Team-BHP - BMW radio frequency interference | Smartkey doesn't work in specific areas

Wondering if other BMW owners also face this problem? I spoke to Akshay1234 and he was aware of the issue.

When my 5-Series is parked in very specific spots, the smartkey doesn't work at all. It's easy to open the car with the skeleton key, but the trouble is, MULTIPLE tries are needed to start the car. Even if I stick the smartkey on the steering console (as BMW recommends), the smartkey isn't recognised at all. Usually takes 5 - 6 minutes of continuous attempts before the key is recognised, the ignition turns on & the engine fires up. Here's a BMW owner from USA complaining of the same problem.

Again, this happens only in very specific spots. 3 dead zones that I have noticed:

1. Outside Revival restaurant @ Marine Drive.

2. The parking area outside Mount Mary Grotto @ Bandstand.

3. Outside Swarovski, Linking Road.

At these 3 spots, my car NEVER acknowledges the smartkey. My best guess is radio interference with something, but I cannot put a finger on it. Is this a radio interference with certain mobile network towers? Certainly not the key, because I tried with both my smartkeys at the Revival parking spot.

I have never faced this issue with any other brand's cars so I think BMW is particularly sensitive to the issue. Akshay1234's suggestion was:

- Take the key close to the sharkfin antenna to unlock with it

- Stick the upper tip of the smartkey to the console to start it

Some articles on this - 1 & 2.

Related Thread

This has been observed only in Mumbai, specifically to the F10 with old gen keys having 868 MHz, newer cars have 434 MHz. Several cars in Navi Mumbai have also faced this and best guess is due to radio frequency interference from police radios and high tension overhead cables, doubt this is due to mobile networks as that would have caused the issue in several locations.

In case the concern is recurring, solution would be to replace the remotes and the antenna with 434 MHz frequency.

Wow! Never faced such an issue or realised such an issue even existed - thanks for posting this. Might try to actually go to one of these spots some day and try it out just for curiosity.

Sorry for the noob query but how can I check whether my car / key runs on 868 MHz or 434 MHz any idea?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maverick5490 (Post 5239832)

This has been observed only in Mumbai

Can you please share tips on what to do when the car just refuses to recognise the key & start the engine? What's the best practice?

Quote:

In case the concern is recurring, solution would be to replace the remotes and the antenna with 434 MHz frequency.

What would be the approximate cost of this? Am sure its a bomb and I'm not going to do it (as I face this issue just once in 3 - 6 months), but just out of curiosity?

Thanks

A crazy jugaadu idea that just might work: surround the key with Aluminium foil while holding it extremely close to the console/receiver. It should block external interference and maybe just let through the signal from the key since you’re holding it so close to the receiver. This is an entirely theoretical idea so maybe fool around with the position of the foil and key. Basically make a Faraday cage for the external interferences.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO (Post 5239847)

Can you please share tips on what to do when the car just refuses to recognise the key & start the engine? What's the best practice?

What would be the approximate cost of this? Am sure its a bomb and I'm not going to do it (as I face this issue just once in 3 - 6 months), but just out of curiosity?

Thanks

Best thing to do is to hold the remote close to the third stop lamp/rear windscreen to unlock the car. Next hold the remote on the steering column for 10-15 seconds to start the car.

But we have had cars where the frequency was so adamant, nothing worked. Shifted the car to Neutral manually (which again is a big task) moved the car 15-20 meters, and everything worked :Frustrati

Cost for replacement of the 2 remotes and antenna is approx 75k.

If its 868 MHz frequency, then its a possibility that someone is testing or using a "LoRa" IoT device in the neighborhood. This is an "unlicensed" territory in the EU meaning anyone can easily acquire IoT devices from Europe transmitting this frequency. India also has released a gazette last month exempting low power short range devices from needing licenses in 865-868 MHz frequency. This would mean BMW owners with such keys have to live with the interference.

I am not very familiar with the technicalities but you can try the old method of holding the smart key to your head to amplify the signal. Another option could be using a pouch or some aluminium foil to mimic a Faraday cage while exposing only a tiny portion of the key to amplify its signal. Sadly, I cannot say with conviction whether these will work or not but it is definitely worth a try. I hope that you are able to find a solution soon :)

Thanks for bringing up this issue GTO and Maverick5490 for giving the explanation about the same. I also had this issue in certain locations with my F25 X3. The car didn't unlock from far away and used to unlock when unlocked from the rear. I changed the battery but it didn't make a difference. Checked the frequency of my F25 and it is 868 MHz. The only solution I found was unlocking the car by going near it. Never had a problem with starting the car though.

Hi Guys,
I am happy this topic is being discussed as till now I was thinking it’s just something with my car alone. As we are discussing places where this has happened to me then I would like to mention the departure terminals of the Mumbai International Airport multiple times.
I have a 2014 F10 LCI 530d Msport.

Kausu

Sounds very weird. My Hyundai Creta’s Music system also used to automatically reset while passing under HT(High Tension) cables near my factory. I owned for a very short time after those incidents & didn’t care to take it up with Hyundai.

In this case, Maybe I think it should be raised with BMW. All electronic components & controllers need to undergo an EMI/EMC certification before they are implemented in production. So, I guess there should be something that BMW will do when approached in case there was a flaw which needs update of the controller or receiver.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO (Post 5239808)

Wondering if other BMW owners also face this problem? I spoke to Akshay1234 and he was aware of the issue.

I had the same issues near Swarovski and also in mahim, to unlock the car use the physical key in the keyhole and to start it place the remote sideways on the steering where there is a key icon printed. This always worked for me and should for you too,give it a try,cheers !