I have a 2018 Chevy Silverado pick-up truck, bought new.
About a month and a half ago when I went to get into it the remote wouldn’t unlock the door. No blinking lights, no clicking of the door locks. Nothing.
Simple fix, right? Needs a new battery.
But wait …
The remote starter worked. And the panic alarm feature worked.
I got into the truck the old fashioned way with the key. When I put the truck in gear the automatic locks didn’t lock. Also, when I pushed the button for the electric locks they didn’t work.
Everything else works. Electric windows, electric mirrors, everything.
So I was thinking it’s not the remote but something with the door locks. They’re like completely DOA.
I’m thinking maybe a fuse.
But then …
I came out of where I was and out of habit unlocked the truck with the remote and it worked! And the lock buttons inside worked.
And for the next 6 weeks the locks worked as they should.
Until …
Last night when I was leaving for work the remote wouldn’t unlock the truck and the lock button on the inside door wouldn’t work either. And the locks didn’t automatically lock when I shifted into gear line they are supposed to. Same thing, different day.
But then …
This morning when I left work everything was fine again and functioning normally.
Loose wire or corroded connection to the central locking control module. Or that module has a cracked circuit board or something similar and is now flaky. Water intrusion into connectors or module containers can produce similar issues. I’ve had that in other modules on my cars.
The fact it’s all locks or none points to the issue being there, rather than, say, a defective lock solenoid on the driver’s door (I had that recently on my car).
If it was just a flaky unlock button on the remote (that happens too), you would not experience the doors not auto-locking as you drive away.
Sadly, that’s probably a dealer fix, not a DIY fix. Good luck. Seriously, not snarkily.
i had the same issue with my old Dodge 1500–ended up being the RKE (Remote Keyless Entry) receiver. $400 including 2 new keys. It gradually died over about 6 months. But check the fuses first…
“If the horn don’t work, try the lights…”
A little levity..
Do you have squirrels or other chewing rodents?
My Son’s Dodge Ram did something similar. Discovered tiny bite marks, some where exposed, showing wiring.
He’s been chasing down issues for a couple months.
And chasing squirrels outta his yard.
Cleaned the garage. De-vermined that and now parks in it.
I swear squirrels will dominate the planet one day.
And when you check the fuses, pull the appropriate fuse and check its terminals and the terminals in the fuse block where that fuse normally lives … for any signs of dirt, oxidation, or corrosion. That can definitely cause intermittent electrical gremlins.
This is headlamp-and-reading-glasses stuff for many cars (and many Dopers).
If you find any of the above on either the fuse or the fuse block, it’s a simple fix (generally, with an emery board or something similar, and some sort of electrical contact cleaner).
Did you replace the batteries in the remote anyways? Maybe different sensors that makes sure you are in close proximity to unlock the doors but can be further away for the remote start and panic button?
Best case scenario is the remote’s or even the vehicle’s battery is bad, or a receiving sensor is failing. Worst case scenario is your body control module (BCM) is failing. I had that happen to my Dodge Dakota. Local service shop couldn’t replace it as it is VIN specific (used wouldn’t work) so the dealership had to do the replacement and reprograming. If I remember correctly it was $700.00 for parts and labor and this was 15 years ago.
Kidding aside, taking a look at the fuses is likely to be your best bet at getting off easy. You might have to be careful with the fuse checking - perhaps shorting across the block terminals before you pull a fuse in case you have a theft-deterrent radio setup, for instance.
The customer service guy at my repair shop was telling me about a customer who had an intermittent fault with a power window - had it in a couple times and they never saw it happen. So they kept the car for a while and tried it every so often to see if the problem manifested itself - toward the end of the week they saw it and every tech in the place swarmed the car, multimeters in hand, to figure out what was going wrong. It was an easy fix, once they could figure out what the problem was. Hope you have even better luck with yours.
Having your battery go out might lead to to all kinds of electronic Gremlins and inconsistencies so if you suspect it might be it, upgrade your 12 volt battery as a first step.
Come to think of it, you probably have checked for error codes right?
