I have a 16 Z06 vert and a 17 grand sport coupe. A8’s. I just got both of them in May and each car came with only one remote. They were identical.. I bought two new fobs for the Z06 convertible so I could operate the top remotely. Had fun trying to get the car to initially read the five key turns, but I managed to get both fobs programmed to that car successfully. All buttons work, top goes down, remote start, etc. Now, instead of having only one fob as #2, I now have two fobs in the 1 and 2 memory.
Now the fob that used to be for the Z06 no longer works on the Z06, and I want to program it as a second fob for the grand sport.
OK. Should be simple, considering I just got done doing it on the other car…
I tried repeating the process with the grand sport, and I can’t get that other fob to program. I put all new Duracells in the fobs for the grand sport and even went through the process a second time. Nothing.
After the first flub, before I tried a second time, I got a “service theft deterrent system” message. And other than the fob locking and unlocking the door, the car was bricked. I pushed down on the start button for the 12 seconds to get out of the mode and then got out of the car and closed all of the doors. I waited a minute got back in and the car started up. That’s when I got the message. So I decided to push my luck and repeat the whole process again. It still wouldn’t program the second fob and I don’t recall getting a service message the second time.
One thing I should check… I’m pretty sure the fob I got with the car was #2. Tried programming the seats and it wouldn’t work with the number 1 selector so I assume I have fob number 2. I am not sure if during this process, I managed to program fob 2 to fob 1 memory.
I tried googling, and from what I’ve read, it said that I can’t reprogram fobs to another car because they are “married” to the original car. That doesn’t sound right. My old Z06 fob doesn’t activate anything on Z06 anymore so it should be good to go.
So, does anybody have any idea why the second fob will not program? Keep in mind that it worked on the other car just minutes before (Plus I just did the whole process on the other car) and I still put in a brand new Duracell after that. (I tried googling why I got the service theft deterrent message and it said because a battery was low somewhere so I replaced it and plugged in the trickle charger too just to be sure).

 

Verts and coupes use different fobs. There is no reason that a "used" fob can't pair to another car that uses the SAME fob, but I don't know about incompatible part numbers. Here are the part numbers.



Ron

 

Yeah, I have that chart. That’s how I found out there are fobs with the convertible button (Thank you for previously posting that elsewhere, that’s how I found out). The fob that came with my Z06 is identical to the one I have for the grand sport. Same part number. Both cars are A8. The ones I had just purchased for my Z06 convertible and programmed are different than the other two that came with the cars originally. The originals are the five button remote start versions for A8. The two I bought and programmed have the convertible top button. So I have two sets of two now.

 

See the fob hints in C7 General | Sticky Threads. There's a step where you test the fob slot in the steering column. That may be your issue on the coupe. I'll assume that you checked the fob model number when you replaced the battery. Interesting that a "non convertible" fob worked for the vert. I guess it is just a matter of frequency...

All of the pairing info is in the car, not the fob. There is really no technical reason why a fob can't be paired to multiple cars.

You can buy a cheap RF meter to at least see if the fob is transmitting and on what frequency for about $20. I bought one just to play with on the various cars in the family.

Also make sure the batteries are at 3.1 volts or above. New battery should be above 3.25 volts.

GL

Ron

 

I’ve never heard of a “non-convertible“ fob. It’s just a regular fob without the top activation button. According to your chart, the only thing that would make the difference is what transmission the car has. And of course, the years of the cars they go to. Mine are both past the 2016 build year and both are A8.
A fob is a fob is a fob (for the most part.) I could program a “convertible“ fob to my coupe, and it would still make my car work. I just wouldn’t have a retractable top to use that extra button for. So long as it was an automatic transmission compatible fob (and compatible year) and an automatic transmission car, it would work.
When I had my C6’s, my grand sport convertible, and my Z06 had identical fobs. Same when I bought the C7 Z06 and GS.
I also find it interesting that you even have to have a battery in the fob when programming it. The car will run with a fob in the column with a dead battery, but yet it won’t recognize the fob in the column while programming if the battery isn’t up to par? Well, of course it’s that way!
Maybe I did something wrong in this process of setting up my second car. It was getting late, dark and I was getting tired. I’ll give it another shot today.

I always have to keep in mind that I am part of a group of people who understand that Murphy’s Law was written entirely about them.
I’m. Living. Proof.

 

I just noted that this is the first time that I can remember where a fob was confirmed to work with a car where the fob part number didn't match the chart (too many or not enough / right buttons). I can personally verify that a 2014 fob will not work with a 2019 car. The steering column pocket somehow provides energy to operate the fob. It is very short range so a good battery is needed for a fob outside the pocket.

Anyway, try it again and see what happens.

Ron

 

I’m about to give it a shot here in a few minutes.
I managed to decode everything I needed from your chart. For example, I noticed you don’t get remote start with a manual transmission. That’s because I imagine you don’t want to start your car remotely while it’s still in gear parked. That makes sense. I also noticed that the only difference between the automatic fobs is the extra “top down” button.
For another example… If you were to go under the hood and rip out your AC system, you would still have the button on the dash. You could push it, and it wouldn’t do anything because you don’t have the hardware under the hood. But the rest of your car hasn’t changed. That is the only difference between the two automatic fobs. One fob has the extra button to activate the top. And the car in question has the hardware to carry it out. Otherwise they are identical in their functioning.
A “non-convertible“ fob just means that it doesn’t have the top down button. That’s it. They are otherwise the same. So there’s really no such thing as a designated “convertible” and “non-convertible” fob.
They just make one that has an extra button for those who want it. You can still program a fob without the “top” button to a convertible.

I could ask around and see how many people here have a C7 convertible without the “top down“ fob function. I bet there’s a lot.
My 2016 Z06 Vert for instance, did not come with one. That’s why I bought that new fob under a different part number that has the extra button.
Like I said before… I could still program the convertible fob to my grand sport coupe and everything would still function except the “top down” button. Because it’s a Targa.
I hope my explanation didn’t make things more confusing.

 

These are the two fobs I got when I purchased my 2016 Z06 “convertible” and my 2017 grand sport “coupe” (Each came with only one).
Can anyone tell the difference? And no, the fact that one of them doesn’t have the key blank doesn’t count lol.
Can anybody tell me which one came with which car? You can’t. Because they’re identical. Hell, I had to label them so I could tell them apart!
Hint: the one on the right came with the Z06 convertible.

 

according to the list above, this is the fob needed for the convertible

 

Yep. Bought two of those off of eBay and programmed them myself to the number one and two memory slots.

 

I think we’re heading out into left field with the confusion about what fob can be used with what car.
A fob without the convertible “top button” can still be used on a convertible car. I don’t know what’s so difficult to understand about that.
I have purchased three Corvette convertibles in the last 2 years, and none of them came with a fob that had the convertible “top button” on it.
I’m half tempted to reprogram my “convertible fobs“ to my coupe just to show that it can be done. But it took too much time to get these programmed to the Z06.
The only thing I see that is restricting about the fobs is that you have to have it “for the correct years” and “for the correct transmission”. That’s it.
PLEASE stop telling me to refer to the chart in someway or another. I’ve studied the chart and I understand it COMPLETELY. Better than some people here apparently.

No one has even come close to answering the question that I actually initially asked. Everyone is insisting I’m doing it all wrong because there are “dedicated“ fobs. If that’s the case, why did I get perfectly functioning “non-convertible” fobs with my convertibles? (That was a rhetorical question please do not answer it.)

Thanks for trying though.