Intelligent Key System Warning Light...
 

I was driving my Z around yesterday, and noted the Key Warning light was lit, while I was driving.

I didn't remember that being lit before, so I looked it up...I guess I need to call the dealer =/

Anyone else have this issue turn up, or have some advice on what to try?



(from the manual)
Intelligent Key system warning light
After the ignition switch is pushed to the ON
position, this light comes on for about 2 seconds
and then turns off. (--mine didn't--)
This light warns of a malfunction with the
electrical steering lock system or the Intelligent
Key system.
If the light comes on while the engine is
stopped, it may be impossible to free the
steering lock or to start the engine. If the light
comes on while the engine is running, you can
drive the vehicle. However in these cases,
contact a NISSAN dealer for repair as soon as
possible.

I was playing around with my FOB, as I've got a hand made padded cover on it to help prevent me from pushing the buttons unintentionally, reason I was playing with it is that I couldn't remember which button locked or unlocked my doors (without pulling it out of it's cover, which was more of a PITA than I wanted to mess with) - so I was operating it inside the vehicle at one point - maybe I tripped something?

I guess if that's the case, I'll fire up my Z tonight when I get home and see if it's still lit.

OK, more oddity with this light.

Tonight, I went to a buddy's house. Got in my car just like normal, no light. He and I went to guitar center and back, no light.

I go to leave his house, and I have one of his guitars with me to rewire, so I open the passenger door first by pressing the button on the door twice to unlock the whole car.

Set the guitar in, get in on the other side...and key light all the way home.

I get home, pull it in the garage, turn it off, open the door, close the door, start the car up - key light not on.


Any clues? ECU reset then take to dealer?

Dunno...

Do you keep the key in your pocket all the time? I've noticed that with mine sometimes it will act like there is no key, especially if I have the keys buried in a coat pocket and I manage to really bury it. Maybe all the fabric blocks the transmission signal? In my case it's instantly remedied by taking the key out of my pocket.

I'd experiment by taking the fob out of the padded cover and see if it makes any difference.

Nah, no different than usual. I've had the cover for a few months now, and it's not overly thick, just has a piece of mylar between a couple layers of heavy cloth on the button side, the other side is a single layer.

Even then, the doors always unlock and the car always starts without issue.

just change the battery out of the keyfob and see what happens

^^ +1 Yup, sounds like a low battery in your ikey.

Could be battery, although it's odd the fob always seems to work for you without having to retry, and it only shows while the engine is running.

I would experiment with your second fob if you can... that way you could potentially tell if it was the battery/fob/protector causing problems.

Maybe try docking the fob in the dash to "reassure" the Z everything's gonna be all right?? :icon17:

any updates kannibul? im getting this light now too.

Duuuudes!!!!!
It has a piece of mylar between the layers of cloth. Mylar is used as an electrical insulator. The cover could definitely be blocking the FOB signal.

....particularly if the battery is low to start with.
.... or just like a flashlight where the batteries are dying - it lights when you turn it on & then it gets dim. Turn it off and wait for a while & the flashlight does the same thing again (light to dim).

Mylar is a dielectic, but not an RF insulator.

As for an update, I have none since I've not driven my car since they started salt/sand the roads - around late November. It'll be next month before I fire it up again at the earliest, and even then it may only be to change the oil as that's when I plan on doing all my vehicles (they get changed annually)

Sorry...

It can be a dielectric or an insulator - reference: PET film (biaxially oriented) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

:tiphat:

well i got the warning light now my car wont start FML lol. gotta get the car towed to the dealer tomorrow morning. cant even put the car on accessory or anything i hit the start button says lock and does nothing. trying to start the car by putting the key in the slot and it still doesnt work.

mine gave me the no key light twice already, both times i just locked and unlocked with the fob and i could start the car

Exact same thing happend to me Saturday- had car a year now no problems- parked it in my garage- got IKWL and start button just says LOCK- tried to get it towed but flat bed didn't have wheel dollies (steering locked). I tried to reset by disconnecting the battery but did not do anything. Do not use in winter so it sitting in my garage- talked to dealer they have no idea- will get it towed next week. Down in Costa Rica now enjoying the warm weather the Z can wait.

