Remote Control Not Detected

[Luftpost]

Been getting this about 30-40 percent of the time when I start up, over the last week or so. Message will clear itself after a little while. Car will start regardless. Even got the message while I was driving the other day. That's when I decided to replaced the battery with a new Duracell. Today, got this message again (with the new battery). I keep the single key, in my left pant pocket, with nothing else (silence from the peanut gallery please). Same way I have been doing it since I got the car 1.5 years ago. So I don't think there is any interference. Looked at the owners manual as it states, and it gave me no additional insight.

I will try my spare key for a few days and see what happens.

Any words of wisdom out there? I'm still under CPO.

L

[hugo_nz]

Some more info on your car would help. Body style, year, comfort access yes/no.

Try with the spare key first. If the problem does not follow the spare then the transponder in the primary key may be failing. If the problem DOES follow the spare then it could indicate the CA antennas failing.

[Luftpost]

Thank you Hugo. The details are in my signature, yes, I do have CA. I ended up not driving today at all as I was working on my sons 540/6 and worked in the yard. I will give the spare key a try tomorrow.

Thank you for attaching the information. I will follow up with what I find out.

L

[hugo_nz]

Originally Posted by Luftpost

Thank you Hugo. The details are in my signature, yes, I do have CA. I ended up not driving today at all as I was working on my sons 540/6 and worked in the yard. I will give the spare key a try tomorrow.

Thank you for attaching the information. I will follow up with what I find out.

L

No worries. I havent seen my signature in a while and can't see yours either so not sure if there's something wrong with the forum... (although, strangely it has appeared on this post)

[Qsilver7]

Originally Posted by Luftpost

Been getting this about 30-40 percent of the time when I start up, over the last week or so. Message will clear itself after a little while. Car will start regardless. Even got the message while I was driving the other day. That's when I decided to replaced the battery with a new Duracell. Today, got this message again (with the new battery). I keep the single key, in my left pant pocket, with nothing else (silence from the peanut gallery please). Same way I have been doing it since I got the car 1.5 years ago. So I don't think there is any interference. Looked at the owners manual as it states, and it gave me no additional insight.

I will try my spare key for a few days and see what happens.

Any words of wisdom out there? I'm still under CPO.

L

Just out of curiosity...after seeing this message and replacing the battery in the remote fob...did you hold it up to the little icon/symbol on the steering column? If you mentioned it...I apologize because I must have missed it.

[Luftpost]

Hello Q, I did not. I will not be able to test this for a few days as I will be away from the car.

I did use the alternate key fob today for a couple of start-ups and had no issues. I would like to continue this experiment into next week, just to substantiate my alternate key fob findings and then go back to my original key fob. If I get the error code with the original fob again, then I will try Q's approach.

L

[Qsilver7]

Hopefully it works and/or resolves itself.

[mobitechaz]

Im an indy bimmer tech with autel system, and had a similar issue on my F02 with Comfort Acess, bought vehicle with one original factory bmw remote. None of the remote buttons were functioning. I had to unlock vehicle with metal blade key, and start vehicle by holding fob at the column. The display read "remote control not detected".

To rule out the key being the issue, I purchased a new aftermarket good quality fob and programmed it with autel maxisys 608 system. The newly programmed fob evidenced the same exact symptoms, it could start the vehicle only by holding the transponder chip against the steering column. LIke the orignal fob, no remote buttons worked, and no CAS functions (the door handle sensors not working, the remote not detected, etc).

Having said that, I deduced that the issue is not with the key but rather with the CAS itself. I scanned the vehicle and discovered a DTC code for System Fault 93070D, "Car Access System (CAS): internal control unit fault, hardware".

I scoured the forums for this particular Fault code, but could find nothing on it. I have a CAS4+ in this vehicle and its job is to process the EEPROM data that is stored and corresponds to each key. Im thinking that the CAS must be working properly because I can start the vehicle. However, if this internal fault is only disabling some of the CAS functionality, perhaps it is to blame.

So one theory is that the remotes are working properly and sending out the proper 125Hz signal to the Comfort internal Aerial antennas as well as the signal to lock/unlock keys which to my knowledge is picked up by the diversity antenna (located typically at top of rear glass) BUT the signals are being arrested at the CAS which has an internal fault. I have purchased a spare replacement CAS4+ but the expense to virginize and reprogram is very expensive. I have found repair services on eBay for around $140 but still I'm hesitant to roll the dice.

