Comfort Access Issues (Solved)

[Rallim]

Alright so my car has comfort access (obviously or I wouldn't be posting this), the doors work just fine. However, the trunk and ignition have never worked since I got the car. My third brake light has had a leak before, so I'm wondering if it killed the comfort access module which is in the trunk if I remember correctly. Is this a possibility if my doors still work fine? I've read about tint causing issues with it, but I've literally never had the trunk or ignition work with it, so I sort of ruled the tint being the problem out because of that.

[Dackelone]

Does this happens with BOTH key fobs ???

I can understand no signal thru the windows... but what do you mean by the key fob slot ?

IF you have ever had a SW update done, sometimes the setting in BC or iDrive can get changed. Look up the door lock - settings. And check the valet switch in the glove box.

regular key fob vs CA fob...

[Rallim]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

Does this happens with BOTH key fobs ???

I can understand no signal thru the windows... but what do you mean by the key fob slot ?

IF you have ever had a SW update done, sometimes the setting in BC or iDrive can get changed. Look up the door lock - settings. And check the valet switch in the glove box.

regular key fob vs CA fob...
Attachment 1587949

Attachment 1587950

I only have one key, and its a comfort access key with the battery. Not sure what you mean by the key fob slot, I didn't say anything about that?

[xQx]

Tint shouldn't cause problems - comfort access has sensors inside the car & out - in normal operation if you have the key inside the car and press the lock button on the door, the car won't lock. Also, if you throw the key in the boot it'll let you unlock and open the boot, but won't let you start the car.

So, it could be half your sensors don't work. I'd start by changing the battery in both keys, then testing one key at a time to check it allows you to lock/unlock and start. I trust they work with proximity when you open the doors, not just when you press the lock/unlock button?

I had one key work properly and one key only work with buttons & insert (no proximity/comfort access) and had to pay BMW to delete all keys and re-associate the two keys to fix. They said only the first two keys associated with the BMW will work with comfort access proximity. All other keys operate like normal keys.

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by Rallim

I only have one key, and its a comfort access key with the battery. Not sure what you mean by the key fob slot, I didn't say anything about that?

The slot in the dash WHERE the key fob slides into...

(I couldn't find a pic of a 1er so here is the slot on a 3er...

Originally Posted by Rallim

Alright so my car has comfort access (obviously or I wouldn't be posting this), the doors work just fine. However, the trunk and ignition have never worked since I got the car. My third brake light has had a leak before, so I'm wondering if it killed the comfort access module which is in the trunk if I remember correctly. Is this a possibility if my doors still work fine? I've read about tint causing issues with it, but I've literally never had the trunk or ignition work with it, so I sort of ruled the tint being the problem out because of that.

So what did you mean by the ignition not working properly ?

First thing I would do is check the trunk and sides for water ingress.
Then IF no water is found... I would order a new key fob from BMW for $400. I think your problem could be due to a bad key fob.

How about the valet switch inside the top of the glove box? IF its set to OFF... your trunk will not open.

Dack

[Rallim]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

So what did you mean by the ignition not working properly ?

First thing I would do is check the trunk and sides for water ingress.
Then IF no water is found... I would order a new key fob from BMW for $400. I think your problem could be due to a bad key fob.

How about the valet switch inside the top of the glove box? IF its set to OFF... your trunk will not open.

Dack

The comfort access ignition doesn't work, starting the car with the key not being inserted is what I mean. The ignition works fine with the key in the slot, but not outside of slot. The comfort access doors work perfectly fine, with the handle, and the key fob buttons unlock the doors just fine. The proximity to the trunk doesnt work, but it unlocks it with the button just fine. I stated that there is a strong possiblity of water being in there because of the third brake light seal. It just seems weird that the door comfort access would work fine, but not the ignition or trunk.

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by Rallim

The comfort access ignition doesn't work, starting the car with the key not being inserted is what I mean. The ignition works fine with the key in the slot, but not outside of slot. The comfort access doors work perfectly fine, with the handle, and the key fob buttons unlock the doors just fine. The proximity to the trunk doesnt work, but it unlocks it with the button just fine. I stated that there is a strong possiblity of water being in there because of the third brake light seal. It just seems weird that the door comfort access would work fine, but not the ignition or trunk.

