Panic button on remote

[YukonBradley]

I've only had this car for a week. But I've accidentally set off the panic about 3 times and the car has done this multi-chirping thing several times and I don't know why. Happens more with the keys in my pocket though I've accidentally depressed it outside of the pocket as well. I've got the keyless start FOB and there's a big bump where the panic button is and that's the highest point on the remote which would really make it the easiest button to accidentally press. Incredibly stupid design. Tonight I woke up the neighbors. They need to recall this keyfob.

Anyone know of a non-destructive way to disable panic?

 

[Blueinterceptor]

The chirp is a signal that the key/you have left the car. The panic alarm? What else is in your pocket

 

[YukonBradley]

Not much else besides my keys. Just moving the keys around on my keychain it's easy for a key to bump against the panic button. But I think it's happened only when I wore jeans with the keys in my pocket, so a combination of keys in a tighter space makes it easier to accidentally depress. Once it happened as as I leaned up against a counter to grab something the panic button was pressed accidentally by the counter. I never had this problem with any other key fobs. The panic button is the easiest button to depress, it's not recessed, it's not protected, it is in fact protruding. Try placing it on a flat surface face down, the remote rests on the panic button. That to me is a bad design. No garage or car remotes I've ever owned are designed like this; 25 year old remotes they were smart enough to recess the buttons.

 

[yates ™]

I carry around both these key fobs fairly regularly and have not had an issue. Is the GMC one different?

 

[Blueinterceptor]

Your other keys and change are pushing the button. I have a house alarm key fob that I constantly set off with the keys I attached to it. I had to carry it by itself to stop setting it off

 

[YukonBradley]

I carry around both these key fobs fairly regularly and have not had an issue. Is the GMC one different?

No. This is what the remote looks like:

I attached a picture of it lying face down on my desk to show how much the panic button protrudes. I know ultimately I'm the one responsible for setting it off. I know it's my change, my jeans, my pockets, my keys. But when you design a keyfob like this, it's really quite easy to set it off. I've dealt with over 25 years of cars with remotes and haven't had this issue and it's easy to see why, every remote I ever had came with recessed buttons to prevent the buttons from being accidentally pressed. They'll probably use a long toggle switch on the next iteration.

 

[powderbrake]

I have a 2015 Tahoe, and the fob is different. My fob has the panic and start buttons recessed, and there are two extended bars to protect the other 4 buttons.

 

[olyelr]

We have that same key fob for our '15 SLT, and in 45k miles neither of us have ever set the panic button off. We have never even heard it before.

 

[YukonBradley]

Since I posted this, I set it off again probably about 6 more times accidentally. I had started to develop a habit of putting the keys on the table to prevent me from accidentally depressing it. What I noticed was that one remote was more protruding than the others which explains why this may not have been happening to others. My other remote was almost flush but not quite. Does anyone else's remote panic button protrude like the picture I posted with it laying flat on the table? I may have had a defective remote.

I opened up the remote to examine the issue and came up with an easy fix for anyone else who might have this problem. You can follow the procedures to change the battery. Then take apart the remote, remove the circuit board, it just pops off. Then remove the silicone skin and you will get behind the rubber which is the face of the remote. The button when the remote is taken apart is not protruding, it only protrudes because of a cylindrical extension that is molded into the rubber. If you cut off this cylindrical part, the button will flatten out and it will still function though you just have to press on it harder to reach the button on the circuit board. I used a special nail clipper to cut it off. This is how it should have been made.

 

[Blueinterceptor]

Try taking the other keys off the key fob