key fobs

[Bluegoat]

So, what the heck are the advantages of these.  I've just lost mine and have to get a new one - with the guy coming to the house, it is over $300.  I could get it a bit cheaper if I ordered one on Amazon and had it programmed, but not that much and it wouldn't get here till next week.

What strikes me is that it is not easier for me to use, and the darn think broke weeks after I got it anyways and stopped opening the doors.  

I assume they are supposed to be more secure, but I have doubts that it isn't pretty much a scam.

And what options are there for cars without them?

[KathyBC]

I love, love, love mine. So much easier to lock and unlock all doors at once. I have the ignition key and the fob on a cheap carabiner clip to make winter idling secure and easy.

ETA: Unless we are not talking about the same kind of fob? I don't have a newer vehicle, so I could be missing something here.

Edited February 14, 2019 by KathyBC

[Mbelle]

I don't care for them either.  I have had one for 5 years now with my van, but honestly I'd rather just have a key.  Every couple of years i have to get the battery replaced.  I wouldn't mind having a fob and key and I could use the fob if I wanted to, but that is was just a luxury that was not necessary.  

Recently we lost one fob and so far haven't found it and don't want to replace it.  

[Mbelle]

1 minute ago, KathyBC said:

I love, love, love mine. So much easier to lock and unlock all doors at once. I have the ignition key and the fob on a cheap carabiner clip to make winter idling secure and easy.

ETA: Unless we are not talking about the same kind of fob? I don't have a newer vehicle, so I could be missing something here.

 

I think I used to have what you have, with both a key and fob, but now there are no keys, only a fob and you start the car by pushing a button.  There is no option of getting a key made at the hardware store.  

[KathyBC]

2 minutes ago, Mbelle said:

 

I think I used to have what you have, with both a key and fob, but now there are no keys, only a fob and you start the car by pushing a button.  There is no option of getting a key made at the hardware store.  

Ah, okay, I realized after I posted that this could be what y'all were talking about. Yes, definitely don't want that. Will have to watch for that at next second-hand vehicle purchase. 😁

 

[Bluegoat]

Yes, the starter is totally electronic.  THere is a mechanical key inside but it will only open the driver door, you can't use it to start the car.

Since my driver door no longer works when you push the button, I'm glad the other key is there, but it doesn't help me start the car!

I guess what really bothers me is that I think it is a cash grab.  I can by two, unprogrammed, on amazon for $50.  But to get them programmed costs a bundle, and it is worse if I buy the key from the dealer or locksmith.  There is no way the programming is worth $250 though.

[fairfarmhand]

I love mine because I get out of the car, shut the door, and lock the car.

Because otherwise, I open the car door, set my keys on the seat while I'm grabbing all my junk. My phone rings. I answer it. My kids are bickering, I tell them to knock it off. Finally, we're ready to go into the store. So with no key fob, I hit to automatic door lock and slam the door. 

Without picking up the keys that I laid in the seat. 

The key fob keeps me from doing the boneheaded thing. 

(Yes, the struggle is real.)

[theelfqueen]

I love my fob but I never get it out of my purse. Like Ever.

So when I've traveled somewhere and take it out for something, I tend to get in my car and be frustrated that it won't start... since I don't have the keys LOL  (Note -- I park in my garage)

 

[DawnM]

I got a new fob and computerized key off of ebay.  We had to program it ourselves, but there are YouTubes for that.  They are kind of weird, but we were able to get it to work for a fraction of the price.

Just be aware that most modern cars only allow up to 5 fobs/computer chipped keys to be programmed before you need a new computer for the car.   

[Bluegoat]

32 minutes ago, DawnM said:

I got a new fob and computerized key off of ebay.  We had to program it ourselves, but there are YouTubes for that.  They are kind of weird, but we were able to get it to work for a fraction of the price.

Just be aware that most modern cars only allow up to 5 fobs/computer chipped keys to be programmed before you need a new computer for the car.   

 

I have heard that is possible - ours is too old though, 2009, so it has to be done by a dealer or locksmith, at least that is what I was told.  After 2010, you can do it yourself. It's good to know about the computer though, I had no idea!  It might not apply to ours but I'd hate to have it happen.

