Originally Posted by dvarapala

My assumptions: there are at least two antennas for the low power "passive" portion of the keyless entry: one inside the car, and the other outside. The keyless entry controller compares RSSI values between the two antennas to determine whether the fob is inside the car out outside it, i.e. when the RSSI at the inside antenna is greater than the RSSI at the outside antenna, the controller concludes that the fob is inside the vehicle.

My diagnosis: the outside antenna on my car is defective/weak, producing (at least intermittently) a low RSSI reading, fooling the keyless entry controller into believing that the fob is inside the car when it is, in fact, outside.

Originally Posted by wheelnut

I can tell you for sure that my car does not like it when I have more than one fob in my pocket. Is your experience different depending upon whether the car has been started or not...or if you only opened the door(s) between starts (I'm still working on the dead battery theories).

Originally Posted by dvarapala

Here are the symptoms; tell me if you think my diagnosis makes any sense.

Occasionally, the "key reminder chime" with sound continuously when I open the driver's side door to get into the car (with the fob in my pocket).

Occasionally, the horn will honk three times when I exit the car and close the driver's door (with the fob in my pocket).

Occasionally, when I press the door handle pad, the door will NOT unlock (even though the fob is in my pocket) - the red LED on the top of the door gives a long flash. To get into the car, I need to hit the unlock button on the fob. These symptoms are repeatable with both fob 1 and fob 2. There is no indication on the DIC of a low fob battery condition. This happens at various places, including in my garage, which would rule out a common source of radio interference.

My assumptions: there are at least two antennas for the low power "passive" portion of the keyless entry: one inside the car, and the other outside. The keyless entry controller compares RSSI values between the two antennas to determine whether the fob is inside the car out outside it, i.e. when the RSSI at the inside antenna is greater than the RSSI at the outside antenna, the controller concludes that the fob is inside the vehicle.

My diagnosis: the outside antenna on my car is defective/weak, producing (at least intermittently) a low RSSI reading, fooling the keyless entry controller into believing that the fob is inside the car when it is, in fact, outside.

What do you think? Anyone else having these sorts of problems?

Originally Posted by flyhi152

I have complained about the same problems to 3 different dealerships: Door does not open unless I hold the fob in my left hand. If I hold it in the right hand (the one that I use to press the door switch), the LED will illuminate but the door won't open, like as if I don't have a valid fob.

Whenever i go to certain places I get the "key fob inside" warning, (3 honks) after getting out from my car and closing the door with the fob in my hand.

GM's answer: "this is normal". We also have a 2008 Mitsubishi Outlander XLS with the same kind of keyless entry system and we never had any similar issues with it. This shows that GMs engineers messed up when they designed the system and now their "cheap fix" is to tell customers that it is a normal condition if they complain. For me it is not normal if the car honks the horn saying "you left your fob inside" if there is no fob inside the car and it is not normal if the door won't open if I hold the fob in the "wrong hand".

Originally Posted by flyhi152

I have complained about the same problems to 3 different dealerships: Door does not open unless I hold the fob in my left hand. If I hold it in the right hand (the one that I use to press the door switch), the LED will illuminate but the door won't open, like as if I don't have a valid fob.

Whenever i go to certain places I get the "key fob inside" warning, (3 honks) after getting out from my car and closing the door with the fob in my hand.

GM's answer: "this is normal". We also have a 2008 Mitsubishi Outlander XLS with the same kind of keyless entry system and we never had any similar issues with it. This shows that GMs engineers messed up when they designed the system and now their "cheap fix" is to tell customers that it is a normal condition if they complain. For me it is not normal if the car honks the horn saying "you left your fob inside" if there is no fob inside the car and it is not normal if the door won't open if I hold the fob in the "wrong hand".