Bad reception from RF HUB causing all our problems ?

[Paully]

As we all know . , there are many posts regarding the lack of response with the remote key fobs etc.

Many dashboard info. cues. saying low remote batteries etc. etc.

I for one do not believe that low batteries are happening here because you can replace the fob batteries 

until the cows come home and still get the same message next week .?

Here is what i believe is going on ...

The radio antenna is mounted on the roof at the rear of the vehicle as is done across the pond .

The " RF Hub " which is the little black box that receives radio signals from many sources etc. and which we are interested in is mounted just inches away from 

the antenna in the rear upper headliner area !

Surprise !

I spent 15 years as a car stereo installer and i know how antennas act .

Here is what im gonna do ...

Pull off the headliner at the area of the ant., check for water intrusion , check for good ant. ground to body , check for corrosion 

or bad contacts at the plugs on the RF Hub modual .

Best o luck to all .

 

  

 

[OhareFred]

Let us know what you find!

[mechanical-idiot]

Our RF Hub works when it feels like it.  Most of the time it is fine, but sometimes it just refuses to start the vehicle.  New batteries and all.

 

No rust or anything in there.  I think that the boards in them are so cheaply made that they have some problems.  Temperature probably has some effects on them - expansion and contraction on a cheap board, chips etc.

 

mechanical-idiot

[Summer Solstice]

During this winter, all 3 of my fobs failed to work at the same time. This is a 2016 and two of the fobs are original with the 3rd coming with the vehicle when purchased used from the dealer. None of the fobs would work for any function no matter how far I was from the vehicle. Even standing next too, or sitting in the vehicle. The door handle would work fine and the vehicle would start when pressing the fob to the start button on the dash.

 

This would only happen when the temperature was 0 degrees F or lower. The car battery is less than a year old and was changed by the dealer under warranty. During this last cold blast, I would even get the "key not detected" error on the dash but the vehicle would still start fine. Naturally, I was leaning toward thinking that it was a receiver problem. Before going all in I decided to change the batteries in two of the fobs with a good quality, name brand. Bingo! Everything works fine now, even from inside the house and close to 10 degrees below F.

 

I would not have thought that all 3 batteries would fail to work, at the same time, under the same conditions, at just 3 years of age. This is just a note to anyone having a similar problem to try the simple first, even when it just doesn't seem right.

Edited February 3, 2019 by Summer Solstice

[Eve C.]

I have always had a sporadic problem with my key fob starting my 2009 Dodge Journey.  I cant tell you how many times its been back to the dealer. (Iginition replaced, fobs replaced, software updates, etc.)  I have given up on their long litany of excuse and just live with it. My brother who is a mechanic says this happens on other models too - particularly BMWs. He agrees that it is a radio frequency issue and also thinks 'outside' interference contributes to the problem.