Finally a smaller key fob

[islandtees]

I tried the Gibson Leatherworks cover but it was too big for my tastes and difficult to remove the fob when I needed the physical key.

Ordered these off of Amazon and it works perfectly. No more unwanted physical key extractions in the pocket.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07K2S1ZTG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That's a great deal for 2. I like how they are not bulky.

Sponsored

 

[RussJeep1]

What is it with these car makers these days? These dang fobs keep getting bigger and bigger. In our "key drawer", we have at least 6 separate vehicle fobs and multiples of them. They are progressively larger by year of manufacture.

Noted.

Many of us don't have the passive entry feature the JL offers. This is part of the "you gotta love the Jeep" mentality of not having, or paying extra for features other vehicle manufacturers wouldn't dare not include to remain competitive.

That said, research indicated people wouldn't mind larger fobs if they never had to access them or a key to open their vehicle in the first place. Maybe these findings were skewed by half the drivers being women, more likely to carry purses (where fob size was less of an issue than a pocket) or be concerned with opening their car doors in vulnerable situations, and the time to take out a key (which BTW security experts say should be in hand before reaching the vehicle to expedite entry or even used as a self defense weapon.)

(I don't mean that to be politically incorrect. I'm merely citing what the research showed.)

 

[Willcbooth]

According to AJT, their prototype is the same length and thickness due to the size of the internals of the factory fob. The protype is more narrow by taking out the flip key, cutting off the metal knuckle of the key, and putting into a compartment on the back of their fob.

 

[Mabar]

According to AJT, their prototype is the same length and thickness due to the size of the internals of the factory fob. The protype is more narrow by taking out the flip key, cutting off the metal knuckle of the key, and putting into a compartment on the back of their fob.

Am I the only person who remembers the "good old days" when each car had a "normal" sized key?

We have 4 vehicles in our family, and I used to be able to carry one key ring, with 4 vehicle keys, house keys, and other keys on it. Now I practically have to have a suitcase (sarcasm) to carry around all these key fobs just to move vehicles around in our driveway.

I absolutely HATE this new Wrangler HUGE key fob! My wife's Honda has a key fob that does everything the new JL fob does and it is 1/2 the size.

Why must the Wrangler fob be so large?

 

[OldGuyNewJeep]

Am I the only person who remembers the "good old days" when each car had a "normal" sized key?

We have 4 vehicles in our family, and I used to be able to carry one key ring, with 4 vehicle keys, house keys, and other keys on it. Now I practically have to have a suitcase (sarcasm) to carry around all these key fobs just to move vehicles around in our driveway.

I absolutely HATE this new Wrangler HUGE key fob! My wife's Honda has a key fob that does everything the new JL fob does and it is 1/2 the size.

Why must the Wrangler fob be so large?

I remember those days, but can’t say I miss them. I really like that my key never has to leave my pocket. I like even more that I don’t have to watch my wife dig through her purse looking for her key. It’s in there somewhere, as evidenced by the fact that she started the truck and drove off.

All of that said, I would not like to carry 4 of these keys with me, but I’d say you’re an edge case. I carry just two and they fit in my pocket just fine (alongside my EDC knife). My old fashioned keys stay in my other pocket.

 

[RussJeep1]

Why must the Wrangler fob be so large?

I hear you and don't precisely know. What I will say is that "my dad's key fob" opened a door and disarmed a vehicle and permitted it to be started.

The JL's fob disarms a vehicle and then permits the driver to attempt a crank, where the rig says, so to speak, to the fob, before cranking, "I just got a request to start up, are you good with that fob?"

...and the fob responds accordingly.

So there's that additional level.

@Mabar I trust you've seen the recent posts above on 3rd party holders of the physical key and fob guts that are much smaller than the factory FOB and scheduled for Feb 2019 release?

I wish they will make several sized to match the different size of buttons of the FOBs that offer the various features of the JL trim levels.

 

[Mabar]

I hear you and don't precisely know. What I will say is that "my dad's key fob" opened a door and disarmed a vehicle and permitted it to be started.

The JL's fob disarms a vehicle and then permits the driver to attempt a crank, where the rig says, so to speak, to the fob, before cranking, "I just got a request to start up, are you good with that fob?"

...and the fob responds accordingly.

So there's that additional level.

And yet my wife's Honda key fob does all that and is still 1/2 the size of the new JL key fob

I trust you've seen the recent posts above on 3rd party holders of the physical key and fob guts that are much smaller than the factory FOB and scheduled for Feb 2019 release?

Yes, I saw the 3rd party fobs. They are still too large, plus they look terrible.

 

[ekimgnuj]

Noted.

Many of us don't have the passive entry feