Washed My Keyless Remote

[apexal]

I mistakenly ran my R1250 keyless remote through the washing machine. Of course it didn’t work afterwards and I tried everything to fix it such as putting it in rice, opening it up and gently blowing it out and letting the opened remote sit in a sunny window. Then I replaced the battery and halleluiah, it worked! But a few weeks later it stopped working so I replaced the battery and it worked for just a few more weeks. I then left it in a sunny window for 3-4 weeks and tried another new battery but that one is dying after a couple weeks.

New factory replacement remotes are very expensive so I’m looking for help.
Can my old remote be salvaged or do I need a new one? If I need a new one is there a cheaper source that the dealer? All I know is that I can’t risk any sort of trip from home for fear of getting stuck somewhere far away. I carry that silly little plastic key and a spare battery but that’s not a long-term solution.

 

[fmdualexhaust]

Bike still under warranty?
You can have a senior moment and forget to mention the washing machine.

 

[apexal]

Bike still under warranty?
You can have a senior moment and forget to mention the washing machine.

The bike is still under warranty and I definitely qualify by age. But I'm not sure that I'd want to go that route. I'll sleep on it but I want to be honest about it even though BMW is gouging on the price and certainly can afford it better than me on my retirement income.

 

[fmdualexhaust]

I think you've answered your own question.
A box of doughnuts for the service dept and you're all good.

 

[Omega Man]

Some pretty good advice here-

If you have DeoxIT around, it will help more. Components like those small buttons really don’t have any metal to metal contact points and the thin film gets a coating that doesn’t allow a good connection.
It doesn’t take much for these “fine” connections to electrically “fuzz up” and “confuse” the circuitry, sometimes causing fast battery drain.
Good luck.
OM

 

[apexal]

Some pretty good advice here-

If you have DeoxIT around, it will help more. Components like those small buttons really don’t have any metal to metal contact points and the thin film gets a coating that doesn’t allow a good connection.
It doesn’t take much for these “fine” connections to electrically “fuzz up” and “confuse” the circuitry, sometimes causing fast battery drain.
Good luck.
OM

Thanks. Well, I washed my remote like 5-6 weeks ago so my window of opportunity may be closed. The guy in the video seemed like a bit of a hack so I think that he was lucky. But you are the second person to mention the DeoxIT. It might still be worth a try. Thanks again.

 

[2tired]

Isopropyl alcohol is your friend. Try cleaning the circuit board with this and maybe a toothbrush. Once water gets on the board and evaporates, whatever is in the water remains and can (as OM states) "fuzz" things up.

Best of luck. I've been lucky with most of my fobs. The Harley one went through multiple times, but there are no buttons on it, so it survived. It's just a matter of time before the BMW gets dunked.

 

[apexal]

Isopropyl alcohol is your friend. Try cleaning the circuit board with this and maybe a toothbrush. Once water gets on the board and evaporates, whatever is in the water remains and can (as OM states) "fuzz" things up.
Best of luck. I've been lucky with most of my fobs. The Harley one went through multiple times, but there are no buttons on it, so it survived. It's just a matter of time before the BMW gets dunked.

I'll give the alcohol a try but I'm starting to think that I'm losing time here. It will take time to see if the alcohol or DeoxIT really works on my remote and in the mean time I'm not trusting to get very far from home. I can definitely try salvaging my old remote but I think that I have to bite the bullet and buy a new one for reliability and peace of mind.

 

[strataj]

I'll give the alcohol a try but I'm starting to think that I'm losing time here. It will take time to see if the alcohol or DeoxIT really works on my remote and in the mean time I'm not trusting to get very far from home. I can definitely try salvaging my old remote but I think that I have to bite the bullet and buy a new one for reliability and peace of mind.

I got a 2022R1250RT the end of March, when I order it back in December/January I told my dealer I wanted an extra fob and a old style key, they needed to wait for delivery of the bike and title it first. I was given the fob and key when I picked up my plates and did the 600 mile service 4 weeks (I was about to have a total hip replacement, not riding much - pain). I have always had a spare key to every vehicle, I'm disappointed BMW doesn't supply it on key-less bikes they still provide 2 keys plus the plastic one on keyed bikes. So buying the extra fob is a good thing in my option even if you get the old one to work. I wish you good luck.

 

[apexal]

I got a 2022R1250RT the end of March, when I order it back in December/January I told my dealer I wanted an extra fob and a old style key, they needed to wait for delivery of the bike and title it first. I was given the fob and key when I picked up my plates and did the 600 mile service 4 weeks (I was about to have a total hip replacement, not riding much - pain). I have always had a spare key to every vehicle, I'm disappointed BMW doesn't supply it on key-less bikes they still provide 2 keys plus the plastic one on keyed bikes. So buying the extra fob is a good thing in my option even if you get the old one to work. I wish you good luck.

I'm with you. I'm also very disappointed that BMW doesn't supply two key fobs. The little plastic key is a joke. My 2020 Toyota Tacoma and previous Toyotas come with two fobs and I see no reason why we get just one from BMW after spending $20,000 or more. I just ordered a new fob at $392 which is outrageous and I will keep attempting to get the old one to work to keep as a spare. Thanks for the good luck wish.

 

[torque2u]

The Harley one went through multiple times, but there are no buttons on it, so it survived. It's just a matter of time before the BMW gets dunked.

Regarding Harley fobs, I remember there was a back up code you could set using the turn signals, which would start the bike without the Fob (or if was lost, broken, dunked, etc). I used this method a few times when my fob was in the house and I wanted to get the bike warmed up or started. Is there no such provision on BMW bikes for a lost or inoperative fob? If not, there should be IMO.

 

[apexal]

Regarding Harley fobs, I remember there was a back up code you could set using the turn signals, which would start the bike without the Fob (or if was lost, broken, dunked, etc). I used this method a few times when my fob was in the house and I wanted to get the bike warmed up or started. Is there no such provision on BMW bikes for a lost or inoperative fob? If not, there should be IMO.

BMW gives you one fob and one plastic emergency key. The plastic emergency key will start the bike if you place it in the correct spot which in my case is the space between the front and rear seat.

 

[88bmwjeff]

I'm with you. I'm also very disappointed that BMW doesn't supply two key fobs. The little plastic key is a joke. My 2020 Toyota Tacoma and previous Toyotas come with two fobs and I see no reason why we get just one from BMW after spending $20,000 or more. I just ordered a new fob at $392 which is outrageous and I will keep attempting to get the old one to work to keep as a spare. Thanks for the good luck wish.

+1

I wish I had two fobs like most people get with vehicles, especially when we're spending $20-25k. I also wish the emergency plastic key was metal, which would make a good emergency key one could carrier on your key chain.

 

[craigjv4]

apexal, try spraying the board with Corrosion X. Search for their web site and you can read about it.

 

[pmolinaro]

When I bought my 2016 I purchased 2 extra key fobs and 2 extra standard keys to open the bags where I keep a spare fob

 

[177369]

take a look at keylessremotefob.com. maybe they can help with the repair of your fob.

 

[apexal]

apexal, try spraying the board with Corrosion X. Search for their web site and you can read about it.

I rinsed the fob out yesterday with isopropyl alcohol and letting it sit for a day. I know that it will work fine if I put in a new battery but it will take a couple weeks to see if it works. I also ordered some DeoxIT yesterday and will try that if the alcohol fails. But at this point I've lost confidence in the fob and ordered a new one yesterday. The best that I'm hoping for is that the old fob can be used as a backup.