My new 2008 C6 Coupe (1100 miles) decided to give me the FOB NOT FOUND message and refused to start. After about a week of phone calls, wrecker tows, and a trip to the dealership I've managed to find the problem.
I "had" a Garmin Nuvi 255w. I made a day trip up to Bowling Green (about 7 hours total) and had no problems with the Nuvi and the Vette. During this time I also kept the fob in my right pocket. A week or so later I noticed that the fob was pinching me so I started keeping it in my left pocket. My wife and I tried to make a short 50 mile trip. Out of 5 stops the Vette refused to start 3 times. I eventually had it towed to the dealership. The dealership couldn't reproduce the problem but handed me a copy of a bulletin (#08-08-47-001) that describes the Keyless access system in the C6 and Cadillac XLR, XLR-V.
I read the bulletin and within 15 minutes of experimentation had determined that the Garmin was the trouble maker. (No problem with the hands free bluetooth cell phone setup. Note: Bluetooth handsfree is a seperate device that hangs up on the visor).
Here's what happens...
Start your Vette.
Turn on the Garmin (the problem occurs with or without charge cable connected to lighter plug). Hang your fob between the windshield and the back of the Garmin.
After a couple of minutes or so turn off the vette and you'll see "NO FOB, OFF OR RUN?" Shut off the Vette. Now when you try to start it you'll see "FOB NOT FOUND". If you want start waving the fob around but you'll still see "FOB NOT FOUND" if you try to start it.
Take the fob and plug it into the fob glove compartment socket and you'll still see "FOB NOT FOUND".. (This really bugs me. You'd assume that a direct wired connection would overcome the interference problem, but it does not!) This plug problem is high on my list come Monday when GM and Garmin are back at work.
Now un-plug the fob and try to start the car. You'll still get the "FOB NOT FOUND" message.
Last but not least TURN OFF THE GARMIN, put the fob back into your pocket and start the car. The car will start and your on your way...
In Summary... Based on my experiences I've come to the following conclusions:
1) OnStar is a complete waste of money. Since Onstar requires a cell network your better off just using your cell phone. When I had the fob problem the Onstar wouldn't work despite the fact that I was in a cell area. I called OnStar on my cell phone and they couldn't even locate the Vette. If a Garmin Nuvi is able to disable OnStar I'd hate to see how it would work in a real accident. Also please note that the On Star folks don't know squat, including their roadside assistance buddies. I mentioned that the doors were locked and we couldn't exit the vehicle. (I'd forgotten about the manual door release on the floors that I read about a few weeks earlier). They suggested that I read my owners manual. The next day after I had already re-read the owners manual the Onstar lady calls me at home and starts reading me the information from the owners manual that I had already read. I basically said she was a day late. I needed that nugget of information yesterday when I was stuck in the Vette.
2) Talking to "most" dealerships will get you information such as: "Well we really don't know alot about vettes, since we only sell one or two a year.. After about 5 phone calls I finally managed to find a dealership in N. Alabama that had a tech that actually knew how to work on a vette.
3) My GM expert assigned to my case has been of little or no help. Technically and otherwise.
4) And finally... GM needs to fix the fob plug-in as far as it being able to overcome interference. This should be a 100% reliable always works solution to the "FOB NOT FOUND" problem.
PS: I reproduced this problem with both fob's numerous times....
I "had" a Garmin Nuvi 255w. I made a day trip up to Bowling Green (about 7 hours total) and had no problems with the Nuvi and the Vette. During this time I also kept the fob in my right pocket. A week or so later I noticed that the fob was pinching me so I started keeping it in my left pocket. My wife and I tried to make a short 50 mile trip. Out of 5 stops the Vette refused to start 3 times. I eventually had it towed to the dealership. The dealership couldn't reproduce the problem but handed me a copy of a bulletin (#08-08-47-001) that describes the Keyless access system in the C6 and Cadillac XLR, XLR-V.
I read the bulletin and within 15 minutes of experimentation had determined that the Garmin was the trouble maker. (No problem with the hands free bluetooth cell phone setup. Note: Bluetooth handsfree is a seperate device that hangs up on the visor).
Here's what happens...
Start your Vette.
Turn on the Garmin (the problem occurs with or without charge cable connected to lighter plug). Hang your fob between the windshield and the back of the Garmin.
After a couple of minutes or so turn off the vette and you'll see "NO FOB, OFF OR RUN?" Shut off the Vette. Now when you try to start it you'll see "FOB NOT FOUND". If you want start waving the fob around but you'll still see "FOB NOT FOUND" if you try to start it.
Take the fob and plug it into the fob glove compartment socket and you'll still see "FOB NOT FOUND".. (This really bugs me. You'd assume that a direct wired connection would overcome the interference problem, but it does not!) This plug problem is high on my list come Monday when GM and Garmin are back at work.
Now un-plug the fob and try to start the car. You'll still get the "FOB NOT FOUND" message.
Last but not least TURN OFF THE GARMIN, put the fob back into your pocket and start the car. The car will start and your on your way...
In Summary... Based on my experiences I've come to the following conclusions:
1) OnStar is a complete waste of money. Since Onstar requires a cell network your better off just using your cell phone. When I had the fob problem the Onstar wouldn't work despite the fact that I was in a cell area. I called OnStar on my cell phone and they couldn't even locate the Vette. If a Garmin Nuvi is able to disable OnStar I'd hate to see how it would work in a real accident. Also please note that the On Star folks don't know squat, including their roadside assistance buddies. I mentioned that the doors were locked and we couldn't exit the vehicle. (I'd forgotten about the manual door release on the floors that I read about a few weeks earlier). They suggested that I read my owners manual. The next day after I had already re-read the owners manual the Onstar lady calls me at home and starts reading me the information from the owners manual that I had already read. I basically said she was a day late. I needed that nugget of information yesterday when I was stuck in the Vette.
2) Talking to "most" dealerships will get you information such as: "Well we really don't know alot about vettes, since we only sell one or two a year.. After about 5 phone calls I finally managed to find a dealership in N. Alabama that had a tech that actually knew how to work on a vette.
3) My GM expert assigned to my case has been of little or no help. Technically and otherwise.
4) And finally... GM needs to fix the fob plug-in as far as it being able to overcome interference. This should be a 100% reliable always works solution to the "FOB NOT FOUND" problem.
PS: I reproduced this problem with both fob's numerous times....
