General Motors key fob battery
General Motors key fob batteryWe recently added a new video replacing a General Motors key fob battery. The fob is used in various Buick, Chevrolet and GMC models and Cadillac uses a mirror version of the same fob.
The fob uses a larger battery than is typically seen, a CR 2450. It will last longer than the more common CR 2032. The embedded mechanical key and the tip of a very small screwdriver will be needed as tools.
The video has been added to our Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC, and pages here, here, here, and here respectively. Overall, we now have a seven videos that help drivers of GM models in the event that the battery in the key fob dies. These videos will help you get in and start your vehicle even if it is not responding to the key fob, as well as replacing the battery in the fob.
Smart Keys or Intelligent Keys, or Access Keys – or whatever the manufacturer of your chooses to call them – that let you into your car and start it with just a touch use up their internal batteries at alarming rates, catching busy drivers unawares – even though the car had tried to warn you.
Our goal is to help you feel safe – and keep you moving or get you moving if at all possible – rather than leave you fretting whenever your key fob stops working. The instructions for getting into and starting most keyless start cars can be found on our pages – without roadside assistance.
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Remember that only proper service and repair procedures will ensure the safe and reliable operation of your car. In addition, proper safety procedures and precautions, such as the use of safety goggles, the right tools and the equipment should be followed at all times to eliminate the possibility of personal injury or improper service which could damage the vehicle or compromise its safety.
These posts are for information sharing purposes only, and should not be used in lieu of an OEM service manual or factory authorized service procedure. We are not in the auto repair business nor do we publish automotive service manuals. Nothing we include on these pages and posts has been reviewed, approved or authorized by any vehicle manufacturer.
Technology is always changing and what is current and accurate today may be literally out-of-date and inaccurate tomorrow. And when it comes to the current state of flux in the auto industry, nothing is more true.
The author has 25 years of automotive experience and has assembled the most extensive collection of symbols and warning lights anywhere (over 1,000!) and can help you open and start any keyless start car with a dead key fob battery. BA, St. Joseph’s College, ME: MS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY
Buick opening instructions
Removing the cap requires pulling the handle out and using the mechanical key to press on a difficult to see spot. See 
In a word. no. Top the left is the new Auto Start symbol. It is very similar to others in use across the industry. In fact, we have a post (
However, what Buick chose to use was sufficiently different that it could not be ignored. The symbol shown to the right is the closest pre-existing version, but the new one did not include the words Start and Stop.
Pre-existing versions of the symbols are shown to the right. Certainly in the case of Super Cruise, the new symbol is very, very close to the original representation. However, we feel an obligation to present them exactly as a driver would see them.
So lets set some parameters. Our first thought is to look for Troubleshooting chapter. So, result #1 is that not a single one of these 25 manufacturers have a chapter with this title. Only 3, Mazda (right), Toyota and Lexus, even use the word Trouble. Emergency, Roadside or Breakdown are most likely to be found, and this is a pretty short hurdle. VW raises the hurdle, with a Do It Yourself chapter that includes flat tires and dead batteries, etc. that tend to be found in the Breakdown chapters from other manufacturers.
So, back to the our troubleshooting-like chapters. Once inside, only Honda/Acura, Toyota/Lexus and Subaru got this right! Setting aside for a moment the fact that the owner’s manual is most likely inside the car and the driver locked outside, at least if the driver manages to get the car open, he or she will be able to get started.
Subaru (right), Lexus and Toyota chapters point directly to pages with solutions to issues with the electronic keys. Again, it may not be obvious to the driver that the key fob is the problem, but these manufacturers come the closest to nailing the problem. Titling the sections using something like what to do if the car does not respond to the electronic key would come closest to replicating exactly what the driver is experiencing.
Our Buick dashboard symbols page has now been color aligned
Our Buick dashboard symbols page has now been re-ordered into the new color alignment. This makes 25 pages transformed to reflect the new color ordering, including our primary pictographic symbols page. We have now officially passed the half way mark to re-ordering all our manufacturer symbols pages. There are 49 on the site.
We attempted an update of the page in August, but at the time, we were stunned to discover that the company is not using any new symbols! This was quite literally a first.
This essentially means that Buick models are not using any new systems in their vehicles in 2024, and that we are likely to get piled on in 2025!
The symbols page is now ordered red through yellow/orange/amber (depending on how you interpret the color!), then to green and blue and finally to black and white or gray scale symbols.
Ordering the page by color provides a cleaner, simpler option for drivers searching for information on a new symbol.
Cars are changing, and among those changes is the growing number of symbols and indicators that will invariably show up on your dashboard or instrument panel. Every year, new features are added to vehicles, each of which is accompanied by a new symbol or symbols and likely a new acronym.
At DashboardSymbols.com, our aim is to help you understand what is happening to your vehicle at the first sign of trouble – a new warning light illuminated on your instrument panel. Its all here on this website. Our first intention is to bring the latest technologies down to earth and understandable for everyday drivers.
Our page covering Buick indicators, with over 50, can be seen here.
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Remember that only proper service and repair procedures will ensure the safe and reliable operation of your car. In addition, proper safety procedures and precautions, such as the use of safety goggles, the right tools and the equipment should be followed at all times to eliminate the possibility of personal injury or improper service which could damage the vehicle or compromise its safety.
These posts are for information sharing purposes only, and should not be used in lieu of an OEM service manual or factory authorized service procedure. We are not in the auto repair business nor do we publish automotive service manuals. Nothing we include on these pages and posts has been reviewed, approved or authorized by any vehicle manufacturer.
Technology is always changing and what is current and accurate today may be literally out-of-date and inaccurate tomorrow. And when it comes to the current state of flux in the auto industry, nothing could be more true.
The author has 25 years of automotive experience and has assembled the most extensive collection of symbols and warning lights anywhere (over 1,000!) and can help you open and start any keyless start car with a dead key fob battery. BA, St. Joseph’s College, ME: MS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY