Key Fob Programming in Durham, NC

Fobs and Durham's climate

Many fob problems that look like programming problems are battery problems. NOAA describes a humid climate with very warm summers and moderately cold winters, and both ends of that range are hard on a small coin cell. Cold weakens a battery, so a fob can fail on an icy morning and work again by afternoon. Heat, such as a fob left in a parked car through a very warm summer, and moisture shorten battery life and can corrode the contacts.

Try a fresh battery first. If the car still ignores the fob, or the fob is new, replaced or added as a spare, programming is the next step.

Car fobs, gate remotes and building access

• Townhome communities. A car fob and a community gate or garage remote are different devices, and where an association runs the community, it may control the gate. Programming a car fob does not change that.
• Converted tobacco buildings. Street and corridor entries may be controlled by someone other than you, so if the car is in a garage or lot the building manages, say so in the request.
• Street parking. Programming is tied to the car, so give the address or cross streets and say whether the car is in a lot, a garage or on the street. If the block is in Durham's Controlled Parking Residential Area program, mention what the posted sign says.

What to bring

• Every working fob you own. Some vehicles relearn the existing fobs when a new one is programmed, so bring all of them.
• The VIN, plus year, make and model.
• The registration or title in your name, and photo ID.
• A note on the battery: whether you replaced it recently, and whether any buttons on the fob still respond.

If the fob is lost rather than failing, see car key replacement. Service details are on the key fob programming page.