Tag: Cadillac

Start a Chevrolet with a Dead Key Fob

How to Start a Chevrolet with a Dead Key Fob

Starting Your Chevrolet

Chevrolet vehicles uses all three of the key fob styles made by General Motors. There are also way too many back up start variations, but we have them all here. And you can find a whole lot of videos here.

Inside door releaseHere’s the deal: Buckle up, find your model, and if your start battery is still good, we’ll get you underway. Note that they are generally presented as sedans, then SUVs then pick ups.

The Coupes made by GM will show up early in this list, including the Corvette (C6, C7 and C8 models). So, note immediately that the latches are electronic and if the main 12-volt battery is dead and you’ve closed the door, the lever to the right is your only escape. You will find it below the door on the floor where you would expect to find a trunk release (right). Pull it up and the door will open. There’s another on the passenger side for that door.

The rectangular style key fob is used in most GM vehicles prior to 2014. GM start 3In Corvette models built before 2014 (C6), the pocket is on the left of the inside of the glove box. Place the transmitter in the pocket with the buttons facing the glove box storage area (right). Then, with the vehicle in P (Park) or N (Neutral), press the brake pedal and the Start / Stop ignition button as normal.

In the 2014 (C7) Corvette, the transmitter pocket is moved to the right side of the steering column, as shown to the left. Place the Corvette start 2transmitter in the pocket with the buttons facing up. Again, with the vehicle in Park or Neutral, press the brake pedal and the Start / Stop ignition button as normal. Find a helpful video here. See below for the C8.

Newer, rounded “flip key” key fob and a rounded fob with a built in or pull away mechanical key, take over from here.

Camaro slotPush button or keyless start is introduced to the Camaro in 2016. It also uses the cup holder as a back up slot, but to their credit, Chevrolet made this one simple. Make sure there is nothing, particularly coins, in the rear cup holder, and simply drop the fob into it. The car will recognize the key and a press of the brake pedal and Start / Stop ignition button will have you on your way. Corvettes (C8), 2020 – 2023, use this spot as well. In 2024, the Corvette spot is moved to the front cup holder.

Impala back up slotThe Impala uses a back up pocket located in the front of the center console (right). The model is using the flip key thus far through 2018. Drop transmitter into the pocket with the key ring up and the buttons facing out. With the vehicle in Park or Neutral, press the brake pedal and the Start / Stop ignition button as normal.

Look for video help here.

With the first generation Volt, open the instrument panel GM start 5storage area located above the infotainment screen and remove the rubber mat. Extend the key blade and place the blade into the slot (right).

With the vehicle in Park or Neutral, press the brake pedal and the POWER button on the center stack to start the vehicle.

Starting with model year 2016, the back-up location for the Volt is Volt fob pocketmoved to the center console, as shown. The rubber mat at the bottom of the console will need to be removed, and so anything actually in the console.

This is also the location used by the new Bolt EV and Bolt EUV, which will be found beneath a pull-out tray.

The pocket for the fob or transmitter is beneath the pad or tray and to the front. It is also roughly the shape of the fob. Place the fob in the pocket and with the vehicle in Park or Neutral, press the brake pedal and the POWER button on the center stack to start the vehicle. We have a video of the process here.

GM start 6The last flip key back-up start option belongs to the Cruze. You must remove the plastic trim piece from the small storage area next to the accessory power outlet near the front of the console. Extend the key blade and insert it into the transmitter slot (right). With the vehicle in Park or Neutral, press the brake pedal and the Start / Stop ignition button as normal.

Check out the video here.

Cruze back up spot 2The 2017 Cruze gets the new key and a new back up location, which is the front cup holder, as seen to the right. Sonic, Equinox and Blazer models now use this spot as well.

Simply drop the key fob into the front cup holder, buttons up, and start the car as normal, stepping on the brake and pushing the Start / Stop ignition button.

Blazer EV back up spotThe 2024 Blazer Electric Vehicle (EV) is a different animal. Its back up spot is at the bottom of the center console storage area. Drop the key fob on the spot shown (right) with the buttons up.

