Manual Key

R

ralf11

Will the small metal key alone let you drive the vehicle?

I don't see how you could do that, unless there is a secret start code you could punch in.

My concern is losing the wireless key fob while hiking, and being stranded at a remote trailhead in the outback somewhere. A metal key could easily be hidden under the CX (as I've done for decades with other cars), but a spare wireless fob would cost a fortune and maybe get water-logged underneath...


The saleskid at the dealership did not know.
 
My understanding is the manual key just gets you in the door.

What we do is hide the key near the car, but more than ~30 ft or whatever your range is. Just make sure you use a plastic bag, and that everyone in the party knows where it's hidden.
 
No you need to have the key fob to start the vehicle, the auxiliary key just unlocks the door.

The auxiliary key is just used for when the key fob battery goes dead and you can't unlock the doors.

You hold the key fob next to the start button to start the vehicle.
 
Not sure what year and thus key fob you might have, but: for situations where I don't want to deal with the bulk of the entire advanced keyless fob or where it may be exposed to a lot of moisture, I pull the auxiliary key and only bring that with me after manually locking the car with it. I leave the fob itself hidden somewhere in the car. I only within the last year bought and started using one of the so-called Faraday bags to put the fob in. That's because I realized from some similar discussion on here that if someone breaks into my car when the fob is inside, they could potentially just start the car and drive away. While the bag doesn't prevent a thief looking for and discovering the actual fob, at the very least it prevents them from just hitting the Start button without even having to find the fob itself (the RFID is blocked).

Alternatively, you could purchase a smaller waterproof bag similar to what is available for cell phones and put your entire fob in that, and attach it to your belt loop or on your backpack, assuming you use one while hiking.

On a related note, I'm not a big fan of the design of the aux keys on my last 3 Mazdas. The head/key ring loop part is attached off to one side, so that makes it more bulky than it might be in a pocket, etc. My favorite Mazda keyless fob was the flat credit-card style one my 2006 MX-5 had, and the aux key was also very flat and easily put into a pocket.
 
How much does a second key fob cost? Dealer said I will get two but I would like a third.
 
RLCarrington said:
I leave the fob itself hidden somewhere in the car. I only within the last year bought and started using one of the so-called Faraday bags to put the fob in. That's because I realized from some similar discussion on here that if someone breaks into my car when the fob is inside, they could potentially just start the car and drive away. While the bag doesn't prevent a thief looking for and discovering the actual fob, at the very least it prevents them from just hitting the Start button without even having to find the fob itself (the RFID is blocked).
Click to expand...

Or hitting the unlock button on the door or rear hatch.
 
alexm9999 said:
Or hitting the unlock button on the door or rear hatch.
Click to expand...

Hmmm...I've tested the door unlock button before, and that's definitely disabled. But never tested the rear hatch on my new one--good catch!

Just tested...nope, seems all the external buttons are disabled when the fob's locked inside the car.
 
Assume you get two key fobs with purchase of new CX 5 in the US. True?
 
Yes, two is standard here...I would hope/expect that's true anywhere, given that a backup fob and having one for another driver is a fairly standard expectation.

You may do better expense-wise if you ask the dealer ahead of your new car delivery that you'd like a 3rd fob programmed...if not on the fob cost itself, at least they should reduce the programming fee, or not charge you for the programming at all since the car will be right there and already required to undergo some type of dealer preparation.
 
Pitter said:
Assume you get two key fobs with purchase of new CX 5 in the US. True?
Click to expand...

Seat position and Head's Up Display are programmable to each FOB so that those automatically adjust to Driver 1 or Driver 2 (as identified by their fob).

For that reason, I would think that every CX-5 no matter where sold comes with 2 fobs, expecting there to be 2 potential drivers of the vehicle.
 
I don't quite understand how holding a fob with a dead battery next to the start button would enable one to start up. I realize that is what the manual says, but how does it work? is there something in the fob that retains a bit of energy? I guess while the fob would not unlock the vehicle there could be enough residual power left in the fob to enable starting it when held next to the start button.
 
Goguinness said:
I don't quite understand how holding a fob with a dead battery next to the start button would enable one to start up. I realize that is what the manual says, but how does it work? is there something in the fob that retains a bit of energy? I guess while the fob would not unlock the vehicle there could be enough residual power left in the fob to enable starting it when held next to the start button.
Click to expand...

I've read that there is supposedly a low-range passive RFID chip built into the fob or aux key that allows that backup start process to work when the fob battery is dead.
 
RLCarrington said:
While the bag doesn't prevent a thief looking for and discovering the actual fob, at the very least it prevents them from just hitting the Start button without even having to find the fob itself (the RFID is blocked).
Click to expand...

While there's certainly no downside to going more fail-safe, I thought I'd point out what I just read in my 2019 manual, Pg 3-8, since I've also worried about this:

Key Suspend Function If a key is left in the vehicle, the functions of the key left in the vehicle are temporarily suspended to prevent theft of the vehicle. To restore the functions, press the unlock button on the functions-suspended key in the vehicle.
Click to expand...

I also found out that I was wrong in a prior post of a couple of months ago when someone mentioned a Low Battery Warning for the fob battery. I thought the only warning was related to the light in the Start Button and the proximity of the low-battery fob to it (or so the sales guy told me). There actually is a Key Malfunction warning light in the instrument cluster. This indicator also communicates other key problems besides low battery.
 
ralf11 said:
Will the small metal key alone let you drive the vehicle?

I don't see how you could do that, unless there is a secret start code you could punch in.

My concern is losing the wireless key fob while hiking, and being stranded at a remote trailhead in the outback somewhere. A metal key could easily be hidden under the CX (as I've done for decades with other cars), but a spare wireless fob would cost a fortune and maybe get water-logged underneath...


The saleskid at the dealership did not know.
Click to expand...

Easy solution.

Remove the battery from your second FOB and use that FOB when you go hiking. Remove the key from that FOB and take that with you then leave the FOB in the car someplace. Once you return, let yourself in the car with the key and then hold the FOB up to the ignition to start the car using the RFID portion of the FOB.

You could also use a Faraday bag as RL mentioned.
 
Avoidin Deer, thank you!

I bring the actual key with me, so I guess when I unlock the car door manually with it, that action probably resets the suspension feature, as I can immediately start the car (even before the use of the Faraday bag). I don't even have to put the aux key back in the fob first.
 
Avoidin Deer said:
I also found out that I was wrong in a prior post of a couple of months ago when someone mentioned a Low Battery Warning for the fob battery. I thought the only warning was related to the light in the Start Button and the proximity of the low-battery fob to it (or so the sales guy told me). There actually is a Key Malfunction warning light in the instrument cluster. This indicator also communicates other key problems besides low battery.
Click to expand...
Not only that, the right instrument pod spells it out in English: "key battery low, replace soon" or something to that effect.
 
Another idea. What about wrapping the FOB aluminum foil to prevent it from communicating with the car?
 
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