Key fob battery usage

[SubSailor]

Agree. Only clean at the moment you intend to install.

FWIW, at this price point, I would think the engineering group doing the fob design would have done due diligence. Also, would have been nice to match the visor mirror light batteries so I do not have to keep a supply of various batteries in house. Oh, well---I am still locked into mobile key usage anyway and, with my ugly mug, do not need lights in my visor mirror.

 

[joec]

Six months in, and still on my OG batteries in both fobs. Not sure why I’m not having all these battery issues. But probably has something to do with my garage being nowhere near where I leave my keys at home.

 

[blueice89]

Six months in, and still on my OG batteries in both fobs. Not sure why I’m not having all these battery issues. But probably has something to do with my garage being nowhere near where I leave my keys at home.

I was really good until I started replacing batteries which I thought were dying fast but really believe root cause was this bitterant coating. Sad I threw one battery away. I got suspicious when new battery 2 died. The batteries likely last a long time months … but i misdiagnosed this bitterant thing. There should be huge warnings on this. Also can Lucid somehow fix this ?

 

[blueice89]

Went through 2 key fob batteries in two months. Likely issue is key fob stored too close to car (in my case, in kitchen drawer 33'4'' from car), which causes fob and car to continuously communicate. Solutions: (a) wrap fob in aluminum foil when not using (suggestion from Lucid Service Dept.), (b) get a Panasonic brand battery with lifetime replacements ($21.99 at Batteries+Bulbs; they'll replace unlimited number of times); and/or (c) buy a Faraday key fob pouch, which blocks all communications to/from fob (e.g., 2 Faraday fob bags available from Amazon for $9.99) for storing fobs when not being used. I've purchased the Panasonic battery for one fob and have ordered the Faraday bags from Amazon. I'll let you know if this resolves fob battery depletion issue. BTW, Lucid should put its logo on Faraday fob bags and give them to new owners when car delivered.

I very much believe we all have misdiagnosed early dead batteries for batteries that have bitterant contractor issue

 

[Mawashi Geri]

Eight months on my original batteries. I do keep fob and card in the Faraday Pouch’s which truly are quite useless. The pouches I purchased do not keep them from ”handshaking” with the Lucid. I do keep them far away from the Lucid when not in use and “always” use the mobile phone. I do however “always” have them with me for back up when in the Lucid. Guess I am lucky. Now that I have added to this thread I fully expect my batteries to fail….just my luck.

 

[EVCar]

A word of warning - if you actually have children in the home, if they swallow one of these batteries it is an absolute immediate emergency and they should have medical care with absolutely no delay. These batteries can erode through the GI tract in just a couple hours.

Hopefully, the batteries are stored and discarded safely.
In case of accidental swallowing, the Battery Ingestion Hotline (1-800-498-8666) or a regional Poison Control Center can provide guidance.

 

[idiot900]

Hopefully, the batteries are stored and discarded safely.
In case of accidental swallowing, the Battery Ingestion Hotline (1-800-498-8666) or a regional Poison Control Center can provide guidance.

But let me stress - do not delay care in order to make these phone calls. The child should go to the emergency room immediately.

 

[DeaneG]

... I do keep fob and card in the Faraday Pouch’s which truly are quite useless. The pouches I purchased do not keep them from ”handshaking” with the Lucid. ....

Mine work great. Some pouches have an inner Faraday (radio-blocking) pouch, and an outer non-blocking pocket. For the Faraday pouch to work, the key must be completely inside and the pouch flap closed.

 

[OCDC]

I think it would need to be under load to detect it. My fob battery warning came up for the very first time after the 2.1.3 update. I'm going to run some tests this evening to see how the battery voltage behaves when it's transmitting, before and after cleaning.

Welp, that was inconclusive. Turns out the batteries I have don't include a bitterant, and the one in my fob was actually low. With a dead battery, the voltage across it when transmitting dropped ~700mV from 2.98V to ~2.28V, pretty significant:

Once I changed the battery, the max voltage went up of course, but the drop when transmitting was much less, only ~180mV, from 3.32V to 3.14V:

The attachment is zoomed in and offset for more detail. I'll redo this test tomorrow with a coated battery and see if there's a noticeable difference.

 

[hmp10]

Six months in, and still on my OG batteries in both fobs. Not sure why I’m not having all these battery issues. But probably has something to do with my garage being nowhere near where I leave my keys at home.

In the 14 months we had our first Lucid, I had to replace a fob battery only once. The second Lucid, which we have had for only about three months, is already on its third battery. I replaced the battery in both fobs as soon as we got the second car. One fob was stored in its box well out of range of the car. The fob we use daily began to fail to unlock the doors consistently (sometimes I had to use a key card and sometimes also punch in my PIN). I also started seeing intermittent "key fob not detected" messages while driving.