[DawnM]

6 minutes ago, Bluegoat said:

 

I have heard that is possible - ours is too old though, 2009, so it has to be done by a dealer or locksmith, at least that is what I was told.  After 2010, you can do it yourself. It's good to know about the computer though, I had no idea!  It might not apply to ours but I'd hate to have it happen.

 

No, ours is a 2004 Sequoia, older than yours.

[Bluegoat]

Just now, DawnM said:

 

No, ours is a 2004 Sequoia, older than yours.

 

That's a different model though - this is for s a Dodge Caravan.

[DawnM]

Just now, Bluegoat said:

 

That's a different model though - this is for s a Dodge Caravan.

 

Right, I thought  you meant cars older than 2010 in general.  But I would still look into it.  The dealers like to say all kinds of things that aren't necessarily true (if you heard it from the dealer).  

[Bluegoat]

No, I heard it from the people selling the blank keys.  I think it is fairly reliable.  I don't trust the dealers for much.

[Tap]

Mine stays in my purse when it's warm outside and in my jacket pocket when it is cold. I never take it out. 

If it isn't opening the doors, it just needs a new battery. I buy them in 5 packs on Amazon for under $5 or you can buy them at any large store for 2/$5. If they aren't with the regular batteries, check in the pharmacy since they are used for diabetic glucose meters.

I like that I don't have to fumble with keys to open the door when my hands are full or to open the back hatch. It is much easier to stick out a finger and touch the handle to open the doors. I thought the keyless feature was silly until I got used to it. Then when I had a rental car this summer without keyless entry for a trip, I realized how much easier it really is. 

As far as electronics, it isn't much different than having a key and alarm fob. The keyless and alarm fob both need a battery and cost a lot to replace if you lose them. If you really don't like the feature you might ask the dealership if there is a way to bypass it and have a manual key instead. I think my keyless cars still had a manual key hole for both the door and ignition. You might lose the alarm feature in the process though. 

 

[PrincessMommy]

I really hate them and think they are a scam.  Yes, they're more convenient but, for $300 to replace, I think they should give you the option of having one or not.     

[Bluegoat]

13 minutes ago, Patty Joanna said:

Mine does, if I pull off the "Start Button"--there's a keyhole back there.  It might vary by manufacturers.

I have (well, my son has) a 2002 Volvo that has the separate fob that has all the magic buttons on it, and then there is a key.  Even so, THAT key (although it looks like a normal key) actually has electronic programming in it.  When we got an extra made in case we both lost our keys on the same day, that replacement was $150.  I don't know if that was the way with all cars, but in our house the plain-ol'-key is dead as a doornail, and about as useful on our cars.  At least with a dead doornail you could nail a door.  

 

No, this does have a key inside, but it won't start the car.  It is only to open the door.

I suspect that this may be an issue with all cars now. It kind of ticks me off.

[Robin M]

I love my key fobs, especially on dark nights when I'm walking across parking lot. Can blip the door unlocked and not worry about fumbling with keys.

My key fobs for my 96 Mercury started acting up so I bought two off amazon.  Didn't have a chance to program them and yesterday, the fob died completely while I was trying to take the cat to the vet. Opened the door with just the key and set the alarm off.   Couldn't turn it off, nor turn the car on until the darn alarm quit a couple minutes later.  My neighbor came out with some helpful suggestions.  Anyway, got the instructions off the internet and we were able to reprogram two new key fobs today.  Yeah.  

There are instructions all over the place on the internet for every make and model car and it's easy to program the fobs without having to pay anyone to do it. 

 

Edited February 15, 2019 by Robin M

[Katy]

What I don't like about them is that ALL the doors are unlocked when you walk up to the car.  Which is convenient if you're a family in a safe place, but I always think back to this time in my early 20's when I got the creeps walking to my car in a grocery store parking lot, there was a man too close to me who veered off when he heard my car door lock.  Literally a day or two later a friend of mine told me that a friend of HERS had been raped in the parking lot in front of her infant son, she got attacked as she was buckling him in. Then later on the news apparently multiple sexual assaults had been reported in that neighborhood grocery store parking lot. So you get the creeps and you're running to your car and if the man is running up to the other side he can just open the door.

