Hello. This is my first car with keyless/pushbutton start, and this is the first time the car won’t start. I bought the car used and the extent of my education on the keyless/pushbutton start was, “Put your foot on the brake and push the button”. I checked the manual for a troubleshooting/process of elimination kind of thing (if such and such works, then it’s not the battery/starter/etc) but I didn’t see anything like that. I’d be very grateful if someone could help to figure this out (not that I can actually fix the car myself, but I’d definitely like to be more educated when I call someone else to fix it). This is what I can think to tell you…

• The remote/intelligent key works to unlock/lock the doors (I changed the battery regardless, but that made no difference)
• There is just one light on the dash ~ the “Security System Engaged/Security Indicator Light” (car shaped, reddish orange with key in middle- it blinks)
• Ignition switch in Lock Position
• Nothing happens when I push the button to start…no sounds/clicks. The brake is hard to push, for what that’s worth
• Inside lights do come on
• Car has about 138k miles

I had similar problem a couple weeks ago, initially car wouldn’t start. After opening/closing door and moving steering wheel back and forth a bit ~ it started and I made it home. I was afraid it might happen again though and I would be stranded somewhere, so I just didn’t drive the car for a couple of weeks (I work from home, so I waited until I HAD TO drive it) ~ which brings me to now, and the car won’t start.

I bought the car just under two years ago. I like it, but in that short time I’ve already needed towing twice ~ first time, “a bolt” was loose or missing (mimicking a major transmission problem). Second time, (this time last year) “drive belt” broke. Dealer said the battery was damaged when the belt broke so I got a new battery last year also. Since my battery is only 11 mo old, not likely a dead battery. Right?

Thanks in advance for helping.

 

Will it start if you use the physical key?

 

I have an 08, not sure it has an actual key slot, if so, i've never seen it.

 

Should be, every smart key vehicle I've ever seen had a physical key slot I case the battery in the fob went dead. You should also have a physical key tucked into a hidden compartment in your smart fob.

If there is no physical key fob then the procedure is usually to hold the fob on top of the start button while trying to start .

Your owners manual should have all this information.

 

Hi...everything I've read says that the physical key is just to unlock the driver's door. I don't see anywhere I could use a key to start the car. I'm definitely open to a lesson if the key can be used to start the car! As for holding the fob on start button, I did read about that but didn't try it because I didn't think the problem was a dead battery in the fob. The fob already worked to unlock doors but I put a new battery in it to be safe. Made no difference. I will try that procedure to see what happens. Thanks for answering. Any other ideas?

 

I tried holding the fob to start button but it did not work. However, with all the reading I've done about this problem, I learned something else that I didn't know previously...putting the fob in the slot to the left of steering wheel. Figured that might also be worth a try...and it WORKED! It's still not clear to me what this does. I thought I had it figured out to mean you use it if key fob battery is dead. My battery wasn't dead to begin with, plus I changed it just to be safe. I'm confused why this worked and not sure if I should really trust that the car is ok now. Any thoughts?

 

If the key fob primary battery is dead it requires close proximity to the antenna (that little slot) for it to read the transponder chip (doesn't run off the battery, it's an RFID chip inside the fob).

 

It's possible your fob just crapped the bed and won't send a signal when you are in range of the car.

 

If you can consistently start the vehicle a few times with the fob slot then just drive it. Start shopping for 2 new fobs though (you need a spare) and call around to local locksmiths to see who can program the BCM to accept the new ones. Get a price quote from Nissan as well, I think it's $125 for programming.

 

cleric670@gmail ~ thanks much for your help. Car has started three times now using this method. Might be safe to drive once again!
I'm definitely going to look for new key fobs...and yes, I agree on getting two. I only received one when I bought the car.

Would welcome additional info on replacing key fob if anyone has done this and had good luck with a particular vendor/brand.

Thanks again.

 

Do not purchase any used key fobs. Some cannot be reprogrammed. I got a new on e-bay a few years ago when the wife lost one of the two we had. Can't remember what I paid for it, but had it programmed by a local locksmith for $60. Had to have both key fobs and the car. From what I recall, he had to call Nissan to get some type of code, so it took him about 45 minutes to do the reprogramming and cut the key that came inside the key fob.

 

I don't know about the intelligent fob because I have the normal one but Dorman makes a replacement that looks damned near identical to the OEM fob, only difference is the print on the back is english instead of japanese. If the Dorman intelligent key looked the same I wouldn't hesitate to buy them.

 

This was of interest to me so I checked it out. Looks like Dorman doesn't have the intelligent key for model years prior to 2007 (2003-2006). They only have the remote entry fob.

 

Yeah looks like for the 2007 G35 the Dorman 99159 is available.

What does the fob look like for the 2003-2006 Intelligent Key system? I assumed they were all the same 4 button remote as the newer ones?

 

2006 I-key