Passive Unlock only working on passenger side 2012 Regal GS

[jmorris]

Good Morning All

I am the proud owner (since 7/5) of a 2012 Regal GS with 15,000 miles on it. I am really happy with most of everything on the car. The one annoying problem is passive unlock only works on the passenger side. My hope is its a simple problem related to the proximity antenna on the drivers side. I was hoping someone would have a diagram of where the antenna is located before I just start taking body panels off.

Thanks in advance

Ill post some pictures of the car when they are done uploading.

 

[MelsRegal]

Not sure what you mean by "passive" unlock. Went through the owners manual and that term is not used in relationship to unlocking of doors. Page 5-38 of the owners manual covers programming door locking.

http://www.vadengmpp.com/owners-manual/buick/2012-Buick-Regal.pdf

 

[Walt G]

Before you do that, did you try new batteries in your key-fobs? Despite the low miles on your car, I think the batteries should be dying right around now. The batteries in both of my fobs died at about the same time just a couple of months ago.. the one I use all the time, and the one that just sits in a drawer at home. My first symptom was greatly reduced range of the fob (couldn't open the door unless I pressed my pocket with the fob in it right up against the car).

What he means by passive unlock is that the doors unlock when you pull on the door handle if the FOB is detected as being near the door.

 

[jmorris]

Exactly what Walt G said. By passive unlock I mean when you walk to the door you can leave the fob in your pocket and just pull the handle and it will unlock the doors. When leaving you can just hit the square on the drivers handle to lock the doors.

The battery dying would make sense but I purchased a brand new remote for my wife and that would not work on the drivers side either. They work perfectly on the passenger side so I would put money on it being a antenna issue. I just cannot find anything on antenna location for the proximity sensor.

 

[jmorris]

Pictures https://1drv.ms/a/s!Asx2WqGsSg33giYvK8ze35r_hsV5

 

[nizerims]

From experience (to the best of my memory) there are 3 keyless antennae in the 5th GEN Regal.
The first is directly under the cup holders. Remove the rubber cup holder inlay and you will see a divvit shaped exactly like your key fob. The 1st antenna is directly under that key fob shaped cutout. If I were to guess; I would say that this particular antenna reads the strength & distance from the signal and allows you to push button start or show you a D.I.C. message saying "no remote detected". This antenna is also used to program new or extra key fobs.

The second antenna is also located inside the center console. It is under the rear hvac vents and the 110 outlet in the back seat area. This antenna visually differs from antenna #1 but is completely interchangeable with antenna #3. Not positive, but I think this antenna aims towards the front of your Regal and is involved with remote start, remote unlock/lock, keyless entry.
The third antenna is centered under the carpet in the trunk. It is a few inches behind the back seat and aims up towards the heavens. This antenna is probably functionality the same as antenna #2 just aimed in a different direction.



To help "Doctor Internet Troubleshoot" your problem I'm going to ask you a few questions. If you lie I can't properly help you and I will prescribe an attitude adjustment and move on to my next patient.


-Have you ever seen "Service Keyless Entry" after startup; on the DIC?

-After driving (manual transmission? In neutral, engine still running) how many times do you have to pull the drivers door handle to open the door?

-Do all the doors (drivers door expecially) auto lock after you exceed 10-15 mph?

-In the driver's seat, doors closed, engine running,,,, push the lock & unlock button on the center stack..... Do all the door lock pins jump up and down when you press the respective button?

-After driving (engine off) and exiting the vehicle, closing all doors. Do all the doors lock when you press the exterior button on drivers door handle?

-After driving and exiting the vehicle (engine off), all doors closed except your driver door. Press down on the door lock pin (the way you would lock a 1987 Monte Carlo).... Did all the doors auto lock themselves? Is the red security light (on the dashboard) flashing quickly even though the door is still open?

-(only works if this setting is enabled) After starting your Regal; with your key STILL in your pocket. Exit the vehicle and close the door..... Did the horn chirp a few times?..... Open and close the trunk while you are still on the outside of the vehicle.... Did the horn chirp again?

