Credit Card Key Issue
 

So the past few days, I've been having some issues with the credit card key. The request button doesn't work sometimes. The lock/unlock buttons work fine on the key but when I go to press the little black button on the door, it doesn't register.

The light on the key blinks when I press the black button but it doesn't unlock. The weird thing too is that I can start the car but the key light is on the entire time I'm driving.

Anyone else encounter this issue?

Dying battery, perhaps?

+1 change the battery

yea I thought it might be the battery but why would the engine start and the doors not unlock?

Maybe closer proximity to the sensors.

Hey Rems, sorry to hijack this thread, but I met T today....nice guy, I'll prolly go to him to get my car touched up. Thanks for the info. dude! :) Also, he said you had an'04, but judging from this post, looks like you have an '06? lol

battery is falling below 12v but still has enough juice to crank the car? batteries are weird creatures. things like your locks/alarm system are usually the first things to start acting up.

That happened to me when my car was parked up for a week. Just drive and it should go back to normal, mine did. :) Keep the key closer also...

Make sure your interior light or anything like that isn't left on...that may have been my prob, not sure though.

Doesn't like the chicken feathers in your grille?

... sorry that's all I got.

yea I've known him since high school (for over 10 years now). Hopefully he can help out with your situation. He's been doing that for a while now (even went to Alberta during that hail storm a few years back to fix cars there).

Yea I have an '06. I don't blame him for not remembering...all my friends and I go to him for anything car related so it's hard to keep track of the model year for each car.

but yeah i guess I'll see if my other key works. If that has no issues then I'll hold off getting a new battery til the other one is on the fritz...

thanks everyone!

zerobio - it was more of a sea gull than a chicken :-P

lol yeah, I can imagine....it must be hard to remember all those cars. But I'll keep you guys posted on how it goes after I get it touched up! :)

k so I tried my other set of keys. It's definitely not the battery. I guess I'll have it checked out cuz I'm due for an oil change soon.

Thinking back about it now, when I started my car from a few weeks back, it would beep as if you walked out the car with the key. We'll see what the dealership says...

Try using the valet key. I think I read that using it resets that key light.

so I brought my car in today in the morning and picked it up after work...they said the key reprogramming was done and I'm ready to go.

So I went to my car and tried the request button...no go.

Have to bring it again next week so they can fix it.

Don't you love when people say they fixed your problem, but they really didn't do jack shit?!:banghead:

have you changed the battery on the card yet? It could be one of the RFID sensors glitching... have you tried walking to the other access points (trunk, passanger door) and does it do the same thing? if it's repeatable in 1 vacinity only, you can rule out weak battery in the keycard...

Anybody have an 06 Service Manual? There should be diagnostic steps to isolate the cause.

I dont think they understood my original problem...I think they just tested if the car started and if the buttons worked on the card...but they probably didn't test the buttons on the car.

I didn't change the battery but I used my other card. Same result. I tried the passenger door and the trunk and nothing. The light comes on on the card to indicate that it's receiving the request but the door doesnt unlock/trunk doesnt open.

I don't think it's the battery since I can start the car with it. I tried starting the car with the key outside the car and it won't turn. Once I bring it in the car, the car starts but the key light is constantly on (as if the key was outside).

Everything works but the request button and the key light being on. All the buttons on the card works to lock and unlock the doors as well as open the trunk.

Update: Brought my car in this morning. Got dropped off at the train station to get to work and before I even got to work, they said called saying my car was ready for pick up. They need to order a new antenna which means I'll have to bring it back...again. Third time better be the charm or else I'm gonna have to start charging them for wasting my time.

Reviving old thread.....but just curious. I have an 06, and have had to resort to using my valet key to crank the car. I lost the other one :( Is the repair covered under warranty, and anyone know the cost to replace the second key card?

ebay

Do you by any chance carry the key in the same pocket as a cell phone? When I place my key in proximity to my iPhone, all hell breaks loose. Keep your key and any phone separate.

the little change pocket on most jeans is the perfect size for the card key.. cell phone goes in the back pocket

It must b nice to even have a remote...damn dealership....

It's going to depend on how tight your jeans are. My pockets are useless.

