not start at first. Is the security feature of the car such as immobilizer affected by a weak battery?

I had the car check at the dealership and they tested the car battery with shop battery tester which showed results as "change battery" but the battery can still crank the engine.

Any experienced of similar problem and suggestion might help. Thank you in advance

**fluke.records** · July 15th, 2020 10:43 PM

Did you check the battey in remote also?

**restituto** · July 15th, 2020 10:48 PM

Originally Posted by fluke.records

Did you check the battey in remote also?

yes sir. I've even replaced it with new battery.

**sirkosero** · July 15th, 2020 11:01 PM

If i remember correctly, may buong section sa owners manual ng city yan kung saan discussed ang issues sa push start system. Try reading it.

I borrowed an owners manual when i was contemplating what car to buy. Decided to get a different car though

Sent from my MI MAX 2 using Tapatalk

**oj88** · July 15th, 2020 11:05 PM

Sometimes, it could be as simple as a faulty brake switch.

**restituto** · July 16th, 2020 07:35 PM

Originally Posted by oj88

Sometimes, it could be as simple as a faulty brake switch.

Have you experienced this kind of trouble sir?

Another thing I notice since the engine is still off and for automatic transmission car, you need to step on the brake before pressing the start button, the brake is hard to press but it goes back to normal when the engine starts.

**StockEngine** · July 16th, 2020 08:19 PM

Transceivers require good voltages. You already mentioned the keyfob's battery being changed. If that battery test does say: change, address that first.

**restituto** · July 16th, 2020 10:10 PM

Originally Posted by StockEngine

Transceivers require good voltages. You already mentioned the keyfob's battery being changed. If that battery test does say: change, address that first.

May be I should follow this recommendation to change the car's battery. If symptoms persist it's a different story.

**restituto** · August 1st, 2020 09:57 AM

Originally Posted by StockEngine

Transceivers require good voltages. You already mentioned the keyfob's battery being changed. If that battery test does say: change, address that first.

Just an update on this matter. I mentioned before that I already changed the key fob's battery however, I kept on experiencing the "won't start problem and sometimes the door wont open too". Another thing I noticed though the battery was new, I saw a reminder at may dashboard KEY BATTERY LOW BAT. So I wonder why it indicates low-bat despite of just replaced remote battery. I checked the battery again and its still within the voltage rating. Lately I realized that the battery (button type CR2032) I placed into it is a generic battery you can buy in some Japanese store like Japan Home Center, DAISO, MINISO. This brand less battery has a low quality and could not sustain its charge considering that the remote is like a transceiver as you mentioned. So I decided to replace the battery with a branded one - Energizer. So far so good. Never experienced the problem again since then.

**dr. d** · July 16th, 2020 10:04 PM

Originally Posted by restituto

Have you experienced this kind of trouble sir?

Another thing I notice since the engine is still off and for automatic transmission car, you need to step on the brake before pressing the start button, the brake is hard to press but it goes back to normal when the engine starts.

so when you press the start button, nothing happens, as if someone stole the battery?
then when you perform a series of seeming-dis-connected maneuvers, it magically starts?
sounds like it might be starter solenoid.
if no one here violently dis-agrees, bring it to a mekaniko and ask him to check the starter solenoid.
but why the intermittency? that is the nature of the solenoid problem, po.
old-school driver kasi ako. i don't know much about car electronics...

much of the power of the brake pedal comes from a running engine.
if the engine isn't running, the brake pedal is normally hard.
but, with the foot on the brake pedal, once the engine starts, one will notice that the brake pedal sinks a bit, and becomes much softer to step on.
all that is normal, po.

btw,
if the car is still under warranty, best to bring it to the dealer. you may be able to have it fixed, free.