Did you know? . . . Different Button Configurations on Factory Keyless Entry Remote Transmitters

Many factory keyless entry remotes are part of a “family” of similar keyfobs. The main reason for this is that different vehicles models need different remote functions. For instance, most pickup truck remotes only have three buttons — lock, unlock and panic — but a van keyfob may have as many as seven buttons — lock, unlock, panic, power passenger-side sliding door, power driver-side sliding door, power rear liftgate, and, on some models, remote start. It is not unusual for remote transmitter manufacturers to create a family of remotes that use the same circuit board for parts with a variety of different button configurations.

So, for instance, Delphi made a family of parts with FCC ID ABO1502T. These were used on some GM vehicles from 1996 to 2004. There is a 2-button version (GM part 16245102) that had only lock and unlock buttons. There are two different 3-button versions. In addition to lock and unlock buttons, GM part 16245103 has a trunk icon button and GM part 16245105 has a button that says “Rear 2x” on it. As you might guess, part 16245103 was used on sedans and part 16245105 was used on SUVs. There are three different 4-button parts in the family. Two of them match the two 3-button parts but have an additional “panic” button for vehicles that included this additional funtion. These parts have GM part numbers 16245100, 16245104 and 16263074. There is also a 4-button remote from this family (GM part 16245106) used on some 2000-01 Cadillac Catera vehicles that had a gas cap release button instead of the panic button.

Because all of these different remote transmitters use the same circuit board, the keyfobs are interchangeable. You can, for instance, use a 4-button ABO1502T keyfob to replace the 2-button or 3-button remotes with the same FCC ID. The extra buttons simply will not have any effect when pushed. Be careful, though, you cannot always rely on two transmitters with the same FCC ID being mutually compatible. It depends on the specific situation.

This information can be important when shopping for a replacement remote. Often, parts from the same family are not priced the same.

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