How to Program a Remote for GM Cars

Keyless entry fob

Program a car's computer to acknowledge the signals of your keyless-entry remote controls. The instructions to program GM's remotes, however, vary widely--even within a make and model. As an example, Chevrolet cars have at least 16 sets of programming instructions for their cars. None of them are interchangeable. Some use a data port, others use a radio fuse and others use a wire in the trunk. The number of times the ignition key gets turned, locks are switched and doors are closed varies by model. The one commonality between models and model years is that entering the programming mode deletes all prior authorizations. The significance of this to you is that each working remote has to be reprogrammed with any new remotes.

Instructions

1. Look in your owner's manual for keyless programming instructions. If the instructions aren't there, go to Step 3. If you can't find your manual, go to Step 2.

2. Look for your lost manual on diplodocs.com or ownersmanualsource.com. Both are free sites. The latter site is for car manuals specifically, mostly GM. The former provides car manual's link as an icon in the upper right of the page. Many pay sites will give you a new manual--sometimes at a cost approaching that of a dealership remote programming. So don't spend too much when you're not even sure the programming instructions are in the manual.

3. Look for programming instructions at keylessride.com and programyourremote.com. The former is a pay site while the latter is free. If programyourremote.com doesn't have your exact model and model year, the instructions of a similar model or model year may suffice. Otherwise, go to Step 4.

4. Contact a dealership as a last resort. Ask for the programming instructions to be given over the phone. Out-of-town dealers may be more responsive to your call, since they won't be losing a sale to give you instructions for free.

Tips & Warnings

• If none of the above steps work out and you want to search online for yourself, "keyless," "program," and your car's model are helpful keywords.

• You can also look for your manual at the Edmunds link below.

• Some model-year combinations don't allow the owner to program the remote. The dealership must do it instead. This holds for many Buick models, for example.

References

• Program Your Remote
• Owners Manual Source
• Diplodocs Owner Manuals
• Keyless Ride
• Edmunds: Car Manuals