Florida Jason

I just realized I never returned to update you all until I got the e-mail notification about Panhandle Chevy's post. Good luck my friend! Although my attempt was effective for about a day, it didn't take long until the problem returned. I finally became convinced I cannot salvage the key fobs. So- in the end I simply replaced the key fob. I purchased a new one from Amazon for $60. Part of me wishes I had done that sooner, but to be honest I was under the impression I would have to spend hundreds on a new key fob. Instead, the key fob I ordered came with a programmer that plugs into the OBDII port. It can only be used on ONE vehicle, but $60 is much better than the hundreds a dealer or locksmith wants for the same outcome. I'll share the Amazon link below for reference. It was not a difficult task and only took about three minutes. Please note: I saw some indications that certain model years (or maybe trim packages) let you program the key fobs without a special tool, but I didn't look into that too much. Mine definitely needed the tool to program a new key fob. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CPDJMFH9?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1 (Remote Gmc Replacement Key Fob with OBD Simple Key for 15-21 Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon,14-18 Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra,FCCID M3N32337100 (1 pcs))

This thread was helpful to me, so I created an account to add my experience. I have a 2017 Silverado. I received two fobs from the dealership when I bought it. Around 2020 or 2021 (hard to remember), I experienced two symptoms: 1) lock doors with fob and they would immediately unlock, and 2) random unlocking behavior while driving or when on retained accessory power. At the time, I did as much troubleshooting as I could and discovered that isolating the key fob out of range solved the issue, so assumed it was a bad fob and hung it inside my home out of range from the truck and began using the other fob. One week ago, I noticed the same symptoms began. Tonight I spent an hour or so troubleshooting. I gently popped open the fob case (easier than I expected and no damage caused). I observed a clear gel-like substance on some areas of the circuit board and casing. After some testing, it seemed that this gel was at least somewhat conductive and the source of the aberrant behavior. I cleaned the substance from the board and case with a paper towel and re-assembled. Initial testing indicates this was a successful fix. Attached is a photo of the fob guts. Gel substance was on the areas marked in red. I did some quick research, and it seems this could be leakage from the battery, although not the typical corrosion style of a AA or AAA cell battery. I can't be 100% sure that's what it was. So, I leave that to the reader's judgment. I will use the fob and report back in one week whether this was permanently successful or not.