Wondering if anybody has had these issues....

I own a 2005 300C and a 2006 1500 Ram. Both have the factory Alarm/Unlock built into the keys. Other then one saying "Dodge" and one saying "Chrysler" on it and of course, the truck not having a trunk pop, they are identical style remotes.

On my 300C, i can unlock and lock the doors with 100% consistency. It NEVER fails. And i can literally be 100 yards away and it works EVERY TIME.

On my Ram, it's a different story. Its totally intermittent. I can be standing right next to my truck and it does not always work. I have dealt with it for over a year but recently i decided to go to the dealer as my warranty is nearing the end. They held my key next to a device that tests the radio signal from the key and while pressing it over and over, sometimes it transmits, sometimes it does'nt. So clearly it seemed my remote was going bad. I asked if it was covered under warranty and he said "Ill have to check". I left the car for the day for some other issues. My rep then called and said "Dodge does not cover the remote, BUT, i have a special coupon, and for $179.99 i can get you a new key plus one free". I said fine and went and picked it up.

Now.... After thinking about this, it sounds very fishy. One, the price for ONE key sounds high. That aside, has anybody ever heard of any instance where they would have a buy one get one free coupon for something so expensive? It sounds like Dodge DID warranty the key and this rep simply conned me into buying another key at full price. Am i crazy?

Lastly, not even a week later, the SAME ISSUE is BACK! More inconsistent door locking/unlocking. The other day i stood right next to my truck and pressed the unlock button in every possible way and the locks did not move. 5 minutes later, they worked again. The same issue happens with both new keys. In almost 4 years my original 300C key transmitters work FLAWLESSLY. But on my Ram, nothing but problems.

This is driving me nuts. I just picked the truck up this afternoon after bringing it in and they said "We had no issues at all". Is there some sort antenna maybe ont he truck that is out of whack?

Anybody have either issue??

 

My truck is the same way. Sometimes I can unlock it from a distance, other times it wont even unlock right next to the truck. I agree that it's annoying. I haven't taken it in to have it looked at yet either.

 

go viper.. i can literally be a mile a way and unlock and lock my doors and start my truck.

 

Yeah that works, but the point is that the factory remote you get with the truck should be able to unlock it when you are standing next to it, and I shouldn't have to add an expensive alarm system to my truck just to get it to work right.

I have a one of the two way long distance remotes for my work van made by either Viper or one of the other DE companies, and the keyfob is a piece of junk. I've gone thru two of them because the display stops working (so the two way portion is pretty much useless at that point). It's also WAY bigger than it needs to be, and for whatever reason they had to make it look like a cell phone. I'd rather have them put effort into making it smaller and more rugged.

 

Our Chrysler minivan sometimes does that...but it's not nearly as bad as you're describing. My Neon and my Ram never had any problems. And my Ram has Chrysler key fobs. I bought it as a lease return, so I'm guessing the original owner either didn't give fobs back, or that's the way they came?

 

I here you on that one the thing is humongous in my pocket which makes it a hassle sometimes

 

Thanks for the replies so far....

How about the price? Do they really sell for $179.00 EACH????

I still think i got scammed on them supposedly not being covered under warranty.

 

I have heard that the keys are very expensive. I haven't priced them out but that doesn't sound too out of line.

 

They are not the same remotes. You can pick one up on ebay, but then it needs to be cut. I seeen them for $65 shipped. Places won't be responsible if they cut it wrong either, but I have never had any problems.

 

Same thing here I changed the battery in the key/remote thinking it was going bad but it still does it.