[kasparguy]

I know there's a physical key in the fob to be able to get into the car. But how can you start the car? Or can you? Do you just have to call Honda roadside assistance and wait for them to get you back rolling?

 

[insightfully]

There's a transponder inside the key fob. Hold the key fob right next to the power button, then press the power button to start the car.

Honda mentions that average battery life for the key fob is ~2 years (pg 168 of Owners Manual), and that the key fob consumes battery if the remote is placed near strong radio waves. To preserve battery, Honda advises to avoid placing the fob near electrical appliances like televisions and computers.

 

[andrew28]

I know there's a physical key in the fob to be able to get into the car. But how can you start the car? Or can you? Do you just have to call Honda roadside assistance and wait for them to get you back rolling?

You can start the car by placing the remote close to the power button(amazing huh?). :smile_big: Honda thought of everything.

 

[insightfully]

Transponder/immobilizer technology has been around since ~1997, and key fobs started showing up ~2013 with it embedded inside. Honda suggests this method of placing the key fob next to the power button to start any of their cars with push button start, if the key fob battery is low.

See the video below for a description of how/why this works, as demo'd in a 2018 Honda Accord [27:05 to 28:30]. (Too bad the Insight is missing the valet lock from the Accord...)

https://youtu.be/9flFBu9alRQ?t=1625

 

[kasparguy]

Thanks guys. I have the PDF manual on my computer at home but didn't want to try to find it again and download to my mom's computer. It was just a thought that came up with her car which has a similar keyless entry/start system.

 

[andrew28]

Transponder/immobilizer technology has been around since ~1997, and key fobs started showing up ~2013 with it embedded inside. Honda suggests this method of placing the key fob next to the power button to start any of their cars with push button start, if the key fob battery is low.

See the video below for a description of how/why this works, as demo'd in a 2018 Honda Accord [27:05 to 28:30]. (Too bad the Insight is missing the valet lock from the Accord...)

https://youtu.be/9flFBu9alRQ?t=1625

1997 immobilizer chip + battery = magic in 2019
So that's how the XM radio can pause, and rewind live music... We have an actual hard drive in our car.

 

[insightfully]

1997 immobilizer chip + battery = magic in 2019
So that's how the XM radio can pause, and rewind live music... We have an actual hard drive in our car.

Yep. It's a shame that it's only programmed for temporary Sirius storage (last 60 min of current channel + last 30 minutes of preset channels) that gets erased when the power is turned off. Hoping someone smarter than me will figure out how to hack the hard drive and use it to permanently store things like music or data storage (e.g. offline download of google maps)!