Emergency key (blade key) not unlocking LR4

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99d2td5

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Try putting your key fob in one of those static proof bags for computer bits, leave it in the car as usual and try it again.

That should shield the signal from the fob so the car doesn’t think you are inside.

You may be lucky and it works, if not, at least you haven’t started pulling things apart or replacing things so is cheap trial first off.
 

jlglr4

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As a general matter, just having the key in the car shouldn’t prevent the key blade from working. The OP has been doing that repeatedly, and I’ve done it as well when my keyfob was in the cargo area.

However, maybe there are particular zones where the key cannot be located? Maybe it can’t be in the front seat? OP - did you leave the key in a different place on this particular occasion that it did not work?
 

Stuart Barnes

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No help to the original poster, but one of my keys went through the washing machine on hot and works like a charm albeit a lot cleaner.

Just thought I’d share. These things are quite robust.
 

navigare

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Wow, you serious?! That actually WOULD be good news for the original poster - he could simply take his fob with him into the water... Altough come to think of it, salt sea water may be more dangerous than a washing machine.
 

Stuart Barnes

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Wow, you serious?! That actually WOULD be good news for the original poster - he could simply take his fob with him into the water... Altough come to think of it, salt sea water may be more dangerous than a washing machine.


All I did was change the battery after the boil wash. It was with an original Lr key fob though. Not sure how a 20buck aftermarket one would fair.

Either way I was poleaxed by it working.
 

Roversurf

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Thank you everyone for the responses and great ideas all around! I do have one of those metallic key pouches that blocks the signal, but it does not seem to make a difference in this case. I used to use it when I locked the key in the lockbox in one of those hitch safe trailer hitch lockboxes. At the time I didn't realize anyone can open a combination lockbox in under 2 min after watching a 5 min YouTube video. I know this bc after I was robbed I watched the video and was able to do it myself. I advise anyone here using any lockbox to stop now if possible.

Anyway I noticed that if you lock the car with the blade key, for some reason it does not detect the key inside the vehicle and does not allow you to use the keyless entry to gain access. Only hitting unlock on a second remote (how I eventually got in) or the blade key open the car. I have tried many times to open it with no keys in the same room (let alone key in the car in metalic bag) to no luck. Also I have tried turning quite hard as well to no luck - I think one of the previous posts is accurate here, there must be a short on the unlock side of the key circuit as the key turns fine both directions and locks the car perfectly.

Luckily I had just purchased the extended warranty, so waiting to confirm this is covered. Will report back once my indy can open the door up and see what is going on inside!

 

jlglr4

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Good luck with it. I generally hide the second remote in the car with battery disconnected (little plastic tab on the battery), and then hide the blade on the outside of the car. Just an emergency entry strategy in case I lose my main key (or dunk it) while I’m out fishing.
 

gsxr

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This has me concerned because I always thought of the blade key as an almost foolproof way to get into the truck, i.e., if I lose my key when I’m out in the middle of nowhere. So, I started looking at the service manual, and apparently the key barrel is not truly a mechanical lock. It appears to be just another electrical switch activated by turning the mechanical key. I say this because of this passage below referring to a fault code for the key barrel “switch.” That suggests that the blade won’t work if the battery is flat dead (though it probably only requires a tiny bit of energy). Seems hard to believe there is no purely mechanical way to access the vehicle.

To the OP’s problem, this could be an electrical problem? Maybe look for a code?
Yep, this is exactly what I was thinking - could be an electrical issue with the tumbler switch: ^^^

And as you stated, it's a bit concerning if it's an electrical opening mechanism.

What happens with a dead battery? Does the mechanical key do nothing if the vehicle battery is dead? How do you get inside to open the hood and access the battery? Maybe it really is a mechanical unlock function, with an additional switch to notify the rest of the body module systems that the lock was moved?

:eek:
 

Roversurf

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Just wanted to follow up here in case this happens to anyone lese. I finally ended up getting this fixed. Turns out the LR4 manual door locks work via two cables - one to lock, one to unlock. The "unlock" cable snapped on mine. Cable is about $40. Mystery Solved!
 

txfromwi

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Let's continue this thread please.
2015 LR4, 40K miles, purchased about 2 months ago.

My issue:

Everything is perfectly fine using the key fob.

The emergency key LOCKS the door.
Nice satisfying clunk.

The emergency key DOES NOT UNLOCK the door.
No clunk.
BUT - ONCE, and only once - i.e. NOT reproducible - no clunk, but the door did unlock - ?? so not the cable ??

Possible issues per the manual:
Wiring Harness/connectors
Central Junction Box
Door Lock switch
Cable Fault

No error codes shown related to this issue - ?? so none of the above electrical possibilities ??

Both of the above cannot be true and I am not finding anything useful in the mechanics manual.

Before I open up the door - any suggestions??
 

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