Key fob doesn't work after replacing battery

Jeep Garage
1

Good morning!

2009 Jeep Grand Cherokee here. I have 2 key fobs. The battery in the first one stopped working a while ago, so I’ve been using the second one. In the past couple of weeks the second one hasn’t always been locking and unlocking the doors consistently, so I decided to replace the battery in both. Upon replacing the batteries, I have found that neither of them are working at all. (There were a few hours between taking the old battery out and putting the new ones in, if that matters). Are these supposed to be re-programmed somehow? I am not finding the owner’s manual very helpful in this matter.

Related follow-ups questions:
When the key fob didn’t work, I used the physical key to open my door. This set off the car alarm, which I was only able to turn off by inserting the key into the ignition. Will this still work without the battery? At this point, I’m afraid to even open the jeep and not have a way to turn the alarm off.

And is the jeep still drive-able with a fob that isn’t working?

Thank you for your time!

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In most cases, replacing the batteries in Jeep key fobs shouldn’t require any reprogramming.

There might be a chance your specific model year is an exception, but it’s unlikely.

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If you use the physical key to unlock the door and it sets off the car alarm, you should be able to turn off the alarm by inserting the key into the ignition and turning it to the “ON” position. This should disable the alarm.

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While still holding the “Unlock” button, press the “Panic” button (red button) once and then release both buttons.

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Your Jeep should still be drivable even if the key fob is not working, as long as you can manually unlock the doors and start the engine using the physical key. However, without a functioning key fob, you may not be able to use remote features such as remote start or keyless entry.