CT5-V 2025 CT5V BW battery dead, drivers manual key entry not functional

[DZnutz]

So, quite the problem I have here. I was going to hook up a battery tender to my brand new BW thats in storage... well, turns out the battery is already completely dead and the only other physical way to open the car... drivers side manual key, is not working. key turns fine, you can hear the mechanism actuating but it doesnt unlatch the door.

Local Dealer has no other options other than roadside to get into the car but Im certain I know how theyll want to do that and Im not risking bending the door frame or breaking and scratching trim.

So... are there any people here who have run into this and still managed to either unlock the car or atleast get into the trunk or pop the hood?

I can only imagine that there is a way, just need someone whos been as unfortunate and as persistent as me previously.

The car is on a hoist so access to the underbody is no issue if the hood latch can some how be accessed and popped from underneath.

Any thoughts are appreciated

 

[ngoni]

Since you can access underneath, maybe try supplying power to the starter via jumper cable? That should get you enough power to open a door.

Sadly this is an area where the 4 is better than the 5. The 4 retains the mechanical door locks so if you lose power you can still open the door.

 

[DZnutz]

Very curious idea... Ill have to explore that but if someone else has any other ideas theyd be appreciated as well

 

[ngoni]

Here's another option:
1. Remove the front bottom plastic cover so you can access the hood release cable.
2. Pull on the cable to access the hood (this assumes the CT5 routes the hood cable the same as the CTS in the video)
3. Charge or jump-start the car

 

[rubberduck]

Haven’t tried this but…

https://www.justanswer.com/cadillac/tlxe1-ct5-door-half-open-key-fob-battery-dead.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com

 

[DZnutz]

Good ideas guys, can any one confirm if the ct5v actually has an emergency hood release accessible from the exterior of veh?

 

[jwolf99]

According the manual for my 2022 5BW, you need to turn the key clockwise, then slowly turn it counterclockwise while pulling on the door handle at the same time to unlatch the door.

 

[Argent86]

According the manual for my 2022 5BW, you need to turn the key clockwise, then slowly turn it counterclockwise while pulling on the door handle at the same time to unlatch the door.

Same instruction in 2024 5BW manual. Ill have to try it.

I leave my hood popped when car in storage. Could leave the trunk popped. Gonna check on it tomorrow but the battery will def be low. Gonna charge it full but when stored for more than a week I'll pull the neg cable at battery per the manual. (I'm used to pulling the red cable first but the 5BW manual says pull the neg.)

"Infrequent Usage: Remove the black, negative (−) cable from the battery to keep the battery from running down."

 

[FLYARMY]

A battery tender is a MUST when you put these cars into storage or park them for more than 2 weeks. The cars are always awake looking for either an over the air update or the key fob to approach and it slowly wears down the battery.

 

[jbawden]

So the take away here is a classic forum quip: RTFOM? I love it.

 

[ngoni]

For shorter periods of time when you aren't driving you could use transport mode if you don't have a battery tender handy:

-Begin with engine Off
-Turn on the hazard flashers
-Press and hold the brake pedal
-Press the start button and hold for @ 15 seconds
"Transport Mode On" will appear on the cluster and the battery warning lamp will flash
-Use the same procedure to cancel the On mode
Cluster will show "Transport Mode Off" and battery warning lamp will extinguish after cancellation

 

[BigShark]

Try the manual method from jwolf99 but make sure you're really pulling hard on the door handle while turning the key - sometimes those mechanisms get stiff when they haven't been used much.

 

[DCV]

If you leave the hood and trunk popped open while in the garage for periods of time, the car won’t go to sleep and the sensors for them will be triggered and draw the battery down even faster.

 

[jvp]

If you leave the hood and trunk popped open while in the garage for periods of time, the car won’t go to sleep and the sensors for them will be triggered and draw the battery down even faster.

Yes but if the hood is popped, you can ... open it further and slap a set of jumper cables on it. Right?

Both my car and truck sit with tenders on them, even if it's just overnight. GM cars "wake up" too frequently when I walk by them (in the house). So keeping a tender on them is basically a requirement for me.

 

[DCV]

Get a faraday cage for the key Fobs

 

[ngoni]

Get a faraday cage for the key Fobs

Saves your battery and is also an anti-theft measure.

Edit: Our cars have a 'sleep mode' for the fob. If the fob is stationary for 2-3 minutes it stops transmitting so the Faraday box isn't strictly needed unless, like me, you prefer a belt + suspenders approach for certain things.

 

[hawk02]

Last year, when I stored my 5BW for the winter, I simply disconnected the negative battery lead and laid a couple of microfiber towels over the trunk latch so it wouldn’t engage. Because of the “self-opening” trunk, I placed a small amount of weight on the trunk lid to keep it closed without latching.

Since the original battery turned out to be defective and was replaced in June, I have the car on a NOCO 10-amp charger for the winter this year.

 

[DZnutz]

Thanks everyone for the sound advice and ideas. Ill try them all once back at the car.

Still curious if this vehicle has the emergency hood pull behind the front grill

 

[jvp]

Get a faraday cage for the key Fobs

No need. The battery tenders do the job nicely.

 

[DCV]

Saves your battery and is also an anti-theft measure.

Edit: Our cars have a 'sleep mode' for the fob. If the fob is stationary for 2-3 minutes it stops transmitting so the Faraday box isn't strictly needed unless, like me, you prefer a belt + suspenders approach for certain things.

View attachment 32918

I read it differently. If the key is close enough to talk to the car, then even if the key is stationary, and sleeping, it still might be talking to the car but at a lower message rate. In fact the car has to exchange info with the fob to know the key is indeed in sleep mode. If I was still working and had access to an Agilent spectrum analyzer I’d do a test for that, record messages between the fob and the car to see what they are actually doing.