A competing theory is that perhaps the antenna system that detects the 125MHz signal telling the various aerial antennas that the key fob is nearby and they should activate the comfort access features is not working properly. I did discover a thread that states there may be one specific interior comfort antenna that is designed to detect the presence of the key in the vehicle. Perhaps this interior comfort antenna is faulty. There are no DTC suggesting this on the scan, but perhaps a scan won't pick it up this particular faulty antenna. I am not sure exactly where this is but i suspect i may have to remove the center console and its tucked underneath at the dash. NOTE: I have removed all types of aftermarket electronics in the vehicle that might potentially be interfering with the 125Mhz comfort signal from the key fobs.

Lastly, I am considering the possibility that perhaps the entire Comfort Antenna and Diversity antenna system is not functioning due to a blown fuse. I doubt this, but when i did swap out the diversity antenna, i did not check to see if I had 12volts going to it. I can confirm that, but as far as a potential fuse to blame, I am not sure if there is such a fuse? And if so, which fuse is it? The BMW fuse diagrams are heiroglyphics lol, I can interpret most of them but what icon is used to represent the Comfort Access Antenna system?

So, I am putting forth some various theories. Of them all, I'm leaning toward an internal fualt in the CAS module (not to be confused with the Comfort Access Module or CAM) because the CAS module needs to be functioning properly to confirm that the 125mHz signal from the fob is correct for this specific vehicle. I presume the CAS module acts as a gateway, or gatekeeper, to make sure the signal matches up correctly with the anti-theft features of the CAS and once the CAS has verified the identity of the particular fob, it will give the 'ok' to the Comfort Access Module to work by opening door when handle sensors are depressed. Obviously CAS and CAM are directly integrated to prevent theft and unauthorized entry into a vehicle.

Perhaps someone who has dealt with this particular issue and has since resolved it can provide some insight. It may be a locksmith like issue whereby the CAS4+ is faulty and needs to be replaced, the EEPROM data needs to be pulled off from the old CAS4+ and dumped into the new replacement CAS4+ which has to be virginzied so it can be coded to the vehicle etc and integrated with the two keys which need to be stored in the CAS4+ module for the vehicle to start. If this is a locksmith issue, well, im SOL because its going to be expensive to repair. But if this is just a fuse or an $20 antenna that's faulty, I'd prefer to fix it myself. Thanks.

[mobitechaz]

UPDATE: I recently came across a tutorial on how to "Activate" a F30 Key Fob, and I presume that the procedure may be the same. I will attempt to activate the new key fob first (while keeping the original fob 8' away from the vehicle), and I am hopeful that maybe this was the issue the entire time. if so, can't explain why the original key was not working. I find it hard to believe that the original key was never activated, becauses the dealership would have activated both original keys. The 2nd original key was lost. I will update the thread if this proves successful. I also was able to locate the icon for comfort access, appears to be the door (solid fill) with a key on it. Hope these leads prove helpful.

[mobitechaz]

The 'activation' procedure that I found on YT did not work. I checked all associated fuses and they were all good. I was able to communicate with the Comfort Access module (CAM) and it appeared to be working well. The door handle sensors all functioned properly when I made contact with the handle. So the issue is clearly not the CAM, even though the functions associated with CAM are all not operative. The issue I believe is with the CAS module (CAS4+) and a permanent internal hardware fault. Whats so odd is that the car will start with the fob at the steering colum, so whatever the problem with the CAS4+ module, it certianly isn't a major problem or the car would not start at all.

As a aside, I have seen situations where the DTC indicated an internal hardware fault, but there was no fault, the issue was with another component that is supposed to send a signal not working, mimicking an internal fault. I've seen that with brake pad depth sensors and trying to clear those codes out of the modules. There is both a scan tool code clearing and the iDrive system fault must be cleared.

An odd thing happened while i was scanning, the TPMS tire pressure module threw a fault, it appeared to have lost communication. hmmm. could they be related? the TPMS also functions off of antennas at the body. I cleared the code and reset the TPMS at the idrive and that resolved that.