Do you guys concur with my troubleshooting questions? Did I miss anything?

 

[jmorris]

Have you ever seen "Service Keyless Entry" after startup; on the DIC?
Nope

-After driving (manual transmission? In neutral, engine still running) how many times do you have to pull the drivers door handle to open the door?
Auto Trans, Twice for both passenger and drivers door

-Do all the doors (drivers door expecially) auto lock after you exceed 10-15 mph?
As soon as I shift into either reverse or drive they lock

-In the driver's seat, doors closed, engine running,,,, push the lock & unlock button on the center stack..... Do all the door lock pins jump up and down when you press the respective button?
Yup, all the doors lock and unlock correctly

-After driving (engine off) and exiting the vehicle, closing all doors. Do all the doors lock when you press the exterior button on drivers door handle?
Yes and no, they lock if I hit the passenger side button but not the drivers side one.

-After driving and exiting the vehicle (engine off), all doors closed except your driver door. Press down on the door lock pin (the way you would lock a 1987 Monte Carlo).... Did all the doors auto lock themselves? Is the red security light (on the dashboard) flashing quickly even though the door is still open?
All the doors lock but the drivers door unlocks a second later

-(only works if this setting is enabled) After starting your Regal; with your key STILL in your pocket. Exit the vehicle and close the door..... Did the horn chirp a few times?..... Open and close the trunk while you are still on the outside of the vehicle.... Did the horn chirp again?
The horn does not chirp but it does say no key detected on the DIC, on a side note if I leave a key in the car but close the doors with the car off it will honk a few times. Noticed it when my wife left her purse in the car today.

I did notice that they sell two different door lock actuators one standard passive entry and an extended range one. That would seem to indicate that the door lock actuators have some part to play in the passive unlock working.

Standard Range

Extended Range

 

[nizerims]

When leaving you can just hit the square on the drivers handle to lock the doors.

-After driving (engine off) and exiting the vehicle, closing all doors. Do all the doors lock when you press the exterior button on drivers door handle?
Yes and no, they lock if I hit the passenger side button but not the drivers side one.

-Did the button on the drivers handle ever work?

-If you balance the key fob on the driver side door handle and walk around the car. Do the passive functions still work on the front passenger door?

-Can you lock/unlock the drivers door using the actual physical key?

*extra weird question
-When you are at the car wash (after a few minutes and the soap has had time to dwell). Do the doors lock themselves when you spray high pressure rinse directly into the door handle? (My 2012 did this every time I washed it. Sometimes on the drivers side, sometimes the passenger side)

I did notice that they sell two different door lock actuators one standard passive entry and an extended range one. That would seem to indicate that the door lock actuators have some part to play in the passive unlock working.

I wouldn't rule this out, but mechanically yours seems to be properly functioning. Could be something as simple as different plug/pin or door rod configuration that requires separate parts. Other part websites describe those part numbers differently than the links you posted.


I quickly checked the 2012 and then 2014 Service manuals. They both mention driver and passenger (passive) door antenna wires coming out of keyless entry control module X4. That got me interested because I was unaware of these, so I read further... I found out what wires they were on the main wiring harness in my 2014. Followed the main harness to the driver door harness. Driver door harness to where those wires terminate (along with some other wires)in the exterior door handle........... I lose those wires in the 2012 service manual at the main harness to driver door harness so without having the car in front of me I can't say for sure, but it looks like there is an antenna in the door handle of my 2014. There is also an exposed ground connection that has some corrosion on it.

so I would put money on it being a antenna issue

You should double down on the door handle.

No Whammies, No Whammies!

 

[jmorris]

-Did the button on the drivers handle ever work?
It has never worked since I bought the car but that was just two weeks ago so...

