# 2017 Cruze not starting this morning, temporarily not recognizing key fob.



## booyaldy (Mar 31, 2017)

Hello,

I have been enjoying my Cruze hatchback and encountered an issue today when my car would not start. I got to work fine, and then after parking the car to go into a cafe briefly for a few minutes I could not leave the parking lot and had to walk back to work. After stopping home to pick up my spare key fob, the first one magically started working again. I initially thought that someone could be up to foul play because I've never heard of this before, but I guess it could be a mechanical issue. Does anyone have any experience with these types of problems on the new models? I do notice that sometimes the car will honk 3 times after exiting the car and shutting the door as if the key fob was left inside the car, but it isn't.


----------



## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

@neile300c was this you?


----------



## neile300c (Jul 8, 2014)

If this is remote start, yes, this has happened to me twice. The remote would not lock or unlock the car, and the car would not start.


----------



## Fxapple (Apr 13, 2017)

This happened to me this morning. Used remote start but when I tried to access the vehicle the door would not unlock. Used my Chevy App to unlock the door, but car would not detect either of my two key fobs. After about 10 minutes the original key fob worked.


----------



## EricSmit (Dec 21, 2016)

If that ever happens, just put your key in the front cupholder and it will recognize it.


----------



## NickD (Dec 10, 2011)

Happen to my 2012 40 miles from home, but got it started by removing the key, opening the door, with the third time it started.

When I got home, removed both the positive and negative battle cables and soldered them on both sides, cleaned the battery terminals with one of those battery terminal brushes, coated them with silicone, and properly tightened the clamps. 

Also had a spec of arc on my ignition relay preventing a good contact closure, cleaned that off, but ordered a Panasonic relay. Never had problems after this.

On this new thing, had a thermostat recall, temperature gauge was going over all the place while the heater was blowing ice cold air. In my 64 years of driving, never ever ran into the problem, but as usual, purchased a shop manual.

Does have a heated thermostat like the Cruze has, but it was going crazy. Only problem I found was the negative battery terminal screw was loose. But while I was at it, cleaned and greased both terminals with proper torque on the screws, 6 ft-lbs to be precise. Never had this problem again and cancelled my appointment for a new thermostat. Others that did, same old problem. 

Started actually around 34 years ago when they started adding computers to vehicles. If you starting voltage drops below 8.5 volts, microcontrollers do not get a proper power on reset, start code randomly and goes nuts. On this car, the PCM controlled that thermostat heater, it went nuts as well. 

When OBD I was first introduced, suppose to be 150,000 new electronic tech jobs. Never happened, just a guy saying its perfectly normal or I ain't getting any codes. Of course you are not, same microcontrollers that operate your vehicle to save 89 cents also diagnose it.They don't work without a proper power on reset.


----------



## rmeav8r#106 (Oct 14, 2017)

I am currently having the failure to recognize the key fob issues. There is a tech bulletin out that the receiver needs to be replaced on models with a "B" in the VIN. That's me. I also noticed that this problem only occurred when I remote started the vehicle 2 times in a row to keep the car warm. Its -1* outside in NY right now. The tech bulletin number is #16-NA-396. I have a dealer appt. on the 11th. We'll see how it goes. Other than that the car runs fine. It was the first time I ever had to call my boss and say that "its not that my car WON'T start.....its running, it just won't let me drive it ! "


----------



## Raye151 (Feb 10, 2018)

I've had this happen to me twice now on my 2017 Cruze. I now know to put the key fob in the first cup holder and it will start. Thank God for the Chevy app so you can at least get in the vehicle. I don't know what happened or why the first time it did this. Today, I wonder if there was some interference from another key fob I had in that cup holder. I'll check later to see if it does it again.


----------



## EcoCruzer79 (Jun 24, 2012)

this has happened numerous times to my 2017 LT.... what could this be and will it leave me stranded?? does the front cupholder trick always work??


----------



## Blasirl (Mar 31, 2015)

EcoCruzer79 said:


> this has happened numerous times to my 2017 LT.... what could this be and will it leave me stranded?? does the front cupholder trick always work??


Welcome Aboard!:welcome:

You'll get a quicker response if you use "reply with quote" as it notifies the other that you asked a question.

Don't forget to introduce yourself and your Cruze here.


----------



## neile300c (Jul 8, 2014)

EcoCruzer79 said:


> this has happened numerous times to my 2017 LT.... what could this be and will it leave me stranded?? does the front cupholder trick always work??


When I had it, the cupholder trick did not work all the time. First thing I would do is change the battery on the fob. If it continues to happen, bring it to the dealer to perform the TSB. I haven't had any issues since they did mine


----------



## Pegasus (Feb 17, 2018)

Raye151 said:


> I've had this happen to me twice now on my 2017 Cruze. I now know to put the key fob in the first cup holder and it will start. Thank God for the Chevy app so you can at least get in the vehicle. I don't know what happened or why the first time it did this. Today, I wonder if there was some interference from another key fob I had in that cup holder. I'll check later to see if it does it again.


