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Dead Key Battery - 2007 Dodge Charger SRT8 Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,316
edited February 2016 in Dodge
imageDead Key Battery - 2007 Dodge Charger SRT8 Long-Term Road Test

This past weekend the battery in the key for our 2007 Dodge Charger SRT8 conked out.

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Comments

  • kirkhilles1kirkhilles1 Member Posts: 863
    Nice to see something that doesn't require a $150 dealership visit to fix. I wonder what the average life span is? At least you can still unlock it.
  • nagantnagant Member Posts: 176
    edited February 2016
    Did I miss the fix to the other starting problem?
  • csubowtiecsubowtie Member Posts: 143
    My car does this too. It's super annoying. If I'm using the correct key to unlock a door, why should my car think it's being stolen? Maybe I just didn't want the car to "Beep" outside my neighbors bedroom window at 1 a.m. from the key fob. Or maybe my key battery is just dead. If somebody happened to mug me and steel my keys in an attempt to steel the car, they wouldn't take the time to separate the key from the rest of my key chain and return everything else including the fob, even less of a concern for the Dodge, since they are one and the same.
  • craigo7craigo7 Member Posts: 51
    The turn lock is mechanical and doesn't talk to the alarm system. The fob disables the alarm and then signals the power lock to actuate. Its possible to have the lock communicate when opened manually, but of course with added complexity and expense that would rarely be used.
  • nagantnagant Member Posts: 176
    One needs a video to pop open a fob case and replace a $2 battery?
  • allthingshondaallthingshonda Member Posts: 878
    edited February 2016
    craigo7 said:

    The turn lock is mechanical and doesn't talk to the alarm system. The fob disables the alarm and then signals the power lock to actuate. Its possible to have the lock communicate when opened manually, but of course with added complexity and expense that would rarely be used.

    On the Honda, Acura and Nissan vehicles I've owned unlocking with the key manually disarmed the security system. Cars had factory security systems that armed and disarmed with the key long before there were remote key fobs.

  • cromagnum_mancromagnum_man Member Posts: 54
    If I remember correctly, once you realize the key is dead you can manually lock the doors with the key. Then when you manually unlock with the key the alarm won't go off.
  • csubowtiecsubowtie Member Posts: 143

    If I remember correctly, once you realize the key is dead you can manually lock the doors with the key. Then when you manually unlock with the key the alarm won't go off.

    That's not much better. Once you're in the car, you would typically lock it by hitting the power lock button on the arm rest as you open the door to get out.
  • veedubber86veedubber86 Member Posts: 57
    You know, I've had a couple of cars with antitheft alarms and neither of them would get confused if you locked the door with the fob and then unlocked it with the key, or with a different key. Seems like a pretty stupid thing to make the car do.
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