We have a 2007 530xi that we keep in the garage. For the past month or so we've been having a problem with both keys. When my wife goes out in the morning to get in the car the key doesn't always unlock or lock the car. Sometimes hitting the button several times will eventually work and others she has to pull out the generic key and lock/unlock manually. When she manually unlocks the car she then loses all her radio presets as well as seat presets. We live in the northeast and it gets pretty cold. We also keep the keys hanging in the garage. So our first thought was that maybe it was too cold for the keys or the keys were losing charge very quickly. If anyone has any help I would greatly appreciate it.

Chris

 

Sounds like you need to change the Battery in both of them . About $5.00

 

1. Have you tried bringing the keys into the house and see what happens to their reliability?
2. What is the condition of your battery (in the car)?
3. How is your FM reception (could be diversity antenna, amplifier, contacts)?

My best guess goes to No. 1.

 

What key do you have? Look at the part # on the back. Is it a keyfob for comfort access and does it have the cut key inside of it?

 

Key battery for sure...try Radio Shack, they are cheap and easy to replace. this happened to me last week and its really annoying when you comfort access doesn't work!

 

But, as others have said, you can only change the battery if the car has comfort access. If it doesn't have CA, then the keys recharge themselves through the slot on the steering wheel...

 

When I bought my car used I had the same problem. The dealer had to get me a new key. I think it cost around 150 or so I could be wrong on the price. But you do need a new key.

 

I am having the same problem only after some recent body work. I have the key fob but no comfort access. I still can not understand how the fob gets charged as there are no metal connectors on the outside. Any ideas?

 

Try cleaning your back windshield with a mild solvent to clear any any buildup of wax over the key antenna. I've had this problem at various times with my first two E60s and eventually found a competent service guy who told me that wax from washing the car is the main cause of reduced effectiveness of the remote signal. Heavy carnauba waxes cause the most problems apparently. I use white spirit on a microfibre cloth. Take care not to get any on the paint.

It's probably also worth taking the keys in the house as other posters have said though.

By the way, maybe I'm just paranoid but I would never leave my car keys in the garage by the car or near the front door - they're always in a completely different part of the house. If someone wants to take my baby away they're going to have to work for it

 

Thank you.... or it might be the recently fitted tint film