It can be irritating if your car's key fob stops working all of a sudden, however this is often not as much of a problem as it seems to be. Instead of assuming that your key fob needs to be replaced right away, there are several easy steps you can take. See our car key replacement service. We also handle key fob programming.
By far the most common problem with your key fob is a drained battery, the warning signs include a shortened range, inability to communicate from anywhere but within arm's reach, and intermittent functionality of buttons. Simply changing the cheap battery in your fob solves many problems with seemingly dead remote control devices.
See to it if the fob has experienced any physical harm such as cracked plastic, water contact, or even a damaged button. This may be the case if your key fob fell into the wash cycle of your laundry machine or if it was dropped hard.
Many fobs contain mechanical keys for the door lock. Most cars have a bypass in case your key fob dies completely. Try using these functions to determine whether you need to repair your fob or replace it with a new key fob.
For some vehicles, it is possible to re-pair key fobs using procedures listed in your owner's manual. The gradual range loss is always caused by an empty battery, but sudden death could very well be a problem of syncing between the car and key fob.
In Chicago weather, especially during winter time, batteries are severely affected by the cold temperatures, which slow down their functioning, we discuss this phenomenon in more detail in our article about the effects of Chicago's changing seasons on keys and fobs.
If the previous checks did not uncover the problem, then a replacement is totally required, our fob and transponder programming can take care of that, but if you're still not sure about your smart key type, then you can use our guide on smart-key guide.
How proximity systems work, what to do when the battery dies, and what replacement involves, in plain English.
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