Key fob issue, "Turn steering, try start again", "Brake Failure, stop safely".. related?

meaganjoy · Post by **meaganjoy** » 14 Oct 2016, 07:22

So I absolutely love my 2008 Volvo C30, but I've been overwhelmed by the amount of issues lately. Its at 105k miles, I've done a decent job maintaining it, I don't drive it too hard. But a few of the issues it's had:
-Key fob won't unlock doors, but will start the car. I can still unlock the doors, lock them, roll the windows up and down, but the fob doesn't work for any of this. I never got any message from using the fob in the ignition, I just am not able to unlock or lock the doors. Tried replacing battery in fob.
-Sometimes, on a hard acceleration, I'll get a message saying something about ABS (its replaced so fast, I can't read the whole thing) then it will switch to another message "Brake Failure Stop Safely" and will go into limp mode. If I disconnect the battery, wait five minutes, then reconnect, everything will be fine again.
-This morning, I tried to start the car and got "Turn Steering Try Start Again". When I put the fob in, it made a clicking noise as opposed to the regular sound of the immobilizer disengaging, and the steering wheel was locked. I tried disconnecting the battery again, this did not work. I wiggled the steering wheel side to side pretty hard, and this seemed to fix it.

My biggest question is if you all think any of these are related. Possibly something electric? I would just hate to start trying to fix these problems individually if there's a root cause. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask!

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 15 Oct 2016, 08:21

The only time I have heard of random issues like you're getting in the notification center like this on our cars is due to a weak car battery. Check the battery and see if that might not be it. Even if it starts the car, the voltage should register near or above 13V when cranking, from what I understand.

meaganjoy · Post by **meaganjoy** » 15 Oct 2016, 10:58

The battery is barely over a year old, but I can absolutely get it tested!

Post by **doublebug** » 16 Oct 2016, 03:40

"Turn Steering Try Start Again" is know to have column lock fail but in this case it is real Turn Steering Try Start Again

Because sometimes is fail to unlock because of some pressure. When you turn steering it managed to unlock.
Worst is when you get this message and steering wheel is not locked. That means lock is failed.

meaganjoy · Post by **meaganjoy** » 19 Oct 2016, 06:02

doublebug wrote:"Turn Steering Try Start Again" is know to have column lock fail but in this case it is real Turn Steering Try Start Again
Because sometimes is fail to unlock because of some pressure. When you turn steering it managed to unlock.
Worst is when you get this message and steering wheel is not locked. That means lock is failed.

Funny you should say that.. That happened last night, so I'm thinking the lock has officially failed now. Does anyone know the average cost to get that replaced?

mf70 · Post by **mf70** » 12 Dec 2016, 14:19

First use VIDA to see what trouble codes were stored. The car will remember the trouble you have had. For the standard fob, there are THREE independent locking systems in this car.

For my 2006, the blade key will only open the door.
The shank of the fob is a RFID chip that will only unlock the ignition. This would explain this part: "-Key fob won't unlock doors, but will start the car. I can still unlock the doors, lock them, roll the windows up and down, but the fob doesn't work for any of this. I never got any message from using the fob in the ignition, I just am not able to unlock or lock the doors. "
The remote button of the fob will lock or unlock various openings. It communicates with a receiver perched above the DIM under the dashboard.

For most of the problem, I'm betting on a CEM or DIM fault interfering with that reception. VIDA will be a guide.