Rx8 remote is funny thing. Trunk button has never worked, except for twice accidentally in the past 3 years. I couldn't figure out at first why my trunk opened for apparently no reason. People seem confused when they ask why I don't have keyless trunk entry.

Rems, i have the credit card keys as well, so does Kane(local to me)...

we have discovered that some cell phones, or secured entry type keys tend to fry our credit card keys... i dont know if its some kind of interference or what, but we've both had it happen a couple times and narrowed it down to what we put in our pocket with the keys...

I know that cell phones fry hotel keys. Didn't think it would fry our keys.
But I keep my key in my left pocket and my cell in my right. I have my wallet in my left with the key and that contains my work pass though.

I have my key in the right pocket and cell in the left.
I have this problem every once in a while. It will take a few clicks or i wack my pocket and sometimes that fixes it. Eventually i get bored at work, open the card, and re-bend the metal tabs to hold the battery more strongly in place, and that solves the problem for another month or two.

Again, as long as I keep my key and my iPhone separate, no worries. Also, if i get in the car with my iphone in my right pocket, i get interference through the radio. if i leave it in my left pocket, no problems.

Anyone know the approximate cost for a replacement key card (keyless entry)?
And do i need to get it from a Mazda dealer?
I assume they have to cut the actual key that slides into the card, and program the car and original key card.
Just wondering if I had an option....

thx

$45 on ebay. You can program it yourself for free.

Hm, I didn't see any. I do mean the credit card system with wireless entry (and no key in ignition). If you can buy it aftermarket does it come with spare key blank (that slides inside as backup) and can anyone cut a copy?

I dont know about the blank, but my dealer charges $400 for a new credit card and programming. They charge $100 just to program. Thus far I haven't found the instructions for programing it ourselves. I'm told some locksmiths can program the credit card although none in my area have the capability.

Anyone know how hard it is put an aftermarket alarm system on an advanced keyless car?

I am now experiencing the same problem. I first took it to the dealership to check out, and they claimed it was my installed electronics causing the problem. (LED footwell lights, audiolink iPod adapter, and a carPC that has been unplugged ever since over a year ago). I obliged to take everything out to have them look at it again. It came as no surprise that after I did so the problem still persisted.

Oddly enough a day later the problem was gone! Unfortunately another two days AFTER "working" again, the problem rears its ugly head. Off to the dealership it goes tomorrow!

My only real worry, however; is if I really DID cause the problem :(. The only possibility I can think of is the vampire taps I used for the LED footwell lights of which I used electrical tape to cover where they cut after removing them. The plastic jackets have holes where the taps were as expected... but I couldn't see any sort of cut in the wiring itself.

Would anyone happen to know which wires in the footwell area are relevant to the advanced keyless entry system? Specifically involving the transmitters for the request buttons.

As an aside, the first inkling of the problem came near the end of the cold season where the trunk request button would behave erratically; it would sometimes not work at all, yet other times trigger non-stop whenever the key was near. I put this off as possibly being the rubber dome of the button getting too rigid and keeping the button activated.

yea that's what happened to mine. At first it wouldn't work. Then a few days later it would. Then it'd stop again. It would repeat like this until it finally just stopped working completely

Did you ever get the problem fixed? If so, what was done to fix it? I assume it was replacing the antenna(e)?

yup...replaced the antenna and it's fine now. Best part was that they programmed it so the doors lock when you step out of the car now - free of charge.

dont know if i mentionned this before, but i found that while having the key around my cell phone makes it not work, the same applies to cards with RFID tags in them, like my work badges and also one of my credit cards...

Dealership called me today saying they pulled an error code from the system reporting a problem with the receiver/antenna. They should have a new part by tomorrow.

No, it doesn't make sense. Yes, taping your phone and "key" together will work. Yes, your phone will interfere with the rfid tag if it's oriented incorrectly when you put it down. The interference only comes from the phone physically blocking the signals, not from any type of radio interference, and yes, it can be significant but it probably doesn't matter enough to do anything.

The only way to know is to try it, no-one is stopping you.

Did you replace the antenna or pay for them to do it? I need the part number if you have it.