I think you should order a new key(& have it coded to your car) and see IF that fixes your CA issues. IF you have a code reader(or app) you could check the fault memory for codes.

[xQx]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

I think you should order a new key(& have it coded to your car) and see IF that fixes your CA issues. IF you have a code reader(or app) you could check the fault memory for codes.

Agreed. Your problem could just as likely be the key. It's strange that it works to unlock the doors, but anything's possible.

The good news is at least this way you'll have a fully functioning second key, the bad news is I'm told you can only have keys coded by a proper BMW dealer - so expect about $200 to $400 labour for the pleasure (I'm in Australia, costs may be significantly different in the USA).

Ask them to delete all keys associated with the car and re-associate your new key and your existing key. Keys 1 & 2 are 'special' for comfort access - and the car would've been sold new with 2 keys, so they'll have to delete one anyway to code your new key with comfort access, they may as well rule out coding/association as a cause of issue with your current key.

[Rallim]

So is there a separate signal between the doors, trunk, and ignition given off by the key?

[Josh (PA)]

Do you have Carly? You can code the comfort access functionality with Carly (as I recall). Previous owner may have made changes that switched off or miscoded certain functions. It would also show if any codes are thrown from any of the CA modules. I'd definitely start there before shelling out $400 for a new key.

[sl8anic]

One thing I wanted to add, maybe it's not related.

A while back I successfully coded my car for ComfortAcess windows open/close via Carly (my car doesn't have factory CA) but that functionality got broken when BMW retrofitted an updated Combox to accept 3G radio. I pinged Carly but haven't really heard anything back yet. One other thing I did notice is that my physical key no longer opens/closes windows either, ever since the update I'm guessing.

[chesticals]

Take a look at the comfort access module located im the trunk behind right wheel well. Water likes to get in there and in my case it has rusted and corroded the internals. Doors worked, but not ignition.

[1smokehouse]

My comfort access is buggy at best. I had issues when I first got the car. One key worked and the other didn't. Had to take it in and they updated the firmware and I replaced the batteries. Both keys now work, but not consistently. It's rather irritating. When sitting in the car with the key clipped to my belt loop, I'll get the "no key" error when I try to start it, but if I lift it up in the air a bit, the car will then start

So I end up using the key slot most of the time...

[sl8anic]

Sounds like a radio reception issue to me, either interference of some sort or bad antenna. Just an educated guess.

Originally Posted by 1smokehouse

My comfort access is buggy at best. I had issues when I first got the car. One key worked and the other didn't. Had to take it in and they updated the firmware and I replaced the batteries. Both keys now work, but not consistently. It's rather irritating. When sitting in the car with the key clipped to my belt loop, I'll get the "no key" error when I try to start it, but if I lift it up in the air a bit, the car will then start

So I end up using the key slot most of the time...

[Rallim]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Replacing my third brake light this weekend, then going to pull the module out and look at it. If it's wet at all I'll probably replace it regardless. Going to play with Carly a bit as well, I never touched the CA when I've played with it. Will keep updated

[Rallim]

Update: was as expected, it was the passive go module. Took it apart as the area it sits looked gunky and wet, fried spot on the circuit board. Bought a used one out of an M3 with the same part number, plugged it in, cleared the stored codes, and I can now start my car without having to insert the key!

And just to be clear since I found contradictory information while researching, this does NOT need to be coded, it was straight plug and play. I've seen some threads claim they need to be coded, but I think those people are referring to the actual body module. The passive go module near the tail lights seems to act as only an antenna.

[sl8anic]

Originally Posted by Rallim

Update: was as expected, it was the passive go module. Took it apart as the area it sits looked gunky and wet, fried spot on the circuit board. Bought a used one out of an M3 with the same part number, plugged it in, cleared the stored codes, and I can now start my car without having to insert the key!

And just to be clear since I found contradictory information while researching, this does NOT need to be coded, it was straight plug and play. I've seen some threads claim they need to be coded, but I think those people are referring to the actual body module. The passive go module near the tail lights seems to act as only an antenna.

[asbrr]

Originally Posted by Rallim

Update: was as expected, it was the passive go module. Took it apart as the area it sits looked gunky and wet, fried spot on the circuit board. Bought a used one out of an M3 with the same part number, plugged it in, cleared the stored codes, and I can now start my car without having to insert the key!