Any insight if you get fixed be appreciated:shakes head:

Dead/failed battery?

Zx the dealer has to replace your steering wheel lock. Mine was stuck in the unlock position. I'd have them look at it asap. The lock is on backorder who knows when it's coming in. I'm driving around a gay sentra till it comes in.

Thanks- will update next week after i get Z to shop

If yours is stuck on unlock, why didn't you take possession of your Z back?

when the steering wheel lock is non functional the car wont start or even go into accessory mode. Im assuming its a safety measure to prevent the car from being stolen.

Towed Z to dealer- steering lock solinoid failed - on back order NO ETA - sucks but atleast it is winter and do not drive anyways

Sometimes if you push the start/Stop button too fast the car appears to turn off but in reality it can remain in the ACC condition the entire time. When leaving the car or getting into it what you described can happen. This is the signal that the car is NOT entirely turned off but still in "hot" mode.

This has happened to me twice now. SO what I have learned to do when shutting off the car is to hold the Start/Stop for at least a second or two and make sure I don't see the ACC backlit when getting out of the car.

just got my car back today. it took just over a week to get the part in.

Picked up car tonite- took 7 days to repair- the steering lock mechanism was OK but they had to replace the elec solinoid that engages the lock- back on the road and running great

This is the second time it has happened to me. I went to eat lunch and when I got back out to my car it wouldn't start. When I pushed in the brake and it was hard as hell to push in I knew what had happened. I had to get it towed to the nearest dealership. They saw that I had warranty work done for the same problem so they said they are going to dig deeper to see if they can see what causing this. The funny thing is, is that this technology has been around for years and Nissan is the only one having this problem. Kindof makes me want to trade the Nissan in and get something different.

Car towed to dealer today :mad: :mad: had to wait over and hour for a flatbed to come, after I messed with it for an hour trying to figure it out. Had my wife bring the other key, tried putting it in the fobgina, disconnected battery (hoping to re-set something) nothing worked.

I got the "Key" light on the dash on Friday, I went that day and got a new CR2032 battery for the fob, thinking that was it. The light actually went out, I drove all weekend with no light, and no problems. Dropped my daughter off a school this morning and when I returned to the car, it wouldn't start. Everything else seamed to work, lights, horn, doors unlock/lock. The start button said lock and it would not even turn to accessory mode. Steering wheel was in the Un-locked position.

LOOKS LIKE THIS IS BECOMING A PROBLEM, 4 people so far and twice for TENNESSEZ!! (read thread)

Dealer just called, said it was a problem with the PDM "Power Distribution Module", not actually the solenoid, but what provides power too it. It might take a week to get the part :mad:

For those that had this problem, was your solenoid and PDM replaced?? or just the solenoid to the steering wheel lock?

OK did a search and this thread came up. Mine has been acting up lately too. What it's doing: When I arrive to my car to unlock it, button on door handle does not work. Removing fob from pocket does not help. If I do hit unlock/lock then it works. Also if car is unlocked and I enter, it also will display warning light that there is no key and it will not start until I hit the lock/unlock buttons. Then it will start fine. This seems to be intermittant as of late.

Bad/weak battery? Or other problems looming in the horizon!!!?

The "No Key" light is different then the "intelligent Key Warning light"
It comes up on the left hand side panel. (see page 2-10 "Instrument controls" of your owners manual) If this light comes on, that's the one you need to worry about, take it too your dealer, before you need to tow it.
Your's may just be a weak battery in the key fob, in that case replace with a CR2032.

ffing steering lock solinoids. My buddy has a Z06 and this happened to him. Chevy ended up putting a new lock in w/o the solinoid just incase it happens in the future. Have you guys figured out what causes this?

