How to Open, Start and Replace Fob Batteries in Holden Vehicles
We have three videos for Holden owners
This video is a compilation of five models.
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Flip key key fob battery replace.
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Traditional key fob battery replacement.
Models covered include the Commodore, Acadia, Equinox, Spark and Trax.
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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Technology is always changing and what is current and accurate today may be literally out-of-date and inaccurate tomorrow.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
Holden uses three key fob or transmitter styles. To get in the vehicle when the key fob battery is dead, a mechanical key will have to retrieved from the fob and used to unlock the car.
The next two (shown to the right) feature a removable mechanical key and are quite similar (one has more buttons than the other). Each has a button on the side of the transmitter (remote control or ‘clicker’) near the key ring end. Press the button, as shown, and pull the key out.
The Commodore, Acadia and and Equinox models are hiding their key holes behind a cover at the back of the driver’s door handle. To remove the cap on the Acadia and Equinox, pull the door handle out to the open position. Insert the key into the slot on the bottom of the cap (number 3, right).
The cap on the Commodore is slightly different but there is still a slot under the cap. Insert the mechanical key into the slot and again hold upward pressure. Then rotate the key upward until the cap comes away.
In the Commodore, open the cover of the center console storage area in front of the shift lever. Place the transmitter in the transmitter pocket beside the power outlet, with the buttons facing up as shown in the image. Remove any additional items that might be in the area. Press the brake pedal and the engine Start / Stop button and you’ll be on your way.
The Equinox uses the left side cup holder as a back up location. Make sure there is nothing, particularly coins, in the cup holder, and simply drop the fob into it with the buttons facing up. The car will recognize the fob and pressing the brake pedal and Start / Stop ignition button will have you on your way.
The Trax, also uses a cup holder as its back up spot. However, there are three cup holders in the center console area, and the choice is the front and is 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.
The Spark uses a unique back up start location. The electronic key fob is placed in the center console transmitter pocket, which is in front of the cup holder and alongside the brake handle (image to the left). While in Park, press the brake pedal and press the engine Start/Stop button and you will be on your way.
Finally, the Acadia uses a back up pocket located in the back of the center console (image to the right). Drop transmitter or key fob into the pocket with the key ring up and the buttons facing the front. With the vehicle in Park or Neutral, press the brake pedal and the Start / Stop ignition button as normal. Once again, you will be underway.
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 message 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.
Holden Dashboard Symbols
Chevrolet Dashboard Symbols
Here’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.
In 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.
transmitter 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 
Push 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.
The 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.
storage area located above the infotainment screen and remove the rubber mat. Extend the key blade and place the blade into the slot (right).
moved 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.
The 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.
The 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.
The 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.
The 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.
The 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.
pocket 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 
In 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.
shown 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.
In 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 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.
transmitter into the left side cup holder (second image below right).
message 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.
Recall Trend Highlights Electronic and Safety Systems
Recall Trend
Right now, manufacturers expect drivers to put their safety in their hands in an ever expanding universe of new electronic systems. Over time, car makers fully expect that drivers will eventually agree to cede all control of their cars to the car itself, and thus to its manufacturer.
Power steering that could shut off? Braking that is to rely on the car “seeing” what is ahead? Cars that can’t be shut off or a start/stop button that is stuck? Cars that fall under the control of hackers??
A Call to Action
The industry had better get this right, and while the recalls in these cases are supposed to set things right, things need to be a whole lot righter than they are now. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is actively involved in research into in-vehicle crash avoidance systems, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications that support crash avoidance applications, and self-driving vehicles themselves. We truly hope they have their eye on the ball. These kinds of problems need to be addressed before systems hit the streets – before recalls are needed!
And here’s a question we have not seen asked: When your car gets to truly driving itself, will this mean that the manufacturer will then hold accident liability? Hell, do they now for current automated safety systems? Will we get to cancel our auto policies down the road?
We’ll find out soon enough.
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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