And it starts differently as well. Once the key fob is in its spot, simply step on the brake. The instrument panel will tell you if you have been successful.

Trax back upThe Trax, which first saw push button start in 2017, also uses the front cup holder as its back up slot. However, there are three cup holders in the center console area, with the front one being separated from the two behind it. Be sure to use the one in the very front. See the image to right.

Drop the key fob into the front cup holder, buttons up, and start the car as normal, using the Start / Stop button while stepping on the brake pedal.

Check out a videos for all these models here.

Trailblazer pocketThe new Trailblazer model has the back up pocket in front of the center console storage area and behind the the two cup holders on the console (image at right). Drop the key fob into the pocket or depression, The manual states that the buttons should be facing the front, but we don’t believe this is possible given the shape of the pocket. We also believe that it will not likely matter. With the vehicle in Park or Neutral, press the brake pedal and the Start / Stop ignition button as normal.

Until 2021, the large SUV’s from GM, including the Tahoe and Suburban, feature a transmitter Tahoe Escalade Suburban back-uppocket also located in the face of the front of the inside of the center console. However, the pocket points down, as shown to the right. Slide the transmitter into the pocket with the key ring facing out, buttons forward (in the Suburban we had on hand, the engine started with the buttons facing either way). It is a loose fit, so don’t be concerned. With the vehicle in Park or Neutral, press the brake pedal and the Start / Stop ignition button as normal. Check out the video here.

Traverse back up slotIn the Chevrolet Traverse, through 2023, the transmitter pocket is at the bottom of the center console storage area, as seen in the image to the right. The outline of the transmitter will be visible to the front of the console. The 2024 Traverse uses the left or driver’s side cup holder, exactly like the Silverado EV below. Once the fob is in place, press the brake pedal and the Start / Stop ignition button as normal to start the vehicle.

Spark models also have what is called a transmitter pocket in the center console, but no image defining a location is Spark consoleshown in the manual. There are three storage spots in the console (see the red arrows), and one of them will be the “pocket” but none of them are actually marked. Drop the transmitter or key fob in the front storage spot first and attempt to start the car normally, with your foot on the brake and pressing the Start / Stop button.

If this does not work, move to the storage spot furthest back and try starting again. If the car again fails to start, try the longer storage spot alongside the emergency brake. If the starting problem is associated with a dead battery in the key fob, one of the three locations will work!

Malibu Impala back-upIn the Silverado pick up (note that the electric version is discussed below) and the Malibu sedan, the pocket for the transmitter is located in the face of the rear of the inside of the center console. Silverado gets push button start for the first time in 2019. Slide the transmitter into the pocket with the key ring facing up, and the buttons out (or however it will fit!).

The Silverado’s pocket is larger, as is the center console, which is actually the center seat in the bench seat. With the vehicle in Park or Neutral, press the brake pedal and Silverado bucket pocketthe Start / Stop ignition button as normal. The pocket in 2021 Tahoe and Suburban models with a bench seat is also moved to this location, at the back of the console.

If the Silverado, Tahoe or Suburban models have bucket seats, the pocket is found in or near the the two cup holders. In the Silverado, slip the key fob or transmitter into the insert between the cup holders (first image to the right). In the Tahoe or Suburban, as well as the Silverado EV, drop the Tahoe bucket pockettransmitter into the left side cup holder (second image below right).

Once again, with the vehicle in Park or Neutral, press the brake pedal and the Start / Stop ignition button as normal. The Silverado EV starts when the brake pedal is depressed.

And we have a video of the process here.

Note: If you have made an attempt to start the vehicle without success, there may be residual pressure in the brake system and a new warning light may appear (left) or text Engine Start Operation Indicatormessage to Step on the Brake. Press the brake pedal very, very hard when trying to start the vehicle again to be sure that the release switch behind the pedal is engaged. Or wait a few minutes and try again.

… Return to Part I, Getting In

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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.

