2005 LR4 Key newbie

[Heidi 77]

First off, I’ve got a couple strikes against me from the get-go…
I’m female, trying to expand my horizons. Not techie. Mechanical level kindergarten. Directionally someday challenged. And living in Mexico without full grasp of her Spanish language… not in Mexico City either so there’s no around specializing…
I go to replace my FOB battery and the guy says that if I tamper with my FoB, there’s a chance that the car won’t like it and it’ll assume it’s being stolen or something and essentially not work.
Okay, that got my attention
( I stupidly didn’t insist that there be two keys when I bought it). Lessons. I had no idea because all previous fobs were battery replacement friendly.

Heading to the Land Rover in Mexico City is a 4 hour drive with restrictions on which day I can even drive there…

Priority is to have an EXTRA fob.
Secondary is to have my current one battery replaced so it actually unlocks doors

I saw the suggestions about going to Amazon and buying some machine that allows you to program your own. After you buy the fob and the blade.
That’ll never happen. My skill set with that kind of stuff is not high enough. I know myself.

Basically my question is: is this guy in the Auto store correct when he says replacing a Land Rover fob battery will cause it to no start?
I’ve seen one other post that seemed to imply it might be true…

Any help is welcome. Any criticism..., please know, I’m far better at criticizing myself.
Thanks

 

[ryanjl]

You should be able to replace the battery in your keyfob without a problem.

Adding a new keyfob takes some work. You either need to buy an iiD tool from GAP Diagnostic plus a new keyfob, or you need to take it to a Land Rover dealer.

The former does not really require any mechanical knowhow as much as it does technical ability. Are you able to configure an internet router, for example? If so, the jobs are not too dissimilar.

 

[ftillier]

I've replaced the battery in my keyfob without issue several times, for whatever that's worth. Our LR4 came with just one key, and the indy shop had trouble programming things and wanted to throw parts at it, but the dealer got it sorted without issue. Getting an extra key from the dealer will be expensive but it'll be a one-and-done kind of deal, probably worth not having to make the 4hr drive again.

 

[LB Bill]

I go to replace my FOB battery and the guy says that if I tamper with my FoB, there’s a chance that the car won’t like it and it’ll assume it’s being stolen or something and essentially not work.

What "the GUY" is likely concerned about is that your 2005 (LR3's I think?) anti-theft system includes an 'immobilizer' that may activate if the system senses that the FOB is not legit or may have been tampered with...(ie: the chip gets damaged). That said, I have never heard of that happening as a result of properly installing a fresh battery.
As I recall, the FOB for my 2006 LR3 could remotely only open and lock the doors, but ALL functions could also be controlled using the button deployed hard key that was needed to start the truck.
The comments/suggestions above are good. My suggestion, if you truly want a second FOB, and given the situation and your honesty about limitations, is to keep using the manual key, order a new key from the LR dealer, make the drive once to pick it up and have it programed (they need the truck)...and have them change the battery in the old one while there ??

 

[powershift]

Worst case scenario keep the old battery. If your Land Rover starts flipping out then put the battery back. I checked all my key fob batteries with a volt meter and each one was spot on 3.0V.

 

[Heidi 77]

You should be able to replace the battery in your keyfob without a problem.

Adding a new keyfob takes some work. You either need to buy an iiD tool from GAP Diagnostic plus a new keyfob, or you need to take it to a Land Rover dealer.

The former does not really require any mechanical knowhow as much as it does technical ability. Are you able to configure an internet router, for example? If so, the jobs are not too dissimilar.

Thanks for your advice. Admittedly, I "can" configure an internet router kinda... it is possible IF there is someone else there with me, then, I am on my game. alone? not so much. Wonder what that says about me.

 

[Heidi 77]

Worst case scenario keep the old battery. If your Land Rover starts flipping out then put the battery back. I checked all my key fob batteries with a volt meter and each one was spot on 3.0V.

Thanks for your advice. You got me with Volt meter. I did actually used to have one as I had an infrared sauna and an electric car once upon a time... alas those days are gone.

 

[Heidi 77]

What "the GUY" is likely concerned about is that your 2005 (LR3's I think?) anti-theft system includes an 'immobilizer' that may activate if the system senses that the FOB is not legit or may have been tampered with...(ie: the chip gets damaged). That said, I have never heard of that happening as a result of properly installing a fresh battery.
As I recall, the FOB for my 2006 LR3 could remotely only open and lock the doors, but ALL functions could also be controlled using the button deployed hard key that was needed to start the truck.
The comments/suggestions above are good. My suggestion, if you truly want a second FOB, and given the situation and your honesty about limitations, is to keep using the manual key, order a new key from the LR dealer, make the drive once to pick it up and have it programed (they need the truck)...and have them change the battery in the old one while there ??

Yes, it is a LR3 (fat-finger typin'...), and I think this is exactly what I will do... thank you!