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Hello,
as the title suggests - the 2nd key fob for my 2013 E89 2.0l is not recognized. doors don't unlock, and when inserting the fob into the IGN slot the car displays the not recognized symbol. I'm not sure if the battery is flat...as it seems the fob is a sealed unit. I read that I can place the fob on an electric toothbooth base to charge inductively....left that over night but still no sign of life. Fundamentally it seems the this fob is not paired to this car. Any ideas?

(I bought this car 3 weeks ago...I did not check if this 2nd key was working )

been searching around the forums but could not see a suitable step by step check list.
THANKS!

do you have keyless open/ignition?
If you do put both keys in the car, start it then pop the defective (flat battery one) into the keyhole and it will charge.
If it still does not work then you probably need a new key..

If its not keyless you can drop it on an inductive charging pad, you might find one in the applestore or similar on display that you can 'borrow' for a few minutes. A 5 - 10 min charge should bring it to life.

I swap my keys over at the end of every month just to keep them alive.

mcbutler wrote: ↑Wed Oct 30, 2019 1:19 pm
I swap my keys over at the end of every month just to keep them alive.

That’s a good point, I have my spare key kept safe with the service pack, perhaps I should start using it!

Thanks for the tips. So I tried and still 2nd fob is not recognised. Here is what I did.

Unlocked and started engine with the working fob.
Engine off and swapped good fob with 2nd fob...within a few secs. The started and I drove the car over 45mins.
Turning engine off again then on again after a few mins the fob was still not working...no eng start and not locking or unlocking.

Is the fob battery not charging or is this second fob not paired to the car?
Any ideas on next steps?

Thanks!!

Anyone have any ideas?

If you turned off the engine with the first key then it restarted on the second key then the second key must be paired. I would suspect battery.
I am quite sure a decent key shop can pop a new battery in for you.
See if you can find the key binding procedure in the manual and do that after a new battery if it still fails, car manual is available as an app if you don't have the paper copy.

This company https://www.keyfobrepair.co.uk/1-series ... rvice.html will check out your fob, repair it and replace the rechargeable battery all for £35. Sounds like a decent deal to me.

If I put the key in an start mine then turn off remove key and then press the start button it will restart without the key inserted, so I would imagine the car rememberers the key for a certain amount of time