I just wanted to know if I am the only one who has to be up close to their car just to get the remote to work. I had a remote start installed from the stealership but it's worthless since I have to be so close just to get a signal. Does anybody know where the antenna for the receiver is? Is it upgradable? Thanks in advance.

 

From my experience, you have to be fairly close to the car. For me, it won't work unless I'm within 30-40 feet, which is surprisingly close. My other car, a 04 Chevy Silverado has a remote range of over 50+ yards when it has a new battery!!!

 

The range on the Fit is quite small, but I am used to our Subaru, which is the king of remote distances for some reason. That was confirmed last month when Car and Driver did a test and found the Subaru and Dodge to have about 4 times the range of most other cars.

 

So nobody has any idea how to extend the range?

 

I did this to my nissan. I am sure the same could be done for the fit. It added 30' of range.

Add 30' of range to you KeyFob. - Nissan Frontier / Navara Forum

If you have to be logged in to see it, let me know and I will just post the pics.

 

The Fit has better range than my '02 Neon did. That car, you had to be within 10 feet for it to work! Replacing the battery didn't help a bit.

 

Get better range by putting the key fob against your head when you lock/unlock.

 

He's not joking. ^

your skull magnifies the signal. hold it to your head.

 

you can move the receiver higher. Its under the drivers dash and its a little black box about 1.5" X 1" X 0.75" (just estimates). It has 4 wires going in to it, on a five pin harness. (black, brown/orange, yellow, white/red)

Splice/extend the wires and run it up the pillar in to the roof.

Please measure your distance and see how much farther range you get. If it works out well, maybe Ill do it too.

 

Sounds like a good idea. Someone should find the right connector and just make an extension and sell them.

 

Yep, pretty cool. Just place it under your chin. Here's an illustrated example of the results you may achieve:



Intel radio expert Robert Paxman explains:

“It comes down to antenna efficiency. If a transmitter operating at ‘x’ frequency range has an antenna that might be lacking in efficiency and you couple it to something that creates a situation for better efficiency, getting that added range is plausible. Because the body has some conductivity, placing it close to some body part would create a coupling effect. Think back to the days of TVs having “rabbit ears” for antennas. Sometimes the best reception and clearest picture was had when you were touching it. The same principle applies here.”

Reference: Car Alarm Remote Touched To Head - Everyday Tech Myths - Tom's Guide

 

I'll add to that....open your mouth wide and aim towards your car.
Now you are like a parabolic antennae amplifying and directing the signals to your car.

 

Mine is fine... with no obstructions I can lock/unlock from 30-50 yards away with the head/chin trick mentioned above.