KeyFob Guide is a free, independent directory of OEM key fob identification, transponder chip families, and aftermarket programmer compatibility for the North American vehicle fleet. The project exists to answer three questions that nobody else answers cleanly in one place: what fob does my vehicle use, what chip is inside it, and which aftermarket tool can pair it?
Why we exist
The DIY key fob "industry" online is dominated by two kinds of pages: copy-paste owner-manual ignition-cycle procedures, and affiliate-driven shopping lists that rank tools by commission rate rather than fitness for purpose. Neither of those is useful when you're standing in your driveway with a $48 Amazon fob in hand and a vehicle that won't start.
The honest answer is upstream of the programming step: identifying your fob hardware correctly. Get the chip family right and the part number close, and the programming step almost takes care of itself. Get either wrong and no amount of YouTube ignition-cycle theatrics will make the immobilizer accept your new fob.
What's in the directory
- Year-by-year coverage from 2002 through 2024 across 14 manufacturers
- Per-vehicle OEM and aftermarket part numbers, FCC IDs, and pricing ranges
- Transponder chip identification — Hitag2, Hitag-PRO, ID46/47, DST80, DST-AES, Megamos AES, and more
- Honest aftermarket programmer compatibility — full / partial / dealer-only ratings for every chip family
- Hub pages organizing the catalog by fob form factor, chip family, and programmer model
How we source data
Vehicle make, model, and year coverage is validated against the live NHTSA vPIC API at every reseed — if the API isn't reachable, we fall back to our editorial whitelist and note it in the dataset metadata. Transponder chip and immobilizer data is assembled from manufacturer datasheets (NXP, Texas Instruments, EM Microelectronic), the OBD2 community immobilizer database, and the published vehicle-coverage lists for each programmer in our index (Autel, Xhorse, AutoProPAD, Topdon, Smart Pro, Abrites). FCC IDs come from the FCC's public radio equipment authorization database.
Editorial independence
We don't sell fobs. We don't take affiliate kickbacks for routing you to a specific tool or a specific locksmith. The directory is supported by display advertising, which means the only thing we have to sell you is honest data. If a programmer doesn't support your vehicle, we say so; if a chip family is dealer-only, we tell you and recommend a locksmith over an unsuccessful DIY attempt.
Get in touch
Spotted an error in a model-year reference? Have a programmer compatibility update? Send us a note. Corrections are reviewed and incorporated on a rolling basis.