“Key Battery Low, Replace Soon” in Ford – Why Do I See This?

Seeing any error messages in your Ford vehicle is not the most exciting thing in the world and you will most obviously want to avoid this. When you hear this chime and see some text on the dash of your vehicle, you are prepared to spend some money and time in the repair shop or dealership. But don’t get depressed too soon if you see the “Key Battery Low, Replace Soon” message.

In short, the “Key Battery Low, Replace Soon” error message informs you that the fob battery is almost dead and you may end up not starting and even not opening your car. This message can appear on the dash of Ford cars equipped with keyless start (push-button start) and keyless entry.

When you see this, you should not ignore the message. The consequences may not be pleasant for you. But keep reading and I will tell you how you can start your Ford even if the fob battery is completely dead. Thank goodness, Ford has a backup plan for such situations.

Why does your Ford tell you that the fob battery is low?

First of all, you shouldn’t be surprised when you see this low-key-battery message in any modern Ford vehicle even after just a year of driving. It’s a completely normal thing for the keyless system fob battery to die in just 10-14 months.

First of all, those OEM batteries in fobs may have not been too fresh. Secondly, the keyless access and start system requires the fob to send signals all the time and this may kill the battery in just 10 months or so.

Here’s how the mechanism of this error message works in modern Ford vehicles:

• you enter the vehicle as always and push the start button in your car;
• the car starts but suddenly gives a nasty chime and messages you about the error;
• the keyless entry system or the push-button start system have just registered that the signal of your key fob is too low;
• these systems can still identify that the key is correct but the radius of their communication is reduced greatly;
• after the car tells you about the low battery for several days, it will not open and you will have to read this article quickly, maybe even in the rain.

To avoid this fate, read it before you are in this situation and learn what exactly you need to do when this happens to your Ford.

Readers tell me that they got this message about the low key fob battery even when the battery was OK. Well, it’s quite possible, but how do you know that the battery is OK? I can see such possible situations when the alert about the dying key battery may be false:

• the key fob is located in the area where signals are suppressed – your jacket or bag may be made of such materials;
• the key recognition system is malfunctioning and needs reset – this is hard to check unless you have professional diagnosing equipment;
• the key is too far away from the driver’s place – you may have put it in the trunk and the system just doesn’t get the usual strong signal from the fob.

If these situations are not the case in your situation, I can assure you that the problem is exactly with the battery. Many drivers make such an example: I go home, take the second key that I didn’t even use, and my Ford still shows this message. Yes, it’s weird, but the spare key fob battery may be dead, too. If you don’t use it, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t power the chip and doesn’t emit the signal all the time. Because it actually does.

Can you replace the battery in the Ford key on your own?

Of course, all Ford keys are engineered in such a way that you could relatively easily open them and change the battery. But there are still several concerns you should know about.

Nearly all tutorial videos on the internet are helpful but some of them show quite a cruel method of opening the key with the help of a screwdriver or some metal tool. Be careful! You can damage the plastic body of the fob and eventually will pay for the new one which will cost you a fortune in the dealership.

For opening the standard Ford key fob, you can use one of those batteries that are installed in these keys or a plastic tool of the proper size. Do it carefully and avoid damaging the plastic parts of the fob.

If you aren’t sure that you can do it carefully or your car is younger than 4 years and is still under warranty, you better pay for this easy job in the dealership and have it done in less than 15 minutes. Yes, they will charge you a lot for the Panasonic battery and also some money for labor, but still, it won’t cost you a fortune.

If you still decide to make it on your own, take your time, watch some tutorial videos, and use appropriate tools for this. Before you do that, buy the needed batteries. They may be CR2032, CR2025, or some other types depending on the year and type of the fob.

What if you ignore the low-fob-battery message in your Ford?

Well, one of the worst consequences is that the low battery will soon become a dead battery and you will not see the “Key Battery Low, Replace Soon” message anymore. Why? Because you will not get into the car and will not start it the way you used to do it before. The key identification system will not prove that you have the proper key and will not let you in.

This may sound funny but if you don’t know what to do, you may end up paying hundreds of dollars to tow a truck and also some other hundreds to the dealership or locksmith who will deal with the problem.

But you should know that all Ford cars with keyless entry and start-up systems have an alternative way to get into the car and even start it when the key fob is dead. I usually write about this in separate articles for each car model, but today, I will give you an overview of how it works.

How to get into your Ford when the battery fob is dead?

Well, let’s imagine you ignored or just didn’t notice that nasty error message and eventually can’t enter the car. Look carefully at your fob and find the little plastic latch in the lower part of it. Press this latch inside the key and you will easily open the fob – mainly, its back plastic cover.

Then you will do the following:

• Surprisingly see that you have the metal key inside your fob and take it out.
• Figure out how you can find the keyhole in the door. In Edge, for example, push with the metal key from the lower part of the plastic cover near the door handle and take the cover off. You will see the keyhole.
• Open the door with the keyhole. Bear in mind that now you have about 10 seconds to start the car before the alarm goes off.
• Find the place where you need to put the key to make it work. In an Edge, for example, it’s inside the niche under the armrest, in the F-150 – under one of the cupholder rubber mats.
• Insert or put your key directly into the key rest.
• Press the start button to check if everything works, then press the brake pedal and press the start button again to start the vehicle.

This is the emergency system that allows you to start the keyless-entry car even if you take the battery out of your key fob. The system basically sends the signals through the fob and checks if the fob sends back the correct response.

What you should do before you start is google the place where the key rest is located in your vehicle. Because different Ford models and even different years of the same model will have various locations of this unit.

Why does my Ford key battery die so quickly?

If you are asking this question, then, most likely, your previous car didn’t have the keyless entry and start-up functions. This means that your key battery could live 10 years and still be OK. You aren’t likely to even know about such batteries and the need to replace them from time to time.

But the keyless entry and start-up system requires more energy consumption from the fob battery because the fob is instantly sending some signals and is always ready to communicate with your vehicle. It doesn’t even depend on the fact that you use your key fob or not.

So, as said above, the average lifespan of the key fob battery in cars with keyless engine start is 10 to 14 months. Even if your battery dies sooner than that, it doesn’t mean that something is wrong with the fob or with the vehicle.

Also, I strongly recommend replacing the battery in the spare key fob at the same time as the battery in the main fob requires replacement. Your spare fob may not be used but it still works all the time, so the battery will anyway die quite fast.

Final thoughts

If you believe that your Ford is telling you “Key Battery Low, Replace Soon” by mistake, you should go to the dealership and check whether the key recognition system is OK. In very rare cases, this problem can be because of some glitches in the keyless entry and engine start functions. But, in most cases, it’s all about the key fob battery that you will need to replace.

I recommend taking your time and learning how your key fob should be taken apart without any damage. This will help you save some dollars and spend just about a minute on key fob battery replacement. But if your car is relatively new and is yet under warranty, just have this work done by the dealership.