Hey Folks,

This is my first post on DodgeForum. I know similar questions on this topic have come up and have been beaten to death, but I think my scenario is a little different from others and I haven't been able to find a explanation or solution just yet.

Here's what happened:

My remote has been acting flaky lately, (e.g., it would take multiple tries to remote start or to unlock the doors). I figured the battery was dying. No biggie, I'll just replace the battery when I get around to it. Well yesterday, as I'm walking to my car about to head home from work, I was unable to start or unlock my doors at all with the remote. It seemed the battery finally died altogether. Again, no biggie, I'll just use the hidden manual key.

So, I unlock the door the old fashioned way using the manual key. Once the door is opened, the alarm goes off. This actually caught me off guard. Well as to not make a scene, I try to hurry and put the FOB in the ignition to disable the alarm. I lean in the truck, put in the FOB, turn, and nothing. The alarm is still sounding off. I turn all the way to start, and still, nothing.

Oh ok. Well, maybe I need to put the hidden key (which is in my other hand) back in the FOB for it to work. I didn't think that should make a difference, but maybe. So I go to remove the FOB from the ignition, and I'm unable to pull it out. WT....? I jump in the truck, turn the FOB all the way from ON, to ACC, to OFF, and notice that it will not go all the way to the OFF position. It stops just short of OFF and therefore cannot be removed. So with the FOB still in the ignition, I slide in the hidden key and try again. Still nothing. The key won't come out, the car won't start, and worse of all, the alarm is still sounding off!

From everything I've read so far, a dead FOB should not prevent one from starting their car. That would be a bad design. A dead FOB only means you're unable to lock, unlock, start, using the remote/FOB. I understand something to the effect that there's a coil or some other electronic device in the FOB that when inserted in the ignition is recognized by the system and that it does not require its own power source.

I've also read that a dead car battery can cause the FOB to become stuck in the way that I've described. However, the car battery is strong. The horn is sounding off very strong, and the headlights show no indication of being weak.

Another explanation is perhaps the gear shifter is not all the way in park. This is not the case for me. The gear shifter is very much in park, and in fact, it's locked in park and cannot be moved to any other position.

I've also heard of others who run into this issue, but they also complained of previous signs or symptoms of problems with removing their FOB before. I've never had such a problem. It would be a strange coincidence that the battery in my FOB would die, and then the FOB itself would become jammed in the ignition on the same day.

No, the FOB itself was not damaged or bent, to cause it to die or to get jammed in the ignition.

The only thing I can think of that maybe I did wrong, is not putting the hidden key back in the FOB before putting the FOB in the ignition. Does anyone know if there is a dependency on the hidden key being present for the FOB to work? When I had my Charger I always thought that by removing the hidden key, you would essentially turn your FOB into a valet key, and that was part of its purpose, so it was not required to be present.

Anyway, any thoughts on what could be causing my key to be stuck in the ignition in this scenario? I already called two Dodge dealers and both claimed they didn't know what could cause this and suggested to have the truck towed in. This may be my next step.

Thanks,
GhostDog

 

Happen to have the wheels cranked one way? Try leaning on the steering wheel and turning the key

 

Hey oldjeep,

No, the wheels are straight. The steering's not locked or anything like that. Usually, when the steering's locked you have problems turning the key to the ON position. This is the exact opposite. Thanks though.

 

Well I just RTFM and confirmed that the hidden emergency key is not required for the keyfob to work. You can remove it for valet parking as I thought. So, I'm stumped. The only thing mentioned in the manual which can prevent the fob from being removed is the gear shifter. So I guess something has malfunctioned. I just find it odd that it occurred when it did.

 

I know the alarm will not shut off until you hit the unlock button on my 11...I know it sounds like im putting this as a "dumb" scenario, but did you try it? The truck still might think that the truck is in alarm, and when it does NOTHING works, not even the unlock button on the door. So just try hitting the unlock button on the door, if all the doors dont unlock it is still in alarm and needs the unlock button to be pressed on the FOB

 

Have you tried turning the FOB to run, and trying to move the shifter?... If that works go to Drive, then back to park a couple of time, see if that works... Does anything come up in the evic when you turn to start, or run?

If none of this works, sounds to me like you have a faulty PCM somewhere, leading to a dealer visit...

 

Sounds like the computer is confused. Perhaps it will be better after you disconnect the battery and leave it unplugged for 10-20 minutes. Then reconnect things and see if the system is back to normal and the key fob comes out.

Our 2005 Grand Cherokee went nuts once where it refused to unlock the doors with either key fob and then set off the alarm when I opened the doors with the actual manual key. The alarm would not turn off by any means - hitting the unlock button on the door nor starting it up. And even starting it up left it in theft mode so I couldn't drive it. Had to unplug the battery for a few minutes to reboot things. Was a real clusterfrack because this happened out front of a busy restaurant on a Friday night. Talk about embarrassing. Sometimes these computers just get confused.

Rob

 

Hey Devile, I haven't tried moving the shifter when in the ON position. I can't try it now the cars currently parked at my job. But I did notice that when I put it in the ON and position there was nothing on the display, so you bring up a good point.

BigBlueEdge, your description sounds exactly like what I'm experiencing. I'm going to try your suggestion when I get to work tomorrow. I followup with the results in case someone else runs into the same issue. Thanks for the advice!

 

It's a new truck! Let the dealer deal with it.

If you get it to work, it will just fail again, when you least need it to.

Let the dealer have it while it's broken.

 

I found this on the issue. It doesn't indicated anything about the FOB not being able to be removed but the other symptoms sound the same. Perhaps it applies to your vehicle.

NUMBER: 08-053-11
GROUP: Electrical
DATE: August 27, 2011

SUBJECT:
Flash: Vehicle Theft Alarm Intermittently Sounds, No Start
OVERVIEW:
This bulletin involves flash reprogramming the TIPM with new software.
MODELS:
2011 (RT) Town & Country / Grand Caravan
2011 (DJ) 2500 Pickup
2011 (DS) 1500 Pickup
2011 (DX) (Mexico) Reg Cab Chassis
2011 (D2) 3500 Pickup
2011 (JK) Wrangler
2011 (J3) (CKD) Wrangler
2011 (J8) (CKD) Wrangler
2011 (KA) Nitro
2011 (KK) Liberty
2011 (K1) (CKD) Cherokee
2011 (WD) Durango
2011 (WK) Grand Cherokee
2011 (W2) (CKD) Grand Cherokee
NOTE: This bulletin applies to RT, DJ, DS, DX, D2, JK, J3, J8, KA, KK, K1, WD, WK,
and W2 vehicles built prior to May 9, 2011 (MDH 0509XX) equipped with
Security Alarm (sales code LSA or LSB) or Premium Security Alarm (sales
code LSC).
NUMBER: 08-053-11
GROUP: Electrical
DATE: August 27, 2011
SYMPTOM/CONDITION:
The customer may complain of following conditions:
· The vehicle theft alarm intermittently sounds for no apparent reason.
· Multiple attempts are required to start the vehicle before the vehicle will start.