Permanent link to this article: https://dashboardsymbols.com/2015/01/general-motors-dead-key-fob-help-part-ii/

Technology vs Distraction: Technology Charges On

Technology vs Distraction

Two recent articles, one in the New York Times and another from Automotive News, have been on our minds of late. Both discuss the issues of the driver distractions caused by new technologies, primarily touch screens. We noticed that there are potential solutions in the mix.

One of the plusses that accompanies the knobs and levers now being replaced by touch screens is the very sense of touch that is conversely missing from ‘touch’ screens. A driver can reach for a knob with a single glance and know with its movement that an adjustment has been made. Unfortunately, auto makers are simply running out of real estate in the dashboard for new features, and a touch screen can accommodate the additions. The electronics can also receive software updates.

As we noted in an earlier article, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has set voluntary guidelines for touch-screen systems that call for a drivers’ attention be drawn for no more than two seconds at a time and 12 seconds total, which can be an eternity at 60 miles per hour. Solutions are few and far between, but Cadillac is using touch sensitive areas for some functions on its screens that vibrate a bit when manipulated to combat the attention problem. It is a step in the right direction.

Former transportation secretary Ray LaHood was the subject of the New York Times article, which had him railing at the distraction problems being introduced by new technologies. He went so far as to suggest that new, connected devices that steal attention from the task of driving “can be as alluring as alcohol”. And of course, car companies advertise them as fashionable – who doesn’t want to know where the nearest Italian restaurant is when your significant other asks?

He also complained that one potential solution, voice-recognition systems, simply do not yet meet his standard for safety. They can produce errors that can then cause their set of distractions! Add in wind, occupant noise and simple driving noises and there becomes a mountain of problems to overcome.

We still think that instrument panel Warning Lights provide their own unique set of distractions, not to mention Dead Key FOBs so please keep our site bookmarked.

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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.

Permanent link to this article: https://dashboardsymbols.com/2013/08/technology-vs-distraction-technology-charges-on/

Great Start: GM Will Make Door Unlock, Remote Start Standard

New Standard Services from GM

General Motors announced on June 5th, 2013 that GM Will Make Door Unlock, Remote Start standard (read, free!) for five years through the OnStar RemoteLink Mobile App. The services will be available for OnStar-equipped 2014 Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac models “even if the owner declines to pay for other OnStar services.” Thirty-six 2014 model year GM vehicles are compatible with the app.

Bravo. We can only continue to encourage an expansion of the program, making it permanent and moving it down the chain to older vehicles equipped with OnStar. GM’s own statistics bear this out.

Mary Chan, president GM Global Connected Consumer stated “GM owners request remote door unlock assistance through OnStar more than 60,000 times each month, so it makes sense for us to offer RemoteLink Key Fob Services to enable customers to lock, unlock or start their vehicle from anywhere they have a wireless or cellular connection.”

Sixty thousand times a month! The company did not say but given the number of calls going into roadside assistance centers and service departments for owners of vehicles that do not have the luxury of OnStar, we will bluntly assume that a very, very large percentage are due to dead key fobs.

Safety First

These are safety issues for motorists who could very well be stranded in potentially dangerous situations, caught off guard by a dead key fob. The service should be free and permanent for ALL OnStar customers, period. And other manufacturers should at least offer instructions on mobile platforms to help them get in and start their cars – particularly those manufacturers foolish enough to hide the lock cylinder for the sake of aesthetics. Ford is the latest addition to this list.

Interestingly, GM says that “remote start is the most popular remote service by current users of the RemoteLink Mobile App”. If the company’s commercials are any indicator, the feature is fun to play with. And while clearly many GM owners use the service for convenience, our experience suggests a very large percentage are useful or necessary starts due to dead key fobs.

This is a GREAT start. But GM, take a step further to the front and make this free for all OnStar equipped vehicles. Forever. You’ll still have lots of stuff to sell.

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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.

Permanent link to this article: https://dashboardsymbols.com/2013/06/great-start-gm-will-make-door-unlock-remote-start-standard/