Still very stumped on what to check next, other than contact an electronics specialist who fixes CAS units and describing the issue and fault and seeing if its something they have seen before. Hopefully yes, and hopefully not too expensive to fix. Once the CAS module is removed from vehicle for repair, vehicle will be disabled and will not start, so need to find a good electronics repair shop who is reliable. Thanks for reading.

[Qsilver7]

This reminded me of a past thread where a failing Remote control receiver module was causing similar issues as discussed in this thread. I think the signal from the remote fobs pass thru the remote control receiver module after being picked up by the various aerials…then onto the CAS module and other central locking & starting systems. (May have to come back & edit those last comments)

Take note of the blue finger below that points to note about remote control receiver integrated into aerial diversity…also see the very last paragraph at bottom under failure of the component:

[LJohnson32]

Interesting that this thread was reborn at this moment given that I have been encountering some odd behavior with my comfort access / CAS module:

• When approaching the passenger side of the car, my car repeatedly unlocks itself as if I am pressing the unlock button over and over on the remote, even though I'm not
• Sometimes I will grab the driver's door handle and it will double beep as it normally does when it unlocks, however it will take another 5 seconds to actually unlock the door
• When trying to start the vehicle, car will inform me that the fob is not detected but eventually will start after a few attempts
• Upon starting, it will prompt me to replace the key fob battery
• Occasionally, I will get an alert of increased battery discharge while stopped, leading me to believe something strange is going on where the CAS module is repeatedly looking for the fob signal well after I've left the vehicle, taxing the battery more than it should

I am going in for routine oil change tomorrow and will plan to mention this to my advisor, but hopefully I can pre-diagnose the issue a bit to avoid any excess expensive troubleshooting. I get the feeling the CAS may have some sort of permanent internal failure or something strange is happening with the antennae causing the passenger side repeated unlock behavior and battery drain

[mobitechaz]

Well, thanks for the reply and detailed confirmation that the remote control lock/unlock signals are picked up by aerial diversity.

I have no reason to suspect the aerial diversity is to blame. Its very low on my differential diagnosis. All of the radio signals work perfectly, no codes specific to aerial diversity, and wouldn't explain why the proximity key isn't working. I think all antenna are working ok.

If the fualty CAS module is not to blame, I think alternatively this may have to do with an improperly programed key fob, or perhaps if there is a single antenna that picks up the proximity key, it may be faulty. I read that if you program three or more fobs, comfort access will stop working. there must be only two active fobs for the comfort accees to work. I disabled all but keyfobs #1 and #3 and I changed the personization number from 3 to 2, however, that did not seem to effectuate anything.

Perhaps there is a separate programming procedure to program the new remote fobs and integrate them into the Comfort Access module that I was not able to do (Or neglected to do) with the autel IM608 which i no longer have. Beginning to think more and more this is a locksmith issue.

[mobitechaz]

Originally Posted by LJohnson32

Interesting that this thread was reborn at this moment given that I have been encountering some odd behavior with my comfort access / CAS module:

• When approaching the passenger side of the car, my car repeatedly unlocks itself as if I am pressing the unlock button over and over on the remote, even though I'm not
• Sometimes I will grab the driver's door handle and it will double beep as it normally does when it unlocks, however it will take another 5 seconds to actually unlock the door
• When trying to start the vehicle, car will inform me that the fob is not detected but eventually will start after a few attempts
• Upon starting, it will prompt me to replace the key fob battery
• Occasionally, I will get an alert of increased battery discharge while stopped, leading me to believe something strange is going on where the CAS module is repeatedly looking for the fob signal well after I've left the vehicle, taxing the battery more than it should

I am going in for routine oil change tomorrow and will plan to mention this to my advisor, but hopefully I can pre-diagnose the issue a bit to avoid any excess expensive troubleshooting. I get the feeling the CAS may have some sort of permanent internal failure or something strange is happening with the antennae causing the passenger side repeated unlock behavior and battery drain

