This is meant to be a general guide and helpful pointers to assist folks in purchasing Keyless Entry Remotes and Transponder keys.  We believe in trying educate folks on how these items operate, what it will take to get them operable with your vehicle, and how to buy them before you make a purchase!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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• In order to use a keyless entry remote, your vehicle MUST have the system on board.  If you recently purchased the vehicle and are not certain, try calling a dealer, provide them with the VIN, and ask if your vehicle was produced with the keyless entry system.  Most dealers will look up your vehicle and give you this info.  If you can get the FCC or GM number from them, you will have all you need to purchase a remote in most cases.  If they will only provide you the part number, this will not help with most vendors as that only identifies the item to a dealer.  This is not what these items operate on.

• It is NEVER advisable to purchase a remote based solely on how it looks, or because it looks like the remote you have. Many remotes may appear identical, but they are not necessarily so. Many vehicles these days can have different features. You must have the proper unit for the vehicle year, make, model, and the features that car / truck has as well. An example of this is a remote start button. You can not simply purchase a remote with the remote start button, and expect it to work. It will not. If your car does not have remote start system, you need a different unit. Some vehicles can have one or two sliding doors. These units may also be different and are often NOT interchangeable. 

• The FCC ID or GM numbers are typically located on the back of most remotes, are going to important deciding factors in obtaining the proper unit for your vehicle.  If you have a working unit, you will need the same unit for your second keyless entry remote.  Nothing else is going to work. Even aftermarket units ( Viper, DEI, Pursuit, etc ) run on the FCC ID.

• ALL keyless entry remotes must be programmed with the vehicle. Rarely, except a certain few manufacturers, can send you a pre-programmed remote that is going to be ready to go.  Basically, they all need to be set up with the vehicle, and all remotes are typically required to be present that are intended to be used with the vehicle.