OK I have been scouring forums all day and have come across a few people with my problem but no real answers... My key fob is only working about a quarter of the time. I have gotten to the point where I rarely lock my car because when I do I have to stand there looking like an idiot for 10 minutes trying to open it. I have to push the button (no matter which one I am pushing) several (and I mean SEVERAL) times before it engages randomly. It is extremely frustrating. I plan to put a new battery in it but have read that in doing so I am going to have to go to a dealer to have it reprogrammed afterward? Not sure if this is true or not as no other car seems to have to do this after replacing a battery but who knows....Volvos are "special" sometimes. However I have also read that this could be a faulty connection? In which case either my fob is broken and I need a new one ($$$$$) or I need to do some "engineering" to fix it. I did also read that someone put a small piece of foam or cardboard on top of the battery under the casing and it made a better connection? Has anyone heard of any of this or have any advice for me on this issue? Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

looks like a signal/transmission problem. i think next step is to change the battery. But i just checked the owners manual (2006) and it simply says to change the battery if the signal is bad. It doesn't mentions anything about re-programming.
Also this problem only happens @ same place..did u try at different location and see if the signal is still bad
Or maybe the buttons on the keypad is worn out or something.

If however you still get bad signal after changing the battery then the problem could be with remote circuit board that is sending poor signal to car and could be worn out.
If

 

I had the same problem with my 99 S80. I changed the battery and it worked fine. I didn't have to reprogram anything either. I just took the remote into an auto parts store and matched the battery and installed it. I will say that I noted that the battery didn't last very long, maybe 6 months, before I had to replace it again.

 

Usually replacing the battery doesn't change the code requiring it to need reprogrammed.

Secondly, does the car have a keyhole in the door where you can stick the key in and unlock it?

 

Those car are famous for the keyhole to not work sometimes. Thats a battery problem you have mate.

 

Just wanted to share my experience on my 2000 S80, my fob was barely working I had to move around the car to different spots and kept continuously pushing the button until it finally unlocked, so I took the battery out and tested it and it said three volts, which is what it is supposed to have, or so I thought by reading the battery. Luckily I had an extra battery so I decide to swap it thinking it couldn't hurt, when I tested the new battery it showed 3.3 V, when I put the new one in, night and day difference, could luck and unlock the car from 20 feet away no problem. Amazing what a difference .3 V can make. Hope this may help anyone else with key Fob problems.

For the record I didn't have to reprogram anything. Just a straight battery swap of the fob.