If you’re getting the message ‘Key ID Incorrect’ and your Nissan car won’t start, this is for you.
Even though your car is giving you the ‘Key ID incorrect’ message, you can use it if you follow our instructions.
Why is my Nissan telling me ‘Key ID Incorrect?’
This problem is most common on the Nissan Qashqai, but we also see it on the Nissan Juke, Nissan Note and Nissan Micra models. In fact, if your key is similar to this one, you need this information.
In the olden days when you turned a car off, it went to sleep and rested until you turned the ignition again and woke it up.
These days, the car sits and listens constantly, trying to detect your smart key. This is why once you are inside the car, it already knows you have the car key, all you need to do is press the start button.
However, when ‘Key ID Incorrect‘ is shown, your car can’t detect the key. For some reason the automatic system that Nissan have designed isn’t working. This is normally one of three reasons
Nissan Won’t Start Checklist
Key ID Incorrect – Reason number One – Key Battery Low
The first and simplest reason is your car key battery. When did you last change it? If you did change it, how good was the battery you put inside the key?
It may be that the car can’t detect the key. It’s calling out to the key and waiting for a response, but your key doesn’t have the energy to answer!
Faulty, cheap, low quality key batteries, are the biggest cause of problems we see in all makes of proximity or ‘smart’ keys. We find it unbelievable that a £15,000 car, has a penny car key battery fitted inside the car key. So buy a recognised brand
Click Here to Buy these Batteries on Amazon
Key ID Incorrect – Reason Two – Faulty Key
This could be for a number of reasons.
Obvious Damage to the key
If someone has been heavy handed when changing the key battery, a wayward screwdriver can damage the key.
You must be careful when changing the key battery, read more here.
Invisible Damage to the key
What do we mean invisible damage? Sometimes there’s no obvious reason for the ‘key ID Incorrect’ message. Your car key will look immaculate inside, with a fresh new key battery. However, we’re seeing these Nissan remote keys just die, with no obvious damage. Maybe the key has been dropped one too many times?
The only answer is to replace the key with a new one.
Water Damage to the key
If your car key has taken a swim, then it’s bad news I’m afraid. Electronics and water have never been friends, and once wet, it’s a race against time to dry your car key out. You can save it, but you must be quick. If your key has been wet in the past, there will be tell-tale signs.
Normally a white ‘tide-mark’ is obvious. Then there’s a green tinge that will develop and turn into white ‘rust’. Lastly, good old fashioned brown rust is a giveaway. All of these will cause ‘Key ID Incorrect’!
Key ID Incorrect – Reason Three – The Key isn’t programmed!
Did the key ever start the car? We see this a lot, just after the car has been sold. Sometimes you’re given two keys, but you’ve only tested one to to see if it works!
When the key is brand new, it needs programming with specialist diagnostic equipment.
What is car key programming? This is a really common reason for the ‘Key ID incorrect’ message. Maybe the car sales ordered the key from Nissan, but didn’t have time to get it coded, or someone forgot.
Either way, if the key needs programming, no problem. Either the dealer, or a good Auto Locksmith can help you. Need to find a good Auto Locksmith? Click Here
How do I start the car with Key ID Incorrect?
This first priority is to get you moving again, so you can get the car to a garage, or the dealer. This is normally very simple.
Are you getting the following message?
The car shows you how to start the car using the emergency method.
Place the fob on top of the button and wait for the car to recognise it for a few seconds. The press the button with the key fob as shown.
If the key is programmed, the car will start!
It’s now time to find out why the car key is playing up. Visit your local dealer, or better still, find an Auto Locksmith to check the key out and change the key battery if needed. Looking for a good Auto Locksmith? Click Here
Need a good quality key battery at a reasonable price? Click Here to go to Amazon
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After returning from the garage, my smart key for my Nissan Qashqai is not working properly. I have a push button Start. When I lock the car with the remote, the windows used to close automatically but they no longer do that. Now if I press the unlock button, they close. It seems like the system is reversed for some reason as a result of the battery being disconnected. Hopefully and easy fix. Please advise.
Hi Bruce, so sorry I’ve been away. Do you still need help?
This article was extremely helpful, as my mother and I were stuck at the gas station for several minutes. Quick solution: pressing the start button with the key fob worked!!!