The Service Center put a new battery in that fob on July 5, saying these were all symptoms of its battery's getting weak. In a little over a week, the symptoms returned. Customer Service recommended I change the battery again, as the one the Service Center put in might have been bad. So I replaced the battery again this past Tuesday (July 18) with batteries I had just purchased.

Yesterday, the fob quit communicating with the car again, with the earlier symptoms returning. Today I took the spare fob out of its storage box to see if it would work. It did not work, even though the battery I put in it about three months ago had barely been used. I changed the battery, and it began to work, suggesting the problems with the first fob were with the fob and not with the car itself.

I love the car, but getting into it and starting it up has been a crap shoot ever since we got our first Lucid 19 months ago. During the UX 1.0 era, the car's software problems made the job iffy. UX 2.0 seemed to fix a lot of those problems, but now I have key fobs that go through batteries like a kid through birthday cake and/or have other issues. (I'm told part of the service visit next week will be to replace the fob itself.)

It's a forlorn hope, but when the Gravity comes out, I wish it would have an old-fashioned lock and key. Making entry and start up reliably accessible via software is apparently beyond Lucid's ability for the time being. They can make a tarmac-hugging beast that goes over 200 mph, but you probably won't be able to get in the damn thing or start it up half the time unless you remember to keep your key card with you and remember your PIN.

 

[Tim-in-CA]

In the 14 months we had our first Lucid, I had to replace a fob battery only once. The second Lucid, which we have had for only about three months, is already on its third battery. I replaced the battery in both fobs as soon as we got the second car. One fob was stored in its box well out of range of the car. The fob we use daily began to fail to unlock the doors consistently (sometimes I had to use a key card and sometimes also punch in my PIN). I also started seeing intermittent "key fob not detected" messages while driving.

The Service Center put a new battery in that fob on July 5, saying these were all symptoms of its battery's getting weak. In a little over a week, the symptoms returned. Customer Service recommended I change the battery again, as the one the Service Center put in might have been bad. So I replaced the battery again this past Tuesday (July 18) with batteries I had just purchased.

Yesterday, the fob quit communicating with the car again, with the earlier symptoms returning. Today I took the spare fob out of its storage box to see if it would work. It did not work, even though the battery I put in it about three months ago had barely been used. I changed the battery, and it began to work, suggesting the problems with the first fob were with the fob and not with the car itself.

I love the car, but getting into it and starting it up has been a crap shoot ever since we got our first Lucid 19 months ago. During the UX 1.0 era, the car's software problems made the job iffy. UX 2.0 seemed to fix a lot of those problems, but now I have key fobs that go through batteries like a kid through birthday cake and/or have other issues. (I'm told part of the service visit next week will be to replace the fob itself.)

It's a forlorn hope, but when the Gravity comes out, I wish it would have an old-fashioned lock and key. Making entry and start up reliably accessible via software is apparently beyond Lucid's ability for the time being. They can make a tarmac-hugging beast that goes over 200 mph, but you probably won't be able to get in the damn thing or start it up half the time unless you remember to keep your key card with you and remember your PIN.

Storing fobs in faraday pouches seems to be the only way to extend battery life. I am convinced that the fob and vehicle are in communication, but not unlocking due to proximity. Resulting in fob battery drain.

 

[DeaneG]

Welp, that was inconclusive. Turns out the batteries I have don't include a bitterant, and the one in my fob was actually low. With a dead battery, the voltage across it when transmitting dropped ~700mV from 2.98V to ~2.28V, pretty significant:

View attachment 13675

The attachment is zoomed in and offset for more detail. I'll redo this test tomorrow with a coated battery and see if there's a noticeable difference.

I miss handling a Tektronix scope. Glad to see a familiar face.

 

[blueice89]

In the 14 months we had our first Lucid, I had to replace a fob battery only once. The second Lucid, which we have had for only about three months, is already on its third battery. I replaced the battery in both fobs as soon as we got the second car. One fob was stored in its box well out of range of the car. The fob we use daily began to fail to unlock the doors consistently (sometimes I had to use a key card and sometimes also punch in my PIN). I also started seeing intermittent "key fob not detected" messages while driving.

The Service Center put a new battery in that fob on July 5, saying these were all symptoms of its battery's getting weak. In a little over a week, the symptoms returned. Customer Service recommended I change the battery again, as the one the Service Center put in might have been bad. So I replaced the battery again this past Tuesday (July 18) with batteries I had just purchased.

