Can You Add Keyless Entry to a Car? Possible but Expensive?

You can add keyless entry to almost any car but to add also other cool technologies, you will need to invest a lot (like the button on your door handle, push-button engine start, etc.) To add these technologies, you will have to spend more than it's reasonable to spend on an older car.

Ignition problems highlights

• Level of urgency:high
• DIY inspection:possible but complicated
• DIY repairs:usually,impossible
• Can you drive?no
• Price of repairs:$5 - $350
• If ignored:no start
• Ways to fix:check batteries, try another key fob, inspect and locate the issue

How to add simple and cheap keyless entry to your car?

If you still open the door in your car with a metal key, you can invest about $200-$300 and buy a keyless entry kit. It consists of four solenoids that open the door locks on all four doors and also the control unit that operates these solenoids. The system has a remote-control fob that has several buttons for operating different modes of the system.

This feature is called central lock with remote control. It's cheap, easy to use, and not that hard to install. You still will need some professional help if you don't want to damage something in your car's electrical system.

Here are some things you should know about these systems:

• they may come as a single unit or as a part of the alarm system;
• they may or may not cooperate with the OEM safety system in your vehicle;
• it's always important to buy a kit made by a well-known brand;
• cheap Chinese no-name kits may really damage your vehicle;
• you should be careful with installation because it can affect the electrical system in your car.

After you or some electrician installs this system, you can lock and unlock the doors in your vehicle by pressing a certain key in the key fob. It usually works at a distance of up to 100 feet or something. Also, you may program your turn lights to blink once or twice showing that you locked or unlocked the doors.

This is the cheapest way to add the keyless entry to your vehicle whatever model and year it is. All you need is to provide the solenoids and control unit with power and set everything to work properly.

OEM keyless entry - can you just activate it?

In some vehicles, you will already have some keyless entry equipment but it will not be activated because of the cheaper trim of your car. Look at the key and notice if it has some buttons on it. If it has two buttons for locking and unlocking the doors, chances are that your car has OEM keyless entry system.

There are two possible ways to make this system work:

• Activate it by using the scanner. Usually, this requires some knowledge of how to program the features of your car. But sometimes even a cheap scanner and some Youtube tutorial may do the trick.
• Sometimes, you will need to buy additional equipment. Your car may lack some control unit or solenoids in doors. This is not hard to check by visiting a good repair shop that is specialized in your brand of cars.

So, it's worth checking whether your car already has the equipment for locking and unlocking the doors remotely. For example, I know one Chevy Aveo owner who had buttons on the key but they didn't work. He just needed to buy the control unit from a scrapyard and install it. The system worked without adding any extra equipment.

If there is no equipment for this, you will need to buy and install it, too. In this case, OEM keyless entry system will cost you quite a lot, so you better choose a good and reliable aftermarket kit instead.

Keyless entry with cool features for an older car - possible?

But what if you want the keyless entry system with its full benefit? Like you can come to your vehicles when the doors are blocked, press the little button on one of the door handles while keeping the fob in your pocket or bag and the vehicle will unlock. Or you can sit in your car with the fob in your pocket, press the engine start button, and start driving.

It's not impossible to add those features into your car but the price is not going to be low. Also, you will not get all the features you want, just those that are programmed in your kit. And installing such kits is pretty hard, so the labor costs should also be quite high.

I don't recommend even trying to introduce such features in an older car because this will cost you a fortune and it will most likely not work as it should.

Here's the only possible situation when it may be possible:

• you have a cheaper trim of the car and in other trims, this model has the keyless entry system with all those cool features;
• you may go to eBay and buy used OEM parts like door handles with buttons, wiring, control units, etc.;
• you may then find a professional who will install all these in your vehicle and set everything correctly;
• you should also check the system after it's installed and make sure it doesn't interfere with other electric and electronic systems in your car.

Even in this case, you can damage something when installing the new equipment. If your car model didn't have any trim with keyless entry and you can only rely on aftermarket equipment, you shouldn't even start upgrading the vehicle. This will cost you a fortune and, in the end, it won't bring the desired results.

Unfortunately, all aftermarket kits come from Chinese manufacturers that don't care about quality. Their only task is to sell this set of electronics to you and then all other problems should only be solved by you. In my experience, these kits just don't work as they should and they aren't worth their money.

When is it still reasonable to invest in upgrading your old car?

Many car owners love their vehicles. They buy only the best parts and never miss the regular maintenance schedule. But when it comes to upgrading their vehicles and adding new features, they often don't think reasonably and spend their money when it's not the best time to do this.

Keyless entry systems with great features will cost you a fortune and investing this fortune in an old car that is about to end its life is not a great idea. All these units and solenoids you are going to buy may quickly end up going to a scrapyard along with the broken car. So, it's always right to ask yourself several questions.

Here are the signs that the car is not worth investing money in its upgrades anymore:

• the vehicle is older than 15 years - even with low mileage, such cars may just die unexpectedly;
• the car has over 200,000 miles on it - the vehicle may have some serious problems that will lead to its death;
• there are signs of soon engine death or transmission problems and repair is extremely expensive;
• the residual value of the car is too low, so investing another $500 in it will be like investing half of its price;
• you are going to change the car within a year or something like that.

Sometimes, it's really cheaper to sell your vehicle and then buy a car that already has all the features of keyless entry and other cool things. This will give you OEM keyless entry feature that will work as it should for years to go.

But if you feel like experimenting with the vehicle and are ready to lose the money you will spend on that equipment and labor, you can try. Just don't hope to get a lot of great features that will work just like in the new Mercedes car.

Final thoughts

Keyless entry is a really good feature in any car and it saves you a lot of time. Especially good this feature is in winter when your keyhole may freeze but the solenoid will still do its job and unlock the door. But adding this feature and paying more than $300 for OEM keyless entry benefits is not always a good idea.

You can get a keyless entry kit for decent money and have it installed quickly in any repair shop. This is a good idea that will pay off and won't take a lot of money out of your pocket. But even this is worth its money in that case only if you are going to drive your car for more than a year.