For the last several months we have been having issues with the key fobs on all 3 of our cars (and any guests we have over that have a keyless entry vehicle). Key fobs are absolutely useless in our driveway, which hasn't been a huge issue aside from the car alarms going off first thing in the morning when we use the actual key to open our cars, it's been more of a headache. Now that the weather is getting colder we would actually like to use our remote starters and it's making this whole situation very frustrating. Show Something seems to be creating an interference near our home, we think it might be coming from one of our neighbors car (old Toyota Corolla) since our key fobs tend to work more often when we don't see that car around. What can we do? Our neighbors don't really speak English, and we would really like to avoid going over there to tell them to get rid of whatever is interfering with our key fob signal if we don't have any evidence that its caused by them. Changing the battery on our key fobs is not the issue, trust me we have tried on all of our cars. This only ever happens at home, and mainly when we see the neighbors car parked at their place. If somebody has experienced something similar and can help us out solve this, please let us know. We are getting really sick and tired of hearing our car alarms going off everyday.  It happened three times before I realized something was amiss. Three times, over several months, I'd parked in roughly the same spot in St. John's and three times the key fob failed to lock the vehicle. Here are the known quantities: the vehicle is a 2010 Chevrolet Equinox with a factory key fob that doesn't work in the parking lots on the corner of Harbour Drive and Bishop's Cove. It also fails on New Gower Street, just a couple blocks away. It doesn't work at any time of day, at any distance from the vehicle, and the time of year seems to have no impact. A quick internet search will return plenty of results about similar phenomena and their explanations. Perhaps most notably, a grocery store parking lot in Alberta where everyone's keyless entry systems stopped working. The invisible force behind it all: radio frequency interference. It's a wonderful wireless world"When you hit the button on your key, it sends a signal to your car. Your car has to be able to hear it," explained Suzanne Bloodworth, who works with HiTech Communications, a dealer of two-way radios and similar devices. "Interference from the outside sources stops your car from being able to hear that signal." Bloodworth and her colleague, Darrell Steele, joined me in a Harbour Drive parking lot, armed with a machine that can detect the frequency at which any given wireless device is operating. My key fob, and most fobs made by North American manufacturers, operate at around 315 MHz. There had to be something else in the area operating at that frequency, drowning out my little remote. Steele knew from his own experience that Adelaide and George, the intersection where taxis line up, was a particularly problematic area. Not surprising, since it's in between my two known trouble zones: Harbour Drive and New Gower Street. We made our way toward the cab stand, where driver Chris Pittman told us he was well aware of the problem. "My car key won't lock the door," I began to tell him. "That's right," he replied, "it doesn't work down there." "Why not?" "I don't know. It doesn't though. Some cars do, but some don't." As Pittman and I chatted, Steele scanned for potential interferers. Was it the cabbies' radios? The antenna atop Grab-N-Go Pizza? The Newfoundland Power electricity meter? He held up the machine and read the results. Hey! You! Get off of my frequency!"We're getting more of an influx here," Bloodworth said, interpreting information from the frequency reader, "these new boxes that Newfoundland Power has are wireless." Steele said the meter probably wasn't the only offender. There are so many signals bouncing around downtown. Traffic in the harbour. Wi-Fi hotspots. Security cameras. Even sliding doors. "It's a mix of a pile of different frequencies, it's just not one," Steele said. "Everything causes [radio frequency] interference, believe it or not. Everything." Consider the so-called internet of things: Wi-Fi-enabled refrigerators, slow cookers, coffee makers, fitness trackers, pet fitness trackers, sex toys, and — for some reason — flip flops. That's a lot of wireless connectivity. As more devices come online, will there be more interference?
"I wouldn't say it's going to get much better," Steele said. The experts left me with two pieces of advice: I should change the battery in my key fob, which is about 9 years old. Or keep it simple, suggested Bloodworth: "don't park down there." Read more stories from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador Can something interfere with a key fob?Keyless entry signals can easily be drowned out by high-intensity interference. Trying to eavesdrop on the key fob signal through this interference, though, would be like trying to overhear a whispered conversation over a live rock concert. It can be done, but it's difficult.
Why is my car not detecting my key fob?Reasons your car won't detect the key fob
the battery inside the remote is dead. the remote itself is broken or no longer programmed to your car. the car battery is low. the keyless operation system is faulty.
Can a cell phone mess up a key fob?Unfortunately, they're discovering that mobile phones receiving calls while in contact with the keys can scramble the electronic code on the keys… making them into useless paperweights.
What causes a key fob to malfunction?The most likely reason for a key fob not working is a dead battery. That being said, there are more severe problems your keyfob may be experiencing. If you have a key fob not working after a battery change, you may need key fob replacement or even some form of car door lock repair.
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What can cause key fob interference
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