-If you balance the key fob on the driver side door handle and walk around the car. Do the passive functions still work on the front passenger door?
They do not, the reverse also does not work (leaving the remote on the passenger door and trying the drivers controls)

-Can you lock/unlock the drivers door using the actual physical key?
Yes

*extra weird question
-When you are at the car wash (after a few minutes and the soap has had time to dwell). Do the doors lock themselves when you spray high pressure rinse directly into the door handle? (My 2012 did this every time I washed it. Sometimes on the drivers side, sometimes the passenger side)
Not sure, I have only hand washed the car




I wouldn't rule this out, but mechanically yours seems to be properly functioning. Could be something as simple as different plug/pin or door rod configuration that requires separate parts. Other part websites describe those part numbers differently than the links you posted.
Interesting, I wonder if the dealer would be able to look it up by vin and tell me

I quickly checked the 2012 and then 2014 Service manuals. They both mention a driver and passenger (passive) door antenna wires coming out of keyless entry control module X4. That got me interested because I was unaware of these, so I read further... I found out what wires they were on the main wiring harness in my 2014. Followed the main harness to the driver door harness. Driver door harness to where those wires terminate (along with some other wires)in the exterior door handle........... I lose those wires in the 2012 service manual at the main harness to driver door harness so without having the car in front of me I can't say for sure, but it looks like there is an antenna in the door handle of my 2014. There is also an exposed ground connection that has some corrosion on it.
On what I thought was an unrelated issue it seems like speaker in the drivers door does not work. I figured something worked its way loose and I was going to look at when I went in to fix this issue. If there is an issue with the doors wiring harness that may be why the antenna is not working along with the speaker

If someone wants to come hang out saturday we could do some wire tracing.

 

[Harshman]

Not even with beer AND pizza.

 

[jmorris]

Not even with beer AND pizza.

My wife and I dont drink but I could provide any number of non-alcoholic beverages 😎

 

[Walt G]

I have a set of 2012 factory service manuals. It took some searching, but I found schematics for the keyless entry control module (it's in the 'remote functions' chapter, not the 'vehicle access' chapter where the rest of the keyless entry system is described).

I see six antennas listed:

Drivers door handle
Passneger door handle
Rear fascia
Center console front
Center console rear
Rear compartment

If it is a bad antenna, it would be the one built into your front driver's side door handle. Looks like pins 1 and 2 at the door connector, pins 6 and 7 at the keyless entry control module. A violet wire and a violet with grey stripe wire. The keyless entry control module is located behind the glove box on the right side. I think if you follow the instructions for getting at the cabin air filter you'll also have access to this module.

But I thought of one more thing to check. The system only 'looks' for the key after it detects that a door handle has been pulled. You said this doesn't work from the driver's side of the car, but just to be clear, does it work when you pull the driver's side 'rear' door handle? If it does, then I think it is not the antenna, but rather, the switch in the driver's side front door latch that's not telling the system that you are trying to open that door.

Just one more quick thing to check before you dig into what is most likely the problem: the antenna at the driver's side door handle assembly, which is what you figured from the start.

 

[nizerims]

Just to add some more info.
The passive entry changed in my 2014. I have buttons on all four exterior handles and the way you unlock & open the door is different. The walk up and pull the door handle to unlock has changed to walk up; press the button and then pull the handle.

I unplugged the connector going into my driver door handle and the passive entry stopped working on both drivers side doors. Passive entry continued to work on the passenger side.

If you leave the car alone for a while and walk up to (within 3 meters) any door or the trunk you can hear a few clicks and some buzzing. I believe this is the keyless entry module sending a request to the key fob. The key fob returns an encrypted code and allows the passive features to work..... With the door handle still unplugged I approached the front drivers door and heard no clicking. The passive button didn't work.
I moved to the rear door (rear door handle still plugged in) and the passive button didn't work there either. I reached into my pocket to get the key fob and heard the clicking and buzz coming from the trunk area, so I tried the passive buttons again to no avail.

I plugged the driver door handle back in and everything went back to normal.

