2013~2016 CX-5 Keyless Entry - Weird Issue

[jakeuten]

For the past few months now, my keyless entry and push to start has not worked correctly in my 2016 CX-5. I’ve tried at least 4 different CR2025/CR2032 batteries, and the red light on the fob always lights up, but the car doesn’t unlock when I press the unlock button or press on the button on the door. If I press the button on the door before I press the unlock button on my fob, I can see the car seem to leave some sort of “sleep” state, as the parking brake switch becomes illuminated. After I tap the door button, suddenly the key fob works. I’m also missing the high pitch beep and auto lock functionality. Any advice would be super appreciated. I’ve read quite a few different forum posts but all seem to be different than my issue.

 

[wlong01]

Do you have a second fob and if so does it do the same thing?

 

[jakeuten]

Do you have a second fob and if so does it do the same thing?

No second key, so I can’t confirm how it acts with another.

 

[wlong01]

Does it exhibit the same behavior on the passenger door?
The parking brake will illuminate whenever you unlock/open a door.
Have you had any starting issues, is the car battery old?
A lot of issues go back to the 12 volt car battery. A weak battery plays hell on the electronics.

 

[jakeuten]

It does exhibit the same behavior on the passenger door. The car does not beep at all, which I think is related to the issue at hand. I replaced the old battery (dated 1/21) with a new one dated 9/25, and the issue persists. I’m thinking maybe a new key fob entirely? I’ve tried multiple, as in more than 4 new fob batteries. The fob does unlock/lock the car after I press the button on either the driver or passenger door.

 

[wlong01]

So you're saying you're having problems with the start button too?
When you say the 'push to start' doesn't work correctly what exactly are the symptoms? Is the start button not glowing green when you get in and press the brake pedal? Do you have to hold it up close to the start button?

If the door locks respond to pressing the rubber buttons on the door but the fob doesn't you may have to investigate getting a new fob.

This might be something the dealer can check before you purchase a new fob and pay to have it programmed. It's not cheap.

I also have a 16 Touring and as far as I know they do not go into sleep mode.
I've had mine for 10.5 yrs now and never had a problem with the keyless entry.

 

[jakeuten]

Sorry, the push to start button starts the car IF I hold the key fob up to the button. If I get in the car and put my foot on the brake, the start button flashes green, and the key in the top left flashes red instead of lighting up solid green.

The rubber door buttons cause the vehicle to ‘wake up’ in the sense that if I don’t press them, the car doesn’t respond to pressing the unlock button on the key fob.

In order to get into the car and use it, the process is:

1) Press the rubber button on the door, causing the parking brake light to illuminate, which also allows the unlock button on the key fob to unlock the car. When I unlock the car, the high pitched beep from the proximity sensor does not go off. If I don’t press the rubber button on the door, no matter how many times I press the unlock button on the key fob, the car will not respond whatsoever.

2) Once I’m in the car, if I put my foot on the brake, the push to start button flashes orange. If I touch it with my finger, it does nothing. I need to hold the keyfob up to the button in order to start the car.

3) Despite the walk away lock being enabled in the infotainment settings, I need to either press the lock button on the door OR on the keyfob to lock the doors. It will also auto lock after a minute, but the walk away lock function does not work.

It seems like there’s an issue with the communication between the keyless entry system and the keyfob. It never makes any sounds anymore, and the walk away lock functionality doesn’t work anymore. If there’s any more information I can provide, I am happy to do so. My nearest Mazda dealer is over 150 miles away, so I would prefer to keep things local if possible… but if this issue is that complex, maybe dedicating a weekend to getting it fixed is the best solution.

 

[ADS-B]

Have you considered to replace the push to start assembly?

 

[HyFlyer]

If I were in your shoes @jakeuten , by your description, I would start with a new keyfob. Since you only have one keyfob currently, even if that doesn't fix your problem, having a second fob isn't a bad thing so really no loss .

Maybe the dealership could make a new fob from your vin number and just mail it to you without a visit.

 

[wlong01]

I hate to say it but it sounds like a battery issue with the FOB which probably means you need a new FOB. Sounds like the problems some owners were having with the newer CX-5's where the FOB goes into sleep mode. In that case I believe they were able to disable that function.