I know I'm not the only one who has had an experience like that.  I also had the creeps as a teenager at a Georgia rest area once, but that guy apologized when he saw I'd run up to a state trooper and was pointing at him for acting stalkerish on the highway. He claimed he thought I was flirting.  I hadn't even made eye contact.

Someone else I know was at the mall in Gainesville, FL, a University town around 3pm in broad daylight.  She and her adult daughter were getting harassed by a group of teen boys.  The boys leaped on top of their car. They kept it up even after one of them announced she was calling police.  The other one of them was a concealed carry permit holder and pulled a gun on the boys, who finally ran away. If they'd had some key fob contraption I don't think everyone there that day would still be alive, and I suspect the gun would have been turned on the women because neither of them is very practiced with weapons.

I can't imagine wanting my teen children to have a car with one.

[Bluegoat]

22 minutes ago, Patty Joanna said:

I don't think I was very clear.  Let me try again (my bad):  My fob has a key inside.  I have a button that starts the car, but if the electronics aren't working, I can pull the Start button off, take the key out of the fob, and insert it in the keyhole hidden by the button and use the key to start the car. 

I know what you mean, though.  My 2002 Volvo has the separate key/fob arrangement, but the only lock you can undo from the outside is the driver's door, which is fine until that door freezes shut on a very cold day.  :::scowl::::

 

No, you were clear - I understood your car did that. I really wish mine did too!  

[Bluegoat]

28 minutes ago, Robin M said:

I love my key fobs, especially on dark nights when I'm walking across parking lot. Can blip the door unlocked and not worry about fumbling with keys.

My key fobs for my 96 Mercury started acting up so I bought two off amazon.  Didn't have a chance to program them and yesterday, the fob died completely while I was trying to take the cat to the vet. Opened the door with just the key and set the alarm off.   Couldn't turn it off, nor turn the car on until the darn alarm quit a couple minutes later.  My neighbor came out with some helpful suggestions.  Anyway, got the instructions off the internet and we were able to reprogram two new key fobs today.  Yeah.  

There are instructions all over the place on the internet for every make and model car and it's easy to program the fobs without having to pay anyone to do it. 

 

 

Not necessarily.  You have to have at least two working ones to do it for my car.

[Tap]

2 hours ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

You can program them to only unlock the drivers door. It’s a setting in any car I’ve ever seen- you’d just need to change the default setting if it’s unlocking all doors. 

This is how I have mine programed. One touch or click only unlocks the drivers door, two opens all the people doors (not the hatch).

When ever someone I know buys a new car, I always suggest they read the manual or at least watch a few youtube videos on the car. There are always some features that people don't know exist that can be very, very helpful to know.  ie. on many cars with back hatches, you can sometimes program a series of button pushes to unlock the hatch without the key. It is best to program them to be complicated, like 8 clicks, pause, 2 clicks, pause, 7 clicks etc.  That way you can still get into your car if you lose your key. 

[moonflower]

I don't like them or need them, but of course we have one (and one regular key).  I don't lock the car doors, pretty much ever, so I never need to unlock them.  I open the trunk manually.  I think maybe if I had weak or damaged hands, or RA or something, it would be useful as it is easier to push a button than to pull open the trunk or manually turn a key, but my hands are fine and even if I did lock and unlock the doors, the ease of pushing a button vs putting in and turning a key just would not be worth the $300 to me.

I also much prefer manual windows, though.  And a radio with a dial, not these stupid buttons that you have to program and then click and click and click to get to different stations.

[ThisIsTheDay]

On 2/14/2019 at 7:49 PM, Katy said:

What I don't like about them is that ALL the doors are unlocked when you walk up to the car.  

 

I have an older 2010 entry level model with a key fob. I love it! I never take it out of my purse. I easily reprogrammed it to unlock only the driver door.  I've only had to replace the battery a few times, and I will never again buy a car that requires me to use a key.