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2004 - 2006 Pontiac GTO OEM Key Fob vs. GTO Aftermarket Key Fob

2004 - 2006 Pontiac GTO OEM Key Fob vs. GTO Aftermarket Key Fob

One of the most sought-after products we sell are the key fobs for the 2004 - 2006 Pontiac GTO.   GM (Holden) decided to manufacture these key fobs to be non-serviceable, meaning that they glued the case shut and soldered the battery to the circuit board.  This requires you to replace the key fob when the battery dies

When searching for a replacement fob for the 2004 - 2006 Pontiac GTO, there aren't many options that actually work.  GM stopped manufacturing the fobs with the Pontiac logo years ago, so you are unable to go to a dealer and get a replacement fob.  With our knowledge at East Coast Holden Parts, we were able to determine that the key fobs for some Holden vehicles work and are identical to the GTO fob except for the logo on the back.  However, at the current time (2024), GM has also discontinued production of these OEM Holden fobs so the supply is extremely limited.

You may see a lot of cheap aftermarket fobs on ebay/amazon, but you will find that those don't work.   Research on many of the Facebook pages, and even reviews on Amazon show this. Alternatively, used fobs can NOT be programmed to another car.  The fobs lock to the original BCM they were programmed to and cannot be reused.  With the search on for another alternative, we were able to work with one of our suppliers to bring an aftermarket option to the community.

This leads us to the comparison of the OEM vs aftermarket fobs for the Pontiac GTO that we sell.  Both fobs can be self-programmed,  The aftermarket fob comes with a programmer that can be used 3 times, and it takes about 15 seconds to program a fob.  The OEM fob you can either do the 10-10-10 method which takes 30 minutes, or a dealer can program it with a Tech 2, but they will need the BCM code which can be problematic to locate. 

Holden FOBs

  • OEM GM
  • Glued shut/Non-serviceable 
  • Can be self-programmed in 30 minutes using the (10-10-10 Method) or it can also be programmed with a Tech 2, but there is other information needed which can make it a bit more complicated.

Aftermarket FOB

  • OEM like quality
  • Glued shut/Non-serviceable 
  • Programming takes 15 seconds, and each programmer can be used 3 times.