The first time the “keycard battery low” warning came up on the instrument cluster was after 18 months of ownership and I studiously spent a week or two trying to ignore it before ending up locked out of the car.
Would you believe I actually couldn’t work out how to change the keycard battery? It’s one of those quick jobs that needs to be done, takes only a minute, but yet can cause a touch of anxiety while trying to force the battery compartment open.
Here’s the quick steps to put a new CR2032 battery into your keycard:
Remove the Emergency Key
![Emergency Key Release](https://i0.wp.com/excesstext.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/IMG_2599.jpg?resize=640%2C640)
Pressing the grey release button on the side of the remote while pulling on the end of the keycard will release the emergency key.
Open the Keycard Battery Compartment
![Opening battery compartment](https://i0.wp.com/excesstext.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/IMG_2600.jpg?resize=640%2C640)
Use the end of the emergency key or fingernail or coin to open the battery compartment. A thin coin twisted in the slot between the keycard case and cover works best, this will not be an “easy” pop and release.
Lift off the cover – it has clips all the way around so it will need a firm tug to remove completely.
![Keycard battery compartment](https://i0.wp.com/excesstext.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/IMG_2601.jpg?resize=640%2C640)
Now that you’ve removed the battery compartment cover you can see the CR2032 battery which can be flipped out with a fingernail from the edge closest to the end of the keycard.
![Changing the KeyCard battery](https://i0.wp.com/excesstext.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/IMG_2592.jpg?resize=480%2C640)
Reassembly
As you’d expect the keycard is reassembled in the reverse of the above process.
- Make sure you’ve got the battery correctly orientated.
- Line up the battery compartment cover carefully before firmly pressing down into place.
- Slide the emergency key back into place and ensure the catch “clicks” back into position.