And just to be clear since I found contradictory information while researching, this does NOT need to be coded, it was straight plug and play. I've seen some threads claim they need to be coded, but I think those people are referring to the actual body module. The passive go module near the tail lights seems to act as only an antenna.

Rallim you are right in that it is plug and play and will work, BUT, there are issues if you don't code the module. The lack of coding may cause various modules to stay "awake" longer than necessary and thus drain the battery quicker/shorten its life. See reply in below thread from a BMW Master Tech, who recommends you get the module coded:

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1286238

I had a similar issue with water somehow getting into the module (still have no idea how, but I suspect the body shop left my car outside while re-paining the bumper and water got in from the rain). I have a replacement on the way from ebay and plan to try and have it coded.

[sl8anic]

So feel free to tell me to STFU since I'm just guessing here

I think coding is required if the module is virgin, I don't think passive modules like this care where they are, they have no concept of VIN. Module it's interfacing with has to be coded to "expect" something to be plugged in, so as long as p/n & FW match expected values - no coding should be necessary.

Originally Posted by asbrr

Rallim you are right in that it is plug and play and will work, BUT, there are issues if you don't code the module. The lack of coding may cause various modules to stay "awake" longer than necessary and thus drain the battery quicker/shorten its life. See reply in below thread from a BMW Master Tech, who recommends you get the module coded:

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1286238

I had a similar issue with water somehow getting into the module (still have no idea how, but I suspect the body shop left my car outside while re-paining the bumper and water got in from the rain). I have a replacement on the way from ebay and plan to try and have it coded.

[asbrr]

Originally Posted by sl8anic

So feel free to tell me to STFU since I'm just guessing here

I think coding is required if the module is virgin, I don't think passive modules like this care where they are, they have no concept of VIN. Module it's interfacing with has to be coded to "expect" something to be plugged in, so as long as p/n & FW match expected values - no coding should be necessary.

Haha - yea certainly it's required if it's a virgin module, but the way I understood the reply from the other thread, it's more about mismatches between the donor car's modules and what you have in your car. IE if you took it off an M3, the Passive Go module may communicate via CANBUS to other modules for various reasons, now you stick that Passive Go module into your car, and its looking for those other modules/can't find them so it stays "awake" longer etc.

I'm guessing - but it could also go further, if the modules have unique MAC addresses (or equivalent) on the CANBUS, coding may be specific to each module and not generic - so other modules identify each other by a unique MAC (or equivalent). Swapping in a different module even if everything else is the same may still cause problems at some level.

Truth is, we don't *really* know unless we hear it direct from BMW. I'm going to see if I can find someone local to do this, a 3rd party shop maybe, or worst case get a quote from BMW. Will post back when I get more info..

[sl8anic]

Sad part is that finding a knowledgeable tech is an issue sometimes... I got burned a couple of times with some tool (a very dull one at that) that had no business doing what they did...

Let's see what you dig up

Originally Posted by asbrr

Haha - yea certainly it's required if it's a virgin module, but the way I understood the reply from the other thread, it's more about mismatches between the donor car's modules and what you have in your car. IE if you took it off an M3, the Passive Go module may communicate via CANBUS to other modules for various reasons, now you stick that Passive Go module into your car, and its looking for those other modules/can't find them so it stays "awake" longer etc.

I'm guessing - but it could also go further, if the modules have unique MAC addresses (or equivalent) on the CANBUS, coding may be specific to each module and not generic - so other modules identify each other by a unique MAC (or equivalent). Swapping in a different module even if everything else is the same may still cause problems at some level.

Truth is, we don't *really* know unless we hear it direct from BMW. I'm going to see if I can find someone local to do this, a 3rd party shop maybe, or worst case get a quote from BMW. Will post back when I get more info..

[asbrr]

So just did the Passive GO module swap myself - bought off eBay from a wrecked M3. Same hardware revision and firmware, was a direct swap/plug and play. Car needed a few start/stop cycles to fully recognize the key and for comfort access and keyless start to work.

Also - I had a 5Amp fuse that was blown, what a major PITA getting at fuses is...bloody hell BMW why put the fusebox there?!?!?!!?!? And thanks for the absolutely cryptic symbols to describe what fuses are....

Now I need to find someone to code the module properly....or go to the dealer worst case