Great Stuff, what part of the world are you from please? So pleased you got up and running :)
We have a Qashqai 57 plate. so get the normal red slowly flashing red car symbol at the bottom of the dash when the key is at 0 or taken out. normal? however when we remote lock that symbol starts to flash very rapidly as if it’s gone mad! This doesn’t happen if we manual lock? Car appears to be running normally and symbol doesn’t appear whilst driving.
Hi Kevin, I’ll find a Qashqai and see if this is normal, I think it is
Thank you!! I was driving my friends car and saw the message but didn’t know what it meant!
You’re welcome, glad it helped you :)
Hello, I have run into an issue and have looked EVERYWHERE online for help/solution and can not find any… I hope you can help me. I have a 2014 Nissan Pathfinder. It came with 2 fobs (it’s a push start so the 3 button fob has a place inside for a key that I now use for door locking). I lost one fob almost right away years ago and have one fob left. Recently my settings are telling me that my key battery is running low. In the meantime I bought a replacement fob to have as backup and yesterday took my car to my personal
Mechanic. He tried to program the new fob first (his computer would not pick up the fob at all) then tried to reprogram my original fob (which even though my car itself picks up because that’s how my car starts) the computer also would not pick
It up. A few weeks ago after searching hours and hours online I found one video on YouTube from someone who had the same make/model/year car as me and was trying to program his fob and kept running into issues until he finally found a solution. It had something to do with pushing the unlock/lock buttons on the door, and hitting the stop/start button of the car, but I didn’t save the video and now am desperate for someone to help me please before the battery on my old fob runs out and I’m unable to start my car at all. Thank you in advance for your help!!
The part # is 285E3-9PB3A
Hi. You have a couple of issues here. The only time we have problems programming is where the incorrect part has been purchased. Maybe your new key is wrong? Have you changed the key battery on your working fob? It is simple to do and it’s only vary rarely that we have to program the fob back in afterwards. Normally it works.
I don’t know of any pushing the door lock buttons sorry. What equipment is your mechanic using to programme it?
Carina, man you’re a life saver. Just had my 2013 Altima not reading the key fob correctly and read a bunch of how tos while stranded at a gas station and it being 24 degrees outside. I pushed the unlock button and start stop button at the same time and bam the car started. Thank you Carina for your help! Where ever you are!
I run into a problem starting my car with the key fob/I-key. First the car doesn’t start with the key fob. Replaced battery and nothing changed. Key fob doesn’t turn on car. Oh by the way I have a 2014 Nissan Pathfinder. When I get in the car by using the mechanical key of course because none of the buttons work on my key fob. The car doesn’t say incorrect key id. The car allows me to turn it on without even having the key fob next to the push start button. It’s just really weird because I am watching all these videos on it an nothing is showing my issue. If you can reach out an help me that would be great. Thank you
That’s a very strange problem and I really don’t know what the answer is I’m afraid, sorry
So I lost my keys for my 2006 infinity g35. Got a new key and fob from the dealership and pop a lock came to cut and program.
Pop a lock said they got the pin but the code to program the key isn’t working, car won’t take it. Called dealership and they said to bring it it and I’ll need a new BCM….doesn’t seem right. Can the code be found from the BCM I have? I had someone replace something 2 years ago. (Don’t remember what it was) the guy went out of business. Help!
Hi Danyelle, it’s a difficult one. It all depends on what you had replaced and whether that has messed things up. Or there could be other reasons. I have heard about cars going the dealership for a new BCM because of software or BCM issues.
Sorry I can’t help more
I have a 2014 Nissan Juke. I can open the car with the key fob or just walk up to the door and it opens. If I sit in the car the start stop doesn’t pick up my key fob. I have to touch the key fob on to the start stop and it works. Why won’t my car pick up the fob. Keeps saying the key is outside the car.
Hi andy
Have you replaced the key battery with a good quality battery?
Hey I hope you can help. I have a 2015 Rogue and the battery died while I was away. I boosted it and it seems ok now but I can’t get it to start with my key. I replaced the battery in the fob and it will lock ans unlock the doors but when I try to start it it flashes “key Id incorrect”. Immediately prior to boosting the car it started to turn over but just didn’t have the power to start. Now it will start with the remote starter but once I touch the brake it shuts off and says key is incorrect again….
Hi Jeremy, I’ve never seen or heard of this fault until now. Something strange is going on but I don’t know what, sorry
I’m having the same issue. I have a 2014 qashqai, the car battery is flat. When I try to jump start the car with another car connected with booster cables, I get the error ‘key id incorrect’, so I am unable to start the car at all.
