Ls400 remote fob battery

[Malc]

Anyone an idea of the likely lifespan of a fob Battery ?

Do they just fail to work promptly as they age / start to die or do they just " give up " one day 

Your thoughts please ?

Oh, and would it be best to get the replacement batteries from the parts dept at Lexus / Toyota or ...................  ?

Thank you

Malc

[steve2006]

I've replaced mine twice in 11 years, Lexus don't make batteries so look for a branded replacement from the likes of eBay or amazon generally delivered to your door for free or certainly less than the travel costs to the nearest dealer.

[sorcerer]

What Steve said above. I'm lucky in that I live about a mile from CPC so I just call in for mine. Key fobs of any make usually take 'button' cells, maybe CR2032, CR2016 or similar.

[dendonc]

3 hours ago, Malc said:

Oh, and would it be best to get the replacement batteries from the parts dept at Lexus / Toyota or ...................  ?

If the fob is the obsolete type mine was I don't think your going to be in luck, although I noticed steves in a 94 mine is a 95. I took my fob to lexus edware rd London, their technicians looked at the fob and said they never seen one like it........in short nothing could be done & I was having all kinds of probes after a Battery change.....in short.....my indi leci somehow disabled the security settings as these stopped me starting the dam car, now I have no probs & no flaming limited life, problem causing fob that even Lexus knew/knows nothing about anymore, if you can show me a photo/scan of yours I'll know if its the same type.....so, disabling the security system was the/my answer.

[MLW]

Had mine done on a Prius at Toyota. £9.50p! Or 4 for £1 at a £1 shop. Bought my LS430 18 months ago. Batteries from the £1 shop still performing perfectly. These are a homogeneous product. All made in China for pence.

[Spacewagon52]

Took my fob to Lexus/Toyota and they said it could not be changed because the screw was worn. I just use the key in the lock, as the other remote has also gone. Not ideal but no biggy to me.

[dendonc]

10 hours ago, MLW said:

Bought my LS430 18 months ago

Yes, I've had 2 1996 LS400's with the upgraded engine but the fobs for those were not the same as the one for my current 1995. 

[dendonc]

16 minutes ago, Spacewagon52 said:

Not ideal but no biggy to me.

me neither

[Malc]

thank you gentlemen ..............  I'll leave it to my indy to sort out when it goes in for it's service.

The fobs are all ok right now BUT I have had them for over 6 years ( and no idea how long they have been in the fobs ) and my worry was if they just suddenly stopped working.

I would hate to go back to just putting the key in to the lock .....  the remoteness overcomes frozen locks that are an enduring but not too good a memory from times past 

Malc

This post was prompted by the spare Honda Legend remote fob not performing quite as it should .........  the main one is quite ok right now thankfully

[sorcerer]

2 hours ago, Spacewagon52 said:

Took my fob to Lexus/Toyota and they said it could not be changed because the screw was worn.

 

Just drill it out and use a small self-tapper to close the case after replacing the Battery - two minutes of a job and Robert is your mother's brother.

[sorcerer]

I'm past the time for editing the post above but you may even be able to drill all the way through and use a small machine screw and nut to close the case if you prefer.

[dendonc]

56 minutes ago, sorcerer said:

I'm past the time for editing the post above but you may even be able to drill all the way through and use a small machine screw and nut to close the case if you prefer.

.........maybe better to get a new car whilst 'poor me' & 'poor spacewagon52' struggle on opening our doors with the flaming key & all that entails

[sorcerer]

1 hour ago, dendonc said:

.........maybe better to get a new car whilst 'poor me' & 'poor spacewagon52' struggle on opening our doors with the flaming key & all that entails

Probably me just being a bit thick (as usual) Denis but I'm not quite sure what you mean?

If you mean that it's no hardship to use the key manually, I'm sure it isn't. However, why would you not carry out such an easy repair, when it is so easy?

[dendonc]

9 minutes ago, sorcerer said:

Denis but I'm not quite sure what you mean?

.....you sound just like my mother......

[Malc]

well, just inspecting my Mk3 key fob and there is no screw to undo, it probably just pulls apart from the top area where there's an indentation in the plastic ( looks like it anyway )

The key is separate from the actual remote fob.

The Honda Legend however does have a tiny ( watchmakers type ) screw with a tiny tiny head to undo. The key shaft is in the fob itslef ........  the screw might bugger up if not dealt with amazingly tenderly ....  not for my fat fingers then eh 

Malc

[sorcerer]

21 minutes ago, Malc said:

well, just inspecting my Mk3 key fob and there is no screw to undo, it probably just pulls apart from the top area where there's an indentation in the plastic ( looks like it anyway )

The key is separate from the actual remote fob.

The Honda Legend however does have a tiny ( watchmakers type ) screw with a tiny tiny head to undo. The key shaft is in the fob itslef ........  the screw might bugger up if not dealt with amazingly tenderly ....  not for my fat fingers then eh 

Malc

The only reason screws bugger up in the first place is by not using the correct size screwdriver. Believe me, my sausages are so fat that I can, and often do, easily hit more than one key at a time on any computer keyboard, but it's nothing to do with that. If you have a set of watchmakers or jewellers screwdrivers, just pick the one that looks closest to doing the job and gently try it for location and grip in the screw head - you'll know when you've got the right size.

If the screw head still buggers up, a Dremel (or similar tool) with a drill bit the same width as the screw head can be used to gently drill off the head. This will allow the case to be opened and there may just be enough of the screw shaft to grip with pliers to unscrew it, but if not, just drill the shaft out too.

[steve2006]

If all else fails try this 

[runsgrateasanut]

My spare is held closed by a small screw from a light bulb fitting. Works OK as a substitute. Screw should be easily rmeoved by a set of Watchmakers screw drivers. cost £1 from most cheapie stores.

[Colin M]

If it is the same remote as on the two Mk 3s I have, Malc - three buttons, a LOCK, an UNLOCK and a picture of a car with a boot open - get a flat blade screwdriver with a blade the same size as the indentation in the plastic at the top above the LOCK button and twist the screwdriver. This will separate the two halves of the fob. You will then see the Battery. It is a CR2016 circular type. There are a couple of small slots at the bottom (by the green circuit board) where you can get a very small screwdriver in to lever out the Battery.  It is just a press fit to put the two halves together when you have replaced the Battery. 

I have opened and shut mine as I have been writing this.

[Malc]

brilliant, thank you

Malc

[dendonc]

1 hour ago, Malc said:

brilliant, thank you

If you still have trouble with it maybe you could try one of these 'Fob Fixers'....I think they might be from Homebase:

 

[Malc]

Thank you

Malc