[Chwkev]

I was sure that I had read a thread about how people hid a spare transmitter fob in case of emergency, but I can’t for the life of me find it again. Anyways, I bought an AC Delco (factory GM) transmitter fob from a GM dealer through eBay (https://www.ebay.com/itm/Chevrolet-...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649), programmed it myself using the steps in the owner’s manual (took about two minutes), wrapped the transmitter in a layer of tin foil, and and stored it in one of the empty slots in the foam insert under the cargo floor (where the compressor and tow eye, etc. are). I was skeptical about how effective tin foil would be at preventing the transmitter from transmitting, but...it seems to work! When holding the foil wrapped transmitter next to the “Start” button the Bolt couldn’t detect that there was a remote near by.

It makes me feel better knowing that I have a spare key just in case...

 

[dbostrom]

Removing the battery and taping it to the fob is another way to do the same thing. No drain on the battery that way. A 2032 lithium battery has an amazing shelf life but the fob is actually "alive" to a certain extent all the time. As well and possibly of more significance, given the vagaries of RF and differences in propagation depending on frequency it's hard to say whether or not the key is hearing the car but the car can't hear the key, meaning the key may be talking and wasting its battery even while wrapped in foil. These systems frequently employ LF RF for the key interrogation by the car, with the key replying back on UHF. LF can go around foil where UHF can't, hence creating a silent kind of asymmetry that can eat the fob battery.

So if you go with the tin foil hat, cinch it down tightly, folks.

 

[Chwkev]

All good points. Thank you. I was wondering about some of those same things already. I figured that the battery is inexpensive enough that I can afford to experiment with it. I plan to check on the spare remote semi-regularly to make sure it is still working and it will be interesting to see how long the battery lasts. My thought process was that I don’t like opening up snap-together parts any more than I have to because with my luck I will end up breaking/damaging a little plastic tab or clip somewhere. If I don’t HAVE to remove the battery (and the battery doesn’t die on me) then the whole process seems simpler and cleaner - no loose battery to lose or drop (probably unlikely, but still...), only one item to keep track of, easy to test that the battery is still working (maybe even a removed battery will be dead after ten or fifteen years - we tend to keep cars a long time), and particularly if it ever happens to be my wife who needs it, I’m sure she would prefer to just unwrap and use rather than have to open and install a battery first!

None of my reasons are particularly critical to me so I may yet go with removing the battery. Thanks again for the additional information and input dbostrom!

 

[Edchris]

One question...
I assume you lock your car when leaving. If the spare Fob is locked in the car, how will you access it if you were to lose your main Fob?
If you had a spare with the metal key inside it, you could remove the metal key & secure it somewhere on the outside of the car.

 

[RichCapeCod]

One question...
I assume you lock your car when leaving. If the spare Fob is locked in the car, how will you access it if you were to lose your main Fob?
If you had a spare with the metal key inside it, you could remove the metal key & secure it somewhere on the outside of the car.

OK, not the same car, but the same problem. In my Jeep Wrangler, which uses a "chipped" key, I keep a spare chipped key in the place my jack is located. I have a key (not chipped, just plain metal) taped to the inside of my engine compartment. This key, of course, cannot start the vehicle, it will simply permit me to open the auto's doors.


Once inside, I'll retrieve my "good" key and off I go.


Hope this was helpful,


Rich

 

[Chwkev]

One question...
I assume you lock your car when leaving. If the spare Fob is locked in the car, how will you access it if you were to lose your main Fob?
If you had a spare with the metal key inside it, you could remove the metal key & secure it somewhere on the outside of the car.

I use the “MyChevrolet” app to unlock the car. Ok, technically my phone is too old to run the MyChevrolet app, but my wife can open it with the app on her phone. If she isn’t with me then I either have to call my wife and ask her to unlock the car, or I can find a wifi hotspot and use my tablet to unlock it with the app (most likely this would happen at work so I could go back inside and use my tablet to unlock the car and then go back out to it). I did think of buying the spare key as well that would allow me to enter the car but not start it and then hide it in a magnetic box outside the car, but for the added expense I thought I’d just use the app to unlock it. Even though the spare key inserts into the fob and functions as one unit, the transmitter part of the fob and the spare key part are sold separately. The price for the key from the local dealer is about $60 and then there is also the cost of having it cut.

 

[Raymondjram]

I use the “MyChevrolet” app to unlock the car. Ok, technically my phone is too old to run the MyChevrolet app, but my wife can open it with the app on her phone.

Buy a used smartphone. Some of the older Samsung Galaxy models can be found for less than $30. I gave away a Galaxy S2 phone to a friend who had a simpler Samsung under AT&T. I moved the SIM card from that older phone to the S2, and it worked. She can download and use some apps from the Google Play Store.