The SA at Nissan says that it is the IPDM "Intelligent Power Distribution Module" this is the unit that supplies power to the steering wheel lock solenoid. So may not be the solenoid itself.

That could explain how it has happened multiple times to people if Nissan didn't replace the right part and it seems to sometimes act up every now and then.

Just had a similar experience. Went into Office Depot and came out and the car wouldn't start. Car knows that the key is close by but it won't even let me turn it to ACC or ON just stays on lock which is illuminated. Picture of a key is on and absolutely no noise coming from the engine. Took the flatbed fives hours to get there.

I've started a post similiar to this. I can't unlock/lock the car with the ikey or the button on the door handle. Have to use the key to unlock/lock the car. Once I'm inside, the car doesn't recognize that the key is present. It keeps asking for the key. I can only start the car if I put the key into the key slot. I don't know what the problem could be. It started happening after I got my car tinted. I tried both ikeys thinking it might be the battery but no luck. I have an appointment with the dealer tomorrow morning. Hopefully it's an easy fix.

You sure the battery isn't dead in the keyfob?

No, it's not the battery. The dealer told me it was the intelligent key receiver. They ordered a new one.

Ok here is an update. The ikey receiver was replaced. I can lock/unlock the doors with the keyfob. The button on the handle will unlock the doors also. But....I still can't start the car without putting the key into the key slot. The dealer (not the dealer I bought the car from) told me it was the dealer installed alarm. Contacted the alarm company KARR and they are saying that something changed the settings.

My question is, would the optional dealer installed alarm actually block the car from seeing the key inside the car?

As a BMW Master Tech, I can tell you that window tint that has metallic material in it affects the signal transmission from the key to the car's remote antenna in BMWs. VDO is the same manufacturer of keys for both BMW and the 370Z, so I imagine that the whole system is pretty similar in the way that CHEAP window tint can affect the signal strength or reception of the signal. Just an F.Y.I. .......Don't buy cheap window tint! ;)

Add another car to the list, I'm sitting in the parking lot as I type this. No functionality whatsoever. Waiting for the flat bed.

I've been looking for an excuse to get something else. This is definately a good one.

I had the light on also when I got the car back from the dealer. However I just reset my windows since they weren't going down, turned off the car, turned it back on and it was go. Wierd...

Need help
 

My car won't start. Same issue. Drove to the store. When I got out, car wouldnt start. Tried jumping, but all I heard was clicking. The entire dash goes out eventually. I did see the yellow ikey light as well. Could this be as simple as car battery being dead?

Also, if anyone has experience removing the battery from the 2007 altima, some direction would be great.

Another one
 

Ok. Here's my story. Yesterday, I drove to work as I do everyday. No problems whatsoever. I get in the car to go to lunch and push the start button and nothing. Only thing lit up is the Lock light. I notice the "key" light is lit up on the instrument panel. I thought it may be the FOB batteries. I went and bought new batteries for both my spare and primary FOB's. Didn't work. I called the local Nissan dealership which is not where I purchased the Z. Remeber that. They had me hit the brakes to verify the brake lights were coming on and to put the FOB in the slot and try and start it. Didn't work. They asked if I had had it in storage for an extended amount of time. I haven't. They then said I would have to have it towed. I made sure to ask if this was all going to be covered under my Nissan warranty and he said yes, as long as there were no signs that I tampered with any electrical wiring or any signs of theft. So, I have it towed to the dealership. This morning I called them and asked if they had found the problem. They said that my battery was dead. ??????? They then said that I must have left my lights or something on because it was dead. ?????? I said nope...I din't leave the lights on. Now, here's what I believe they are trying to do. I think they don't want to have to flip the bill for the tow job so they are lying to me about the battery. That battery isn't even a year old yet. The car has 7000 miles on it. I know it's a possiblility but come on now. Why would the "KEY" light come on if it was just a dead battery? Why did a battery light not come on. Why did all my lights still work and my horn? I think somethings fishy here. What do you all think?