Whats the deal with recharging the key fob?

[hiroprotagonist2005]

when i turned on the car on the way home tonight the dash displayed had a battery low icon for the fob.

Does putting in the port below the traction control button recharge it? can i leave it there overnight and have it recharge?

[xkursion]

The port does not charge the fob, just lets you start the car if the fob battery goes completely dead. Change the battery in the fob, instructions should be in the manual (someone else can confirm this)

[hiroprotagonist2005]

i just checked the manual, thanks.

i didnt know they had batteries, for some reason i thought that port would charge it.

[LinkNuc]

legitimate thought, and should be included in 2010 Nissans

[marlin29311]

Seems like a pretty easy/good idea to do, right? That would probably bump the price up though, giving the battery a Lithium Ion battery or a NiMh battery would jack the key price up $50 bucks or so, and then you have to put a charger in the car...it would probably raise the car price $200 for OEM niceness. Not to mention having to worry about keeping the contacts on the key clean so the metals can touch well to charge the battery...

[Rolling Estonian]

there wouldn't necessarily have to be metal contacts. My electric toothbrush recharges without metal contacts. Current induction, or something like that.

[spockrock]

yes you could charge it via induction like the tooth brush however the trade off is that it takes 16hours to charge for my tooth brush and about 8 hours of use. I know the key fobs don't use as much power as the tooth brush but leaving your fob in the car for 16hours is pretty much a no go.

[Blackmobile]

How many people actually use the ikey holder anyways? mine never leaves my pocket, plus you only ever change the battery in that thing once every few years, not justified to have a charger in there.

[maxentropy]

Eventually we will perfect induction charging technology to the point that our key fobs will recharge just being inside the car.

5 years later they will find out that the device causes brain cancer.

[beeristasty]

Seems like a pretty easy/good idea to do, right? That would probably bump the price up though, giving the battery a Lithium Ion battery or a NiMh battery would jack the key price up $50 bucks or so, and then you have to put a charger in the car...it would probably raise the car price $200 for OEM niceness. Not to mention having to worry about keeping the contacts on the key clean so the metals can touch well to charge the battery...

Don't forget about the 20-25k+ bill someone will have to pay when they forget to take their key out of this charger. 1) doors won't lock and 2) the car is ripe for a joyride to the chop shop.

And a big lol about the holder being a charger... it's not a cell phone or a laptop, it's a key fob. Designing something to be rechargeable when you would only need to change they battery once every few years doesn't make any fiscal sense. Plus, rechargeable batteries are always discharging, so in 2 years you would be charging it a lot more than replacing the battery once or twice.

[imdavit]

Eventually we will perfect induction charging technology to the point that our key fobs will recharge just being inside the car.

5 years later they will find out that the device causes brain cancer.

LOL FUNNY STUFF

[LongBeachCoupe]

Eventually we will perfect induction charging technology to the point that our key fobs will recharge just being inside the car.

5 years later they will find out that the device causes brain cancer.

In the comedy thread!

[hiroprotagonist2005]

or lower sperm count

How often have you guys had to replace your battery? I've had my car since May and its already getting low.

[marlin29311]

Don't forget about the 20-25k+ bill someone will have to pay when they forget to take their key out of this charger. 1) doors won't lock and 2) the car is ripe for a joyride to the chop shop.

And a big lol about the holder being a charger... it's not a cell phone or a laptop, it's a key fob. Designing something to be rechargeable when you would only need to change they battery once every few years doesn't make any fiscal sense. Plus, rechargeable batteries are always discharging, so in 2 years you would be charging it a lot more than replacing the battery once or twice.

Yea, but you'd think the annoying BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP when you go to hit the door button would make you think "ok, now wtf is that happening for" and you realize you don't have you key...

[LinkNuc]

Had my car since last September and no signs of a depleted battery, my FOB doesn;t ever leave my pocket, and yes they do survive the washer, I sure as hell don't want to verify that by doing it a 2nd time but it survived and smelled like a "spring breeze" if wind in the spring smelled like Tide.

[bembol]

I wish it did. I've replaced the Battery twice now.

My sister's got her 2.5S a few weeks earlier and haven't changed them.

[beeristasty]

Not everyone locks their car using the door button - I've always used my fob. There have been times I've forgotten to lock it up when I've been preoccupied or had my hands full.

The probability of leaving the fob in your car is higher if you are always plugging it in to recharge, simple as that.

[headhunt3r]

The sheer size of the inductor will not make it a viable option for the fob to make it rechargeable. You can only shrink a coil of metal so much.