But the S2 also alerted the carrier that she had access to the Internet, so they called her and asked her to change her plan. She accepted he new plan and saved money while using a better model.

be sure to confirm that the SIM of your present phone can be moved to the newer phone. Many of the newer models use smaller SIM sizes. Or just report that your original phone was lost or damaged (just power it off), and get a new phone assigned to your account.

 

[RichW_SC]

Buy a used smartphone...

I wonder if you even really need a sim card since it connects via bluetooth. I have a few old iphones I will try out and see if it works.

 

[Richard Delorme]

Removing the battery and taping it to the fob is another way to do the same thing.

You can still use a FOB with a dead battery to start the car, you place it in a particular spot in the console. Since this is a backup having the true remote feature isn't critical.

 

[Chwkev]

You can still use a FOB with a dead battery to start the car, you place it in a particular spot in the console. Since this is a backup having the true remote feature isn't critical.

That’s true! i thought that it probably needed at least SOME charge in the fob battery to start the car, even from inside the arm console, but yesterday I discovered that the fob will start the car without any battery in it at all (as long as it is in the proper spot in the console. That’s convenient for a spare fob!

 

[dbostrom]

You can still use a FOB with a dead battery to start the car, you place it in a particular spot in the console. Since this is a backup having the true remote feature isn't critical.

Yeah, RFID! Yay!

 

[XJ12]

be sure to confirm that the SIM of your present phone can be moved to the newer phone. Many of the newer models use smaller SIM sizes. Or just report that your original phone was lost or damaged (just power it off), and get a new phone assigned to your account.

Several generations now, I've just gone in and asked for a newer SIM card. The smaller nano SIMs come with adapters that make it backward compatible.

 

[Coastal_Cruiser]

A 2032 lithium battery has an amazing shelf life but the fob is actually "alive" to a certain extent all the time.

In reading this thread I just became aware that the FOB is RFID too. Very impressive. Now I understand why when I was RTFM it talks about placing the FOB in a specific location and in a specific orientation. BTW, the quality on button batteries has really gone down hill the past few years, so that's why it is great to see you don't have to have a live FOB to start the car. Regarding the button cell quality, I have a micro flashlight that I market that uses 2016 cells. I also work use a fair amount of 2032 cells. It has been so difficult to find a button cell that maintains its shelf life that I've started to phase out the lights. I've tried all the name brands as well as the lesser known ones. Brand name means nothing anymore on the button cells (at least in my world, but I've gone through a dozen brands or more, and hundreds if not thousands of cells).


Anyway, regarding hiding a key in case you lose your FOB, I do keep a spare FOB in the car (just got my Bolt, but previously had a 4th GEN Prius). By the way, what I did to disable the 2nd FOB was to flip the battery backwards and just leave it in the FOB. If you need it you pop the FOB open and flip around. But again, what if the car is locked? The My Chevy app should be the solution, but I am one of the lucky many where I can't set up keypass. I have a not-too-old Samsung Galaxy J7 Sky Pro 4G LTE Smartphone (tracfone) that just won't connect (yes I've spent hours trying all the tips, including finding out that keypass was DISABLED by default. Hello?).



So anybody come up with a clever place to hide the key from the FOB?

 

[RichW_SC]

Will keys made for the Volt work for the Bolt? Are they the same part number?

 

[RichardC]

You can still use a FOB with a dead battery to start the car, you place it in a particular spot in the console. Since this is a backup having the true remote feature isn't critical.

What is the correct spot in the console?

 

[luckymaf]

You can still use a FOB with a dead battery to start the car, you place it in a particular spot in the console. Since this is a backup having the true remote feature isn't critical.

Well wadda-ya know. I wound up with a third RKE key fob (want to guess how that happened ?) and programmed it to my Bolt - it took about thirty minutes.
Following suggestions on this thread, I removed the battery and placed the spare fob, facing up, in the fob nook inside the armrest. Low and behold, even without the battery, the Bolt started. And it started even if the fob was located anywhere inside the armrest. However if I took the fob - sans battery out of the armrest, the Bolt then would not recognize the fob and the car would not start.
So I put the fob in the glove box, along with the battery, and the car doesn't see it from there.

 

[Chwkev]

What is the correct spot in the console?

OPen the arm rest and remove the tray that is in it (it just lifts out). There are detents at the bottom of the opening under the tray at the front. If you shine a flashlight down in the opening you can see them. Apparently the car will read the fob anywhere in the bottom of the armrest opening though. This procedure is outlined in the owner’s manual.