"Remote control battery is empty" message

[ericblz]

Hi

When the car is parked and off, I get a warning tone and the above message when I open the unlocke trunk or a door.

It then disappears after about 10 seconds.

The key is at least 10 feet away from the car when in the garage, and I have just changed the batteries in both fobs (had the car two years).

Any advice is welcome! BMW iConcierge by email told me to take the car in for service which sounds unpleasant.

 

[gt1]

Keep it simple- replace the batteries, if it doesn't help- take the car in.

 

[keepgoing]

I had the same message last month. Ignored it for a week to make sure it is persistent issue. Then i changed the cell battety in the remote, and the msg disappear.

 

[davidinasheville]

i3 Rex 2014. I am getting the same message for about 4 months. I changed the battery in the remote. The remote will open the locks from at least 100 feet away. Therefore, I think the error code is wrong. Does this require resetting the error code?

 

[alohart]

i3 Rex 2014. I am getting the same message for about 4 months. I changed the battery in the remote. The remote will open the locks from at least 100 feet away. Therefore, I think the error code is wrong. Does this require resetting the error code?

On our 2014 i3, the second time I replaced the fob battery, the warning message persisted while the fob seemed to function normally.

The problem turned out to be low volage on the replacement battery, probably because the unused battery was old. When I replaced the battery with a fresh one, the warning disappeared. The nominal voltage of the battery is 3.0 V, but 3.0 V will trigger the warning. The fresh battery's measured voltage was 3.2 V.