I said that because it is helpful info, but also hope Walt will see this post and it may help explain why his passive trunk release button didn't work a few times.

 

[jmorris]

I have a set of 2012 factory service manuals. It took some searching, but I found schematics for the keyless entry control module (it's in the 'remote functions' chapter, not the 'vehicle access' chapter where the rest of the keyless entry system is described).

I see six antennas listed:

Drivers door handle
Passneger door handle
Rear fascia
Center console front
Center console rear
Rear compartment
I tried the truck and that does not seem to be working either but we'll have to see once the dealer installs the new rear harness to fix the parking sensors. 3 were missing and the harness was damaged so I had the dealer agree to pay a local Buick dealer to fix it.

If it is a bad antenna, it would be the one built into your front driver's side door handle. Looks like pins 1 and 2 at the door connector, pins 6 and 7 at the keyless entry control module. A violet wire and a violet with grey stripe wire. The keyless entry control module is located behind the glove box on the right side. I think if you follow the instructions for getting at the cabin air filter you'll also have access to this module.
Sweet, thank you. I will have to do some tracing Saturday.

But I thought of one more thing to check. The system only 'looks' for the key after it detects that a door handle has been pulled. You said this doesn't work from the driver's side of the car, but just to be clear, does it work when you pull the driver's side 'rear' door handle? If it does, then I think it is not the antenna, but rather, the switch in the driver's side front door latch that's not telling the system that you are trying to open that door.
I tried both of the doors on each side. Both doors on the drivers side do not work and both on the passengers side work perfectly.

Just one more quick thing to check before you dig into what is most likely the problem: the antenna at the driver's side door handle assembly, which is what you figured from the start.

I really appreciate all the work you both have done to help, knowing the wires to trace may save me a ton of money on parts that arent bad.

I havent been able to confirm one way or the other but are the door handles interchangeable between left and right? It seems like some websites list two different ones but others seem to only show one side.

 

[Walt G]

I said that because it is helpful info, but also hope Walt will see this post and it may help explain why his passive trunk release button didn't work a few times.

I'm surprised you remembered that...

My trunk release question was different though. That question has to do with interlocks to allow someone to pop the trunk (without a fob) while I am sitting in the driver's seat with my fob, like happens when I try to drop my kids off at school and they are trying to retrieve their band instruments from the trunk.

After much more experimentation, I'm pretty sure I know how that works now. The car must be stopped, with the e-brake engaged (manual transmission) and the doors unlocked. In that state, anyone can walk up to the trunk and open it by pressing the little button. An auto trans car may replace 'e-brake engaged' with 'FNRP in Park'... I'm not sure since I don't own an auto.

If the doors are locked or the e-brake is not engaged, the trunk button won't work unless that person pushing the button has the FOB in his pocket.

I don't think my car is broken, I think it's just an undocumented interlock there to prevent someone from running up to your car at a stop light and stealing stuff from your trunk. 🙂

 

[jmorris]

I found the problem
Broken tail from handle

 

[nate70500]

I found the problem
Broken tail from handle

I am having the same problem on my 13 regal. How did you unplug the tail from the connector? Did you have to remove the door panel? I can remove the door handle but havent been able to unplug the handle. My next step is going to be removing the door panel to see if I can access it

 

[g_747968]

So this fix the problem for the back doors not working also? I have the same problem on 13 Lacrosse

 

[CLE12GS]

 

[Bigryno]

Good Morning All

I am the proud owner (since 7/5) of a 2012 Regal GS with 15,000 miles on it. I am really happy with most of everything on the car. The one annoying problem is passive unlock only works on the passenger side. My hope is its a simple problem related to the proximity antenna on the drivers side. I was hoping someone would have a diagram of where the antenna is located before I just start taking body panels off.

Thanks in advance

Ill post some pictures of the car when they are done uploading.

I'm having the same issue. I found this in the Chilton manual. Note the highlighted line under the box. Hope this helps. Click on the pic and it should pop up clear image.