Yesterday, the fob quit communicating with the car again, with the earlier symptoms returning. Today I took the spare fob out of its storage box to see if it would work. It did not work, even though the battery I put in it about three months ago had barely been used. I changed the battery, and it began to work, suggesting the problems with the first fob were with the fob and not with the car itself.

I love the car, but getting into it and starting it up has been a crap shoot ever since we got our first Lucid 19 months ago. During the UX 1.0 era, the car's software problems made the job iffy. UX 2.0 seemed to fix a lot of those problems, but now I have key fobs that go through batteries like a kid through birthday cake and/or have other issues. (I'm told part of the service visit next week will be to replace the fob itself.)

It's a forlorn hope, but when the Gravity comes out, I wish it would have an old-fashioned lock and key. Making entry and start up reliably accessible via software is apparently beyond Lucid's ability for the time being. They can make a tarmac-hugging beast that goes over 200 mph, but you probably won't be able to get in the damn thing or start it up half the time unless you remember to keep your key card with you and remember your PIN.

You likely had bitterant on the battery your next dead battery rub it with rubbing alcohol and should work Again .

 

[hmp10]

You likely had bitterant on the battery your next dead battery rub it with rubbing alcohol and should work Again .

Wouldn't the Service Center have been aware of this when they replaced the battery?

 

[hmp10]

Storing fobs in faraday pouches seems to be the only way to extend battery life. I am convinced that the fob and vehicle are in communication, but not unlocking due to proximity. Resulting in fob battery drain.

I only had to do one battery replacement in 14 months in the first car.

The Service Center told me to expect the battery to last no more than three months. We have our Tesla Model S parked right next to the Lucid in the garage and actually keep the Tesla fob in the garage. (We have a 1,970 sq ft garage, so the Tesla fob is almost 50' away from the car.). The Tesla fob battery has only been replaced once since we got that car in August 2021. The Lucid fob is kept inside the house in the same place where we kept the fob for the earlier Lucid. Something has changed in the Lucid car/battery interface.

 

[borski]

Wouldn't the Service Center have been aware of this when they replaced the battery?

Not if they hadn’t figured this out. I let Millbrae know to test it, just in case it helps.

 

[blueice89]

In the 14 months we had our first Lucid, I had to replace a fob battery only once. The second Lucid, which we have had for only about three months, is already on its third battery. I replaced the battery in both fobs as soon as we got the second car. One fob was stored in its box well out of range of the car. The fob we use daily began to fail to unlock the doors consistently (sometimes I had to use a key card and sometimes also punch in my PIN). I also started seeing intermittent "key fob not detected" messages while driving.

The Service Center put a new battery in that fob on July 5, saying these were all symptoms of its battery's getting weak. In a little over a week, the symptoms returned. Customer Service recommended I change the battery again, as the one the Service Center put in might have been bad. So I replaced the battery again this past Tuesday (July 18) with batteries I had just purchased.

Yesterday, the fob quit communicating with the car again, with the earlier symptoms returning. Today I took the spare fob out of its storage box to see if it would work. It did not work, even though the battery I put in it about three months ago had barely been used. I changed the battery, and it began to work, suggesting the problems with the first fob were with the fob and not with the car itself.

I love the car, but getting into it and starting it up has been a crap shoot ever since we got our first Lucid 19 months ago. During the UX 1.0 era, the car's software problems made the job iffy. UX 2.0 seemed to fix a lot of those problems, but now I have key fobs that go through batteries like a kid through birthday cake and/or have other issues. (I'm told part of the service visit next week will be to replace the fob itself.)

It's a forlorn hope, but when the Gravity comes out, I wish it would have an old-fashioned lock and key. Making entry and start up reliably accessible via software is apparently beyond Lucid's ability for the time being. They can make a tarmac-hugging beast that goes over 200 mph, but you probably won't be able to get in the damn thing or start it up half the time unless you remember to keep your key card with you and remember your PIN.

Try re cleaning batteries purchases with rubbing alcohol if you got the energizer 2032 on Amazon they got bitterant

 

[blueice89]

Not if they hadn’t figured this out. I let Millbrae know to test it, just in case it helps.

Hopefully service center isn’t using bitterant batteries but seeing how all the ones I saw on first page Amazon were child resistant maybe it’s possible

 

[blueice89]

So usually I choose Duracell or energizer just cause that’s how I think about batteries sometimes Amazon basics. But lo and behold biggest battery companies also use bitterant makes sense safety etc

 

[blueice89]

Ugh my Lucid Panasonic battery just died that thing only lasted maybe 2 months…
I am going back to my bitterant removal using rubbing alcohol and just using up the energizer and batteries I got left.
Look at how many batteries I got, I use my fob everyday.