GTO recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Wondering if other BMW owners also face this problem? I spoke to Akshay1234 and he was aware of the issue.

When my 5-Series is parked in very specific spots, the SmartKey doesn't work at all. It's easy to open the car with the skeleton key, but the trouble is, MULTIPLE tries are needed to start the car. Even if I stick the SmartKey on the steering console (as BMW recommends), the SmartKey isn't recognised at all. Usually takes 5 - 6 minutes of continuous attempts before the key is recognised, the ignition turns on & the engine fires up. Here's a BMW owner from the USA complaining of the same problem.

Again, this happens only in very specific spots. 3 dead zones that I have noticed:

At these 3 spots, my car NEVER acknowledges the SmartKey. My best guess is radio interference with something, but I cannot put a finger on it. Is this radio interference with certain mobile network towers? Certainly not the key, because I tried with both my Smartkeys at the Revival parking spot.

I have never faced this issue with any other brand's cars so I think BMW is particularly sensitive to the issue. Akshay1234's suggestion was:

Some articles on this: 1 & 2.

Can you please share tips on what to do when the car just refuses to recognise the key & start the engine? What's the best practice?

What would be the approximate cost of this? Am sure it's a bomb and I'm not going to do it (as I face this issue just once in 3 - 6 months), but just out of curiosity?

Here's what BHPian Maverick5490 had to say on the matter:

This has been observed only in Mumbai, specifically to the F10 with old-gen keys having 868 MHz, newer cars have 434 MHz. Several cars in Navi Mumbai have also faced this and the best guess is due to radio frequency interference from police radios and high tension overhead cables, doubt this is due to mobile networks as that would have caused the issue in several locations.

In case the concern is recurring, the solution would be to replace the remotes and the antenna with a 434 MHz frequency.

Just flip open the back cover of the remote, the frequency is written there.

The best thing to do is to hold the remote close to the third stop lamp/rear windscreen to unlock the car. Next, hold the remote on the steering column for 10-15 seconds to start the car.

But we have had cars where the frequency was so adamant, nothing worked. Shifted the car to Neutral manually (which again is a big task) moved the car 15-20 meters, and everything worked

The cost for the replacement of the 2 remotes and antenna is approx Rs 75k.

Here's what BHPian Axe77 had to say on the matter:

Wow! Never faced such an issue or realised such an issue even existed - thanks for posting this. Might try to actually go to one of these spots someday and try it out just for curiosity.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

Keep yourself tuned in to the Indian automotive scene via Twitter, Youtube or RSS feeds.