Chevy Dealership Tells Driver It'll Be $260 for a new His Key Fob. Then He Goes to O'Reilly

Car repairs are not cheap, and costs have been steadily climbing over the past few years. Data shows the average cost to maintain a vehicle hovers around $900 a year, but the truth is that number varies a lot.

Routine work like oil or coolant changes might only run a few dozen dollars. But bigger problems, think transmission fixes, transfer case replacement, or dashboard repairs, can easily jump into the thousands. In some more extreme cases, drivers face repair bills topping $6,000 in a single visit.

Naturally, it’s no surprise then that many car owners hesitate before dropping money at a dealership or mechanic, especially when the fix seems simple and paying hundreds for it feels unnecessary.

Chevy Owner Skips Dealer, Activates Key Fob Himself

TikTok creator Tim Ruiz (@timruiz13) posted a video about getting a new key fob.

He explains that after paying about $160 for the fob, the dealership told him it would cost an additional $260 just to program it.

“This guy had the audacity after I just paid $160 for a [expletive] piece of plastic to tell me it cost $260 to program it,” he says. “Yeah, go [expletive] yourself. Go punch sand. It’s not happening.”

Ruiz then remembered he has a General Motors key fob programmer he’d picked up at O’Reilly Auto Parts. He decided to give it a try.

“Lo and behold, it worked. I’mma show you where to do it, how to do it. And it literally took me 15 [expletive] seconds,” he said.

For his Chevrolet Silverado, Ruiz demonstrates that you plug the programmer into the OBD port, then hold the lock and unlock buttons on the new fob until it beeps.

“Mine took maybe five to seven seconds,” he adds, before showcasing, “And voila, done. Key is programmed. It works.”

He closed the video with advice for other General Motors owners.

“Do not go let the dealership bend you over and charge you $260 to program it,” he says, concluding the video. “You can buy this thing… [which] I want to say is probably under 40 bucks. Don’t fall for that dealership [expletive].”

Does This Work?

Yes, it works. What Ruiz shows in the video is an OBD (On-Board Diagnostics) programmer. This is a small device that plugs into the car’s system and communicates with its Electronic Control Unit (ECU).

While his main goal was to activate his new key fob, these devices are also used for a range of other functions, such as adjusting settings or enabling hidden features that aren’t available by default.

Additionally, they can be used to keep tabs on the car’s health by tracking things like fuel efficiency, engine temperature, and transmission data, all of which give drivers an early warning if something isn’t working the way it should.

In the comments, people backed Ruiz up, with some sharing similar experiences of dealership pricing.

“Ok period queen,” one person wrote.

Another said their Honda Accord story wasn’t much different.

“They told me the same thing about needing to program the fob with them, I said no,” they wrote. “They ended up selling it to me and I took elsewhere…. Oh look, I now have remote start capabilities.”

Someone else explained how they avoided all the extra costs. “I bought it all on Amazon for cheap and an installer and did it myself too,” the commenter shared. “Programmed new keys too. 2018 1500 5.3 Z71 Silverado.”

“They don’t call them Stealerships for nothing,” another quipped.

There Is Another, Simpler Method To Activate Modern Key Fobs

In some cases, specifically for 4th-generation Chevy Silverados (2019+), you don’t need to go to the mechanic or buy an extra gadget to program a Chevy key fob. The same is true for most other modern key fobs. 

Here’s how the process works:

• Step 1: First, unlock the driver’s side door by hand and make sure every door in the car is shut. Once inside, press and hold the unlock button on the driver’s door while sliding the key into the ignition.
• Step 2: Turn it to the “On” position, where the lights and radio come on, but don’t actually start the engine.
• Step 3: While still holding down the unlock button, twist the key back to “Off,” then quickly to “On” again, and back to “Off.” When you release the unlock button, the locks should cycle open and closed, letting you know the car is ready for programming.
• Step 4: Now, take the new key fob and press the lock and unlock buttons at the same time. Hold them until the locks click again, which confirms the fob has paired successfully.
• Step 5: To finish the pairing, turn the key in the ignition back to “On” one last time, which ends the sequence.

Motor1 reached out to Chevrolet via email and Ruiz via TikTok direct messages. We’ll update this if either responds.