The plot thickens. After a careful internet search I came across the same DTC I am getting and lo and behold, the poster claims that his Autel IM608 caused this code. The IM608 is the same tool I used to program my spare key fob which works to start the vehicle. Coincidence? Well, I looked at my scan history, and when I first scanned the vehicle at time of purchase, there were no CAS codes. So that clears it up. Since the original key fob that I purchased it with was not working (no button function or proximity function), tells me that whatever was the original cause of the issue is unrelated to the odd CAS fault I am getting. My hunch is that since Autel is not BMW, the Autel programming likely was incomplete--in that it was able to VIN code the key fob to start the car (downloaded the EEPROM data from the BMW server in Germany) but perhaps it failed to integrate the new key fob into the comfort access system and that's what is causing the unusual DTC, just BMW sticking it to the little guy trying to avoid their abusive proprietary key fob scheme. I sincerely doubt the Autel IM608 is responsible for causing an internal fault. I may get Autel customer service on the horn this week to see if they want to make a statement.

My hope is this CAS fault is just incidental and the internal comfort aerial antenna is to blame. That internal antenna is a $20 replacement part, and I believe its tucked under the center console at base of the dash. I'd appreciate some confirmation, and that there is only one such antenna, because if there are multiple there's no way they are all faulty. (and if there is a fuse the controls all of these where the hell is it and why if its blown is it not registering a fault on my elite scantool?) That might be what I am going after next to save the $500 charge to make a new key at the dealership.

[mobitechaz]

UPDATE: Using my elite scan tool I went into the CAS and made sure that I disabled all but the two working keys i have which are #1 adn #3. Ther was at one point a #2 key, but that was lost. Now, when I say "enabled" I believe I am referring only to the ability to start the vehicle. In the same CAS readout of "all data" I am seeing another list of "ID transmitters" and there are 3 active "ID Transmitters" which are assinged to positions 1, 2 and 3... which correspond to the three keys that have been programmed over time (2 is lost though). I am thinking that the "ID transmitter" slot is BMW techno jargon for comfort access keys, and you can only have 2 assigned comfort access keys or the system will not work. and sadly, I am unable to modify or disable any of the ID transmitter slots with my scantool. Likely something I neglected to do with the IM608 when I had it, and furthermore, I think the fault code I am getting is likely coming up because there are more 3 comfort access keys or "ID transmitter" keys in the module, which is a violation of the limit of only 2. Think its time to hire an indy locksmith to come back out and get rid of one of the ID transmitters and program the other two keys to work with comfort access at same time... this may be entirely a locksmith key programming isssue.

[mobitechaz]

UPDATE: I just found this post which confirms that the remote buttons on an F series BMW with comfort access will not work until the Key Fob is "initialized". Here is the thread. https://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=897457

This makes the most sense to me, and I suspect that the original key fob that came with the vehicle had also not been initialized, it was likely made by an aftermarket locksmith who wasn't aware of the initialization procedure. Apparently, I have to hold the new key at the steering column for 60 seconds to initialize it... hmmm. we will see

[SixPost]

Comfort access door handles. They help your car understand whether the remote it is sensing is inside or outside the car. When one goes bad, all of these things happen. Expensive to replace. If you figure out which one is bad, you can just unplug it. (two plugs, leave the power to the light plugged in) You can buy replacements from overseas for around $35 and replace it yourself. YouTube videos are available showing the process.

[mobitechaz]

thanks for your contribution. The comfort access door handles all work, i can see them activating with my scan tool (the sensors that is), they don't unlock because the proximity signal is not being decipher properly and its not yet recognized by the CAS (my suspicion). i believe i have narrowed the problem down to a key fob programming issue, which likely requires a locksmith with software necessary to program the key fobs into the slots for comfort access. will keep this thread posted.

[Chaos236]

In my similar case I went to my back up fob as primary and so far it’s held up.

[mobitechaz]

Problem resolved. As suspected it was a key issue. The original OEM fob that came with the vehicle was damaged and was not sending any signals out at all, was internally defunct. The new key that I coded with the IM608 was perhaps the wrong model key, and was sending out a signal, but the wrong FCC ID or Hz. So I had a new key fob made and programmed, and it worked. Problem solved, I spent a lot of time chasing my tail on this, but indy mobile locksmith was the way to go in the end to avoid dealership hussle. Thanks for all the men who came alongside me through this, I appreciated your support.

[Qsilver7]

Thanks for the update…glad you got it sorted out and letting us know how & what solved your issue.