Yesterday, I accidentally hit the panic button on my fob TWICE. Although being only the second and third time it’s happened since I’ve had the car (mid-Nov), I was done: I had to find a solution. The fob was in my pocket both times, and the earlier instance happened around 5:45AM when I was getting ready for work: I’m sure the neighbors were thrilled. Also, like pretty much everyone else, I have never accidentally triggered the panic button on any other car, and I’ve never needed to use it.
It took a little while to figure out what to do, but the solution is pretty solid, and technically it’s reversible, but would require superglue.
1. Take off the fob cover. Use the key to turn the battery cover anti clockwise, and remove cover and battery.
2. Using a flat head screwdriver, push gently down the side of the fob from the open side against one of the edges of the panic button. The face of the fob is a solid rubber piece that runs from over the top all the way to the bottom of panic. The Alfa script is a separate piece. The side of the large rubber piece should begin to push away from the front of the fob. There’s no glue or anything holding it in, so grab it and slowly begin to lift it away from the fob.
3. You’ll begin to see some green plastic pieces underneath. These have nubs on them that slot into rubber guides underneath. Slowly pull up on the rubber face of the buttons to pop the green nubs out of their rubber guides. There’s one for each button; 5 total. Don’t go too far!
4. I stopped once all 5 green nubs were released. This means the rubber buttons are still connected to the fob at the top. I was afraid if I pulled it off completely I’d never get it back on again.
5. Using a small knife, slowly and methodically work your way around the green piece and underneath it to separate it from the rubber. There are four holes in the green piece where the rubber pokes through for added strength, but it’s also glued down. If you’re careful, gentle, and patient, you can work your way around and under the green piece without damaging the face of the button in any way: I was successful in this endeavor (fortunately: I would never have forgiven myself if I had destroyed the face).
6. I don’t think it’s possible to preserve the rubber nubs that poke through the green piece since they’re glued in too. I did attempt to cut around them, but the smaller holes are REALLY small, so I gave up. I focused on running the blade of the knife against the green piece to separate the rubber from it, then using a sawing motion to cut off the rubber nubs. The sharper your knife, the easier this will be.
7. Eventually you’ll remove the green piece. Be patient. Mine came off very cleanly, and the back of the rubber button is pretty smooth.
8. You’re not done yet. Now the hard part. You need to pop the green nubs back into the black rubber guides below, working top to bottom. I used a bobby-pin to push against the side of the rubber guide at the bottom where there’s a small notch to create a sort of oval shaped opening. Then push down on the rubber button so the green nub goes into the hole, and sort of rotate the bobby-pin to get the rubber around the hole to catch on the nub. It’s tough to explain, and takes a lot of trial and error, but once you get the first one, the others go much quicker. Also take note that the green nubs have two flat sides: the trick is to get one end (non-flat) popped all the way into the rubber guide: from there, you can work it a few times to get the entire nub in.
9. Once all 4 remaining green nubs have been inserted into their rubber guides below, you’re home free. Slot the sides of the front rubber down into the fob, then re-assemble (battery, battery cover, key, fob cover).
10. Final result? My panic button looks perfectly normal. But if you press it, there’s a lack of feedback: empty space under the button. Basically, unusable. But that was my goal. Mission accomplished. And assuming I can keep track of that little green piece for the next few years, I could superglue it back on to restore the button functionality. Chances of that? 0.00 [emoji6]
It took a little while to figure out what to do, but the solution is pretty solid, and technically it’s reversible, but would require superglue.
1. Take off the fob cover. Use the key to turn the battery cover anti clockwise, and remove cover and battery.
2. Using a flat head screwdriver, push gently down the side of the fob from the open side against one of the edges of the panic button. The face of the fob is a solid rubber piece that runs from over the top all the way to the bottom of panic. The Alfa script is a separate piece. The side of the large rubber piece should begin to push away from the front of the fob. There’s no glue or anything holding it in, so grab it and slowly begin to lift it away from the fob.
3. You’ll begin to see some green plastic pieces underneath. These have nubs on them that slot into rubber guides underneath. Slowly pull up on the rubber face of the buttons to pop the green nubs out of their rubber guides. There’s one for each button; 5 total. Don’t go too far!
4. I stopped once all 5 green nubs were released. This means the rubber buttons are still connected to the fob at the top. I was afraid if I pulled it off completely I’d never get it back on again.
5. Using a small knife, slowly and methodically work your way around the green piece and underneath it to separate it from the rubber. There are four holes in the green piece where the rubber pokes through for added strength, but it’s also glued down. If you’re careful, gentle, and patient, you can work your way around and under the green piece without damaging the face of the button in any way: I was successful in this endeavor (fortunately: I would never have forgiven myself if I had destroyed the face).
6. I don’t think it’s possible to preserve the rubber nubs that poke through the green piece since they’re glued in too. I did attempt to cut around them, but the smaller holes are REALLY small, so I gave up. I focused on running the blade of the knife against the green piece to separate the rubber from it, then using a sawing motion to cut off the rubber nubs. The sharper your knife, the easier this will be.
7. Eventually you’ll remove the green piece. Be patient. Mine came off very cleanly, and the back of the rubber button is pretty smooth.
8. You’re not done yet. Now the hard part. You need to pop the green nubs back into the black rubber guides below, working top to bottom. I used a bobby-pin to push against the side of the rubber guide at the bottom where there’s a small notch to create a sort of oval shaped opening. Then push down on the rubber button so the green nub goes into the hole, and sort of rotate the bobby-pin to get the rubber around the hole to catch on the nub. It’s tough to explain, and takes a lot of trial and error, but once you get the first one, the others go much quicker. Also take note that the green nubs have two flat sides: the trick is to get one end (non-flat) popped all the way into the rubber guide: from there, you can work it a few times to get the entire nub in.
9. Once all 4 remaining green nubs have been inserted into their rubber guides below, you’re home free. Slot the sides of the front rubber down into the fob, then re-assemble (battery, battery cover, key, fob cover).
10. Final result? My panic button looks perfectly normal. But if you press it, there’s a lack of feedback: empty space under the button. Basically, unusable. But that was my goal. Mission accomplished. And assuming I can keep track of that little green piece for the next few years, I could superglue it back on to restore the button functionality. Chances of that? 0.00 [emoji6]