Since we have gotten our 08 Wrangler Unlimited Sahara the remote key for the unlock & lock really sucks ! In the manual it says you unlock/lock your Wrangler upto 20m (60ft) away with the Programmable key.

Well....since basically off the lot I can't even go further than 2m (6ft) away to try and unlock or lock our Jeep with our remote key. The other vehicles I have had I could easily reach 20m to unlock/lock and hit the panic button and it would function.

Is it normal for the Jeep Wrangler's to have such a crappy range for the remote key locking? Is there a trick that I am missing? Do I take it to the dealers and have it checked out? Just interested to see if anyone has had this problem and how they solved it.

 

it could be a dead battery.

 

mine is that way too. i had a nissan before this, and i could find it in a parking lot by beeping the lock horn, from a long way away. the jeep is 10-20 feet max. sucks.

 

mine is like this intermittently..
and when it does it the remote start wont work either..

 

I have encountered no problems unlocking from any distance I have tried it at. And I know the remote start works from inside the grocery store with the JK parked at the far end of the lot.

 

My remote sucks as well. I need to stand a few feet away for it to work.
I also own a Nissan altima and it works from down the street.
The wife has a Montero and the remote sucks on it as well. I think it has to do with where the receiver is mounted.

 

I have the same trouble with mine also. Have to be within about 15 ft.

 

Happens to me sometimes.
At home (out in the mountains) or in the woods I can easyly lock/unlock from 15 meters, some other place I have to be 1 meter frome my Jeep do do it.
I guess it has something to do with all the radio interference in the urban areas: Worst spot is close to the airport, it occured that I had to use the keyhole. I reckon that on the same spot this happened also to the VW i owned before.

 

That is odd, my remote works to lock the jeep from my apartment on the 10th floor of my building down to my jeep down the street. Granted its completely unobstructed and a clear site to the jeep but thats a solid 100+ ft. On the ground I haven't had a problem from any distance really, easily 50 ft or so from the jeep before I realize i forgot to lock it and turn around and hit the lock button, beep, done.

 

Maybe I will have to check out the sensor in the Jeep to see if there is any obstruction.....as 6ft is brutal!!!! Frustrating..... when I can unlock/lock and hit the panic button on my Magnum and Ram Diesel at over 100ft away.

If I can't find anything obstructing...time to take to dealer and have the battery checked out on both sets of keys as I have tried both and it's the same old thing 6 ft max distance way!!!