Vehicle key fobs are insanely expensive, but when ours died, we found out how to fix a car or truck key fob in just a few minutes…for next to nothing! What a relief (and surprise) it was to get our key fob working again rather than buying a new one!
Our car key fob died a slow death. First it couldn’t open the doors while standing or approaching the car on the passenger’s side. Then the problem migrated to the driver’s side too. Ugh!
We tried standing closer to the car and further away. We tried holding the key fob higher in the air, holding it lower, and aiming it in different directions. We opened the car key fob up and cleaned all the electrical contacts and changed the battery. But it was all to no avail. Nothing we tried would make the car key fob work reliably, and eventually the key fob stopped working all together.
The only way to unlock the car was to use the key, and the only key lock on the whole car was located on the driver’s door.
Oh my! Talk about inconvenience! Now we had to walk up to the driver’s side door to unlock all the doors and then walk all the way around the car to the other side if we wanted to access the seats on the passenger’s side! How on earth did our moms live without remote car key fobs in their day, what with bunches of kids running around, carrying groceries and all?
We didn’t want to spend hundreds of dollars to get a new key fob, so we dug around on the internet and found a really easy fix!
All that was required was an ordinary paper hole punch, a strip of aluminum foil, some tweezers and some glue! And we had these things already!
What happens with some key fobs as they age is that the electrical contacts under the buttons on the shell of the fob wear away. The idea with this fix is to replace that conductive material with a tiny piece of aluminum foil.
Our key fob has three buttons: Lock, Unlock and Trunk. So, we punched out 3 holes in the aluminum foil and set the small round pieces aside.
Using an ordinary paper hole punch, punch 3 holes in a piece of aluminum foil and keep the tiny round pieces.
Then we removed the little electronic board from the key fob and, using a toothpick, put a tiny dab of glue on the rubber at each of the three contact points under the key fob buttons. Then, delicately holding each piece of aluminum foil with tweezers, we placed the foil on the three contact points in the key fob. We made sure to use just enough glue to hold each piece in place without affecting the connectivity between the electrical contact and the aluminum foil.
Glue the pieces of aluminum foil onto the electrical contact points in the key fob.
Closer view: aluminum foil pieces glued on contact points in the key fob.
We put the car key fob back together again, and BINGO!! The key fob worked perfectly locking and unlocking the doors and unlocking the trunk every single time, no matter where we stood or how high or low we held the darn thing!!
So…if you have a car or truck key fob that isn’t working right, even after changing the battery and cleaning the electrical contacts, grab a hole punch, some aluminum foil and some tweezers and try glueing the foil onto the contact points under the key fob buttons!
Not every vehicle key fob can be opened and repaired in this way, but you may be in luck just like we were!
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Thanks for sharing this tip, Emily! We did replace Alan’s key fob for the truck about a year ago, and you’re right – they’re not cheap. This is a great idea to keep in our back pocket for the next time one wears out. Even if it doesn’t work on all fobs, it’s worth a shot – nothing ventured, nothing gained!
Hopefully this might help you sometime, Mary. It’s always good to have a trick or two up your sleeve to try when things break!
Very clever! Not surprised that you guys would come up with such a great fix.
Hello from Ga.
Hi Jeff! We were tickled that this was so easy. Hope all is going well with you in GA!
I love it! Phil just bought a new one to replace his that stopped working. Wasn’t very expensive at O”Reilly Auto Parts just in case the repair doesn’t work. I’ll try this when mine dies. Thanks!!
Good tip about O’Reilly’s, Thanks! Hopefully yours will keep on working flawlessly and never give you a problem!!
This is great. Where do you guys get these ideas! My fob for the Mazda is getting tired, (2009) so this may be a great fix!
Thanks,
Pete
A wise person once said: Necessity is the mother of invention! The internet is a great source of ideas too…