Have you found a solution or are you still having the same issue?
Just had a similar problem with my partners car..
Car wasnt recognising the key and when trying to use the above method it would just turn over and not start.
Have a ‘jump’ power pack and put that on.. tried the above method and it started but didnt cut out thankfully when pressing the break.
Seems to be more of a car battery issue due to the cold weather!
Id also like to add that when my partner rang the nissan dealer, she was met with a response of ‘just get it towed to us’ with no clear direction of any steps to get it started first.. garbage!
Shame about the dealer response, did you figure out if it was the car battery?
Hi,
Great video.
We have a similar problem on a Nissan Xtrail 2017. My wife came home from work and the central locking has stopped working. We got a low battery warning and so replaced the batteries with decent Energizer 2032. Unfortunately this has not resolved the problem. We are now having to manually open the doors.
Is this an east fix do you think or is it something Nissan will have to look at. It’s like the key has forgotten the codes. But to have this happen on two keys at the same time is odd.
Kind regards
Chris
Hi Christopher
Yes this is unusual. The first thing I’d do is get an Auto Locksmith tocheck the output from the keys. They will have an RF detector and they willbe able to tell whether teh keys are transmitting.
Timpsons may even be able to do this
Hi there
My neighbour has a 2018 Navara. His wife has just bought a 2020 Qashqai, both with keyless entry and ignition. To avoid each having to carry 2 Intelligent keys (they take whichever car is the easiest to get out the drive) can the Qashqai be programmed to accept the Navara key and vice versa? I know that my 2013 Nissan Elgrand can have up to 4 keys programmed to it and thought this might be possible for the Qashqai and Navara.
Thanks.
Hi Ian, I don’t think so.i don’t think they have the same part number ( even though they may look the same) and also, once is key is programmed to one vehicle,it cannot be coded to another.
Thanks Steve, it was worth a shot.
Hi Christopher, what did you end up doing?? This sounds like what is happening to my 2020 X-Trail. Sorry for the long story!
I bought it in March last year. The key warning of “incorrect ID” and “no key detected” both occurred randomly a few days ago, without any other prior issues. I called the dealership and they said to replace the batteries. Which I thought was odd because I had a 2014 lancer with keyless entry and keyless start and in the 5 years I owned it I never needed to replace the batteries.
I bought replacement batteries and when I got home from work, I also tried my second key fob. (I can confirm that it has been working previously as I have used them from time to time) which didn’t work either.
After the battery was replaced (I only changed the battery in one set) I still was unable to unlock or turn the car on.
On Friday morning, I was able to unlock with the button and turn the car on normally. I ducked to the shops but when going home it kept having the error message of “no key detected” happening again. When I got home I tried my second set (the one where I didn’t replace the battery) odd enough that one was working too and I used it to drive to work. Although by the end of the day neither set were working (I took them both in so I could call the dealership and I wasn’t sure if they could look at my car that day). The dealership has me booked in for a week’s time, but it’s frustrating as the manual key only opens the driver’s side door and to access the boot and other doors I have to turn the car on and press the unlock button as there is no latch for the boot.
I hope it isn’t too much of an issue to get fixed, it should be under warranty as I haven’t had it for 12 months yet. I do have some slight anxiety over it as I had issues with my other car (the lancer) and the dealership.
How did you get on with thsi? If you get chanve please let us know
Hello I have a 2017 Nissan Maxima and I change the battery out but it is still reading no key Id
My women car i turned it off yesterday afternoon and tried it a few hours later but the steering locked and its reading key not working and also there’s a simple of the steering wheel and the button when I try starting it please can u help me ?? Thank you
This saved my ass. I went in to pay for gas and fob wudnt work, an said incorrect key….
After panicking bcuz I had no one to call for help I thot of.. da da dun dah! Google!
Which brought me here! I held the fob on the start button, worked like a charm! .thanks an God bless!
Hi Britney, glad it helped you :)
Rally valuable information thankyou for sharing the solution of nissan key id incorrect, good work keep doing
Thanks Sophia :)
my nissan mirca wont start ,been told its the key ,can i get a replacement to start it up
Hi
Does the car crank? Is it trying to start, or just completely dead?
The information shown managed me to get the car and the disabled person back home. Then I got two new batteries for the thin and once I had charged them the thob and car worked perfectly. Thanks for the advice!!!
Hi Stephen, you’re very welcome, really pleased it helped :)