Comfort Access - car hesitates

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EVMan

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 25, 2017
Messages
340
Location
USA, DC
I recently started using the comfort access feature

Many a times (25%), the car will not lock with the touching of door handle.
The car hesitates. I mean, i can see the lock jerks a little , and the click sound, but the car will not lock. Lever will not depress completely.
Opening the door and closing it again , solves this issue, and then the car will lock

Any suggestions , if what can be the issue.?
I am quite sure the doors was closed properly every-time.
 
I find that if I open the little suicide doors, I have to give them a good heavy close or the car will think they are still open. I guess the sensors are just on the edge of identifying that the door is closed.

Maybe this is what you are experiencing? I have not looked into adjusting them yet but maybe when the weather warms up.
 
PBNB said:
I find that if I open the little suicide doors, I have to give them a good heavy close or the car will think they are still open. I guess the sensors are just on the edge of identifying that the door is closed.

Maybe this is what you are experiencing? I have not looked into adjusting them yet but maybe when the weather warms up.

It may be the case, I use suicide doors, but this issue is for Comfort Access only. If they use separate senors for Comfort Access , then yes.
Locking with remote does not have the same issue.
 
As to the rear doors, there's a latch at both the top and bottom of that door, so it can take a bit more pressure to get it to close both of them successfully.

One thing that can confuse the comfort access is if you put any part of your hand around the top of the handle. This confuses the sensor thinking that you're about to open the door so it needs to unlock versus lock the vehicle. Next time that happens, notice carefully where your actual hand and fingers are. I have comfort access on both of my BMW's, and have only noticed an issue when my hand is not positioned properly, or the sensor is shielded by say my cellphone or next to the fob from my other car...it doesn't like to be next to my other one.
 
EVMan said:
I recently started using the comfort access feature

Many a times (25%), the car will not lock with the touching of door handle.
The car hesitates. I mean, i can see the lock jerks a little , and the click sound, but the car will not lock. Lever will not depress completely.
Opening the door and closing it again , solves this issue, and then the car will lock

Any suggestions , if what can be the issue.?
I am quite sure the doors was closed properly every-time.


My above original problem is resolved.
If the key is not in close proximity ( pocket etc) , then the above happens.
And that brings a interesting observation. It looks like the range of the key or the sensitivity is progressively deceasing.
Is this possible ? My car is just a year old. If the battery is being used , then it should not have drained in 1-2 years.
The failure rate to lock and unlock is getting verse , even with less cloths and similar or better conditions.
 
EVMan said:
EVMan said:
I recently started using the comfort access feature

Many a times (25%), the car will not lock with the touching of door handle.
The car hesitates. I mean, i can see the lock jerks a little , and the click sound, but the car will not lock. Lever will not depress completely.
Opening the door and closing it again , solves this issue, and then the car will lock

Any suggestions , if what can be the issue.?
I am quite sure the doors was closed properly every-time.


My above original problem is resolved.
If the key is not in close proximity ( pocket etc) , then the above happens.
And that brings a interesting observation. It looks like the range of the key or the sensitivity is progressively deceasing.
Is this possible ? My car is just a year old. If the battery is being used , then it should not have drained in 1-2 years.
The failure rate to lock and unlock is getting verse , even with less cloths and similar or better conditions.

Same issue here. I suspected the battery. Will change it and hope it improves things.
 
The battery in the fob is used every time you get into the car whether you use or even have comfort access. The fob interacts with the car to enable you to start it. If you have comfort access, it is enabled by the field generator when it is close enough to the car. When the battery is getting low, it has to be closer and closer to the door and/or steering column to work. Eventually, you'll get a message on the display when you try to start the car that the battery is low. FWIW, it's still possible to start the car even without a battery in the fob if you hold it up against the marked position of the steering column. It must be oriented properly, too. Placing a new fob in that position will also associate it with the car so it can be used, maybe dumping an existing fob from being recognized.
 
jadnashuanh said:
The battery in the fob is used every time you get into the car whether you use or even have comfort access. The fob interacts with the car to enable you to start it. If you have comfort access, it is enabled by the field generator when it is close enough to the car. When the battery is getting low, it has to be closer and closer to the door and/or steering column to work. Eventually, you'll get a message on the display when you try to start the car that the battery is low. FWIW, it's still possible to start the car even without a battery in the fob if you hold it up against the marked position of the steering column. It must be oriented properly, too. Placing a new fob in that position will also associate it with the car so it can be used, maybe dumping an existing fob from being recognized.

So how much is the typical battery life ?
I think i am having significant deterioration in both my keys , after approx a year of quite light use.
Either the life is very less or my sensor in the car is having some reduced sensitivity .

Does BMW change batteries for free within the 3 years ?
Am i doing something , like leaving the keys inside the car all the time , which is causing higher battery consumption ?
 
EVMan said:
So how much is the typical battery life ?
The original batteries in both fobs died after about 3 years even though our 2014 BEV was in storage for a year during that period. I didn't remove the batteries during storage, so they might have been powering the fobs in standby mode. The fobs weren't used very much because we had driven only ~4k miles during that time.

EVMan said:
I think i am having significant deterioration in both my keys , after approx a year of quite light use.
The first I was aware of weak fob batteries was when a "bad battery" warning appeared on the instrument panel.

EVMan said:
Does BMW change batteries for free within the 3 years ?
Unless you really like visiting your BMW dealer, just change the batteries yourself. The battery can be bought anywhere that button cell batteries are sold (e.g., pharmacies, grocery stores, hardware stores). The batteries are inexpensive, and changing the batteries is easy.
 
WHen the fob is near the car, it maintains a link with the car and probably would decrease its life. The battery probably will last longer if you don't leave it in the car.

Yes, the dealer will change the fob battery during the warranty period, at least mine will. It's not hard to do yourself, though.
 
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