For the benefit of those who don't have the app, there is a manual key inside the remote that you can use to to get into the car. The keyhole is hidden by a plastic cover on the handle.


----------



## wildabouthorses (Jan 7, 2018)

neile300c said:


> EcoCruzer79 said:
> 
> 
> > this has happened numerous times to my 2017 LT.... what could this be and will it leave me stranded?? does the front cupholder trick always work??
> ...


Thanks to this thread I was able to tell the service advisor there was a tbs for this fob problem that happened to my 2017 lt with 7,000 miles on it this morning! It was the receiver in the car they replaced to fix it! Kinda threw me when the message popped up basically saying put foot on brake, put remote near transponder to turn off the engine with push button.


----------



## FarGloom (Nov 11, 2018)

EcoCruzer79 said:


> this has happened numerous times to my 2017 LT.... what could this be and will it leave me stranded?? does the front cupholder trick always work??


The cupholder trick doesnt always work. especially if the battery in the keyfob is low.
-------------------
ON another note I am having similar issues with my remote start. It stopped working then the engine light came on. I haven;t had a chance to take it in yet. I replaced the batteries in the FOB thinking maybe that was the issue. made sure the gas cap is tight, hood is locked tight, etc etc.

When I press the lock twice on remote, then hold the start for 4 seconds, the lights blink and I hear a click but nothing else happens. It starts just fine as long as I am in the car and press the push button start.
There is no key start on this model.
-----------------
Secondly what is this chevy app for unlocking doors I keep seeing posts about? My chevy dealer pretty much told me nothing about the car when I bought it, been learning everything on my own.


PS: My engine oil is stating 5% left, would that cause the engine light to come on and therefore kick out my remote start?


----------



## EcoCruzer79 (Jun 24, 2012)

If you have a smartphone either go to the apple store or play store and type in myChevrolet and download it....you can use your onstar subscrption to sign in to the app... from there you will see the fob controls.... you can unlock/lock your doors, start your car if you have remote start and sound the horn and flash the lights too... its kinda cool


----------



## FarGloom (Nov 11, 2018)

EcoCruzer79 said:


> If you have a smartphone either go to the apple store or play store and type in myChevrolet and download it....you can use your onstar subscrption to sign in to the app... from there you will see the fob controls.... you can unlock/lock your doors, start your car if you have remote start and sound the horn and flash the lights too... its kinda cool


Does it require the use of OnStar??? It's too expensive for me to use OnStar.


----------



## neile300c (Jul 8, 2014)

FarGloom said:


> Does it require the use of OnStar??? It's too expensive for me to use OnStar.



I don't think so. But, it is like remote start. If the car doesn't recognize the fob, it still won't go anywhere.


----------



## FarGloom (Nov 11, 2018)

neile300c said:


> I don't think so. But, it is like remote start. If the car doesn't recognize the fob, it still won't go anywhere.


Well the FOB is recognised, it still locks and unlocks my doors. It still allows me to start my car via the push button when i'm in the drivers seat. 
But when I leave my car the Horn no longer sounds when the FOB is outside the car. So i'm thinking it might be module related??? I haven't tried setting the alarm or using the panic button, maybe try that in the morning.

My VIN does have a "B" in it so maybe it's the module that has gone bad according to a tech note I saw on this site.


----------



## ChevyGuy (Dec 13, 2014)

FarGloom said:


> ON another note I am having similar issues with my remote start. It stopped working then the engine light came on.


Normal. Per the user manual, remote start won't work if there's a CEL condition. Fix the CEL and I'll bet the report start comes back.


----------



## FarGloom (Nov 11, 2018)

So I found out today that I still have warranty on the vehicle. YAY!!! 3 years or 60,000 KM (bumper to bumper). The CEL is a P015B code. (picked up a scanner from Crappy Tire 50% off)
P015B = 02 sensor delayed response. Lean to Rich bank 1 sensor. Welp when I get my free oil change tomorrow they are gonna look at repairing the code.


----------



## ChaoticXRed (Jan 7, 2021)

I just got a 17 Hatchback that has just started doing this. And I have a B in my VIN. I didn't buy directly from Chevy, but I have a warranty with who I bought it from. Should I go directly to Chevy or talk to the dealer I got it from? Because this is strange.


----------



## jblackburn (Apr 14, 2012)

ChaoticXRed said:


> I just got a 17 Hatchback that has just started doing this. And I have a B in my VIN. I didn't buy directly from Chevy, but I have a warranty with who I bought it from. Should I go directly to Chevy or talk to the dealer I got it from? Because this is strange.


If it's under B2B, go to the Chevy dealer. If not, go to the place you bought it from and give them the TSB.


----------



## FarGloom (Nov 11, 2018)

This has happened to me quite alot. I've found that it means the battery in the remote is starting to die. Once I replace the battery. It works great for about 6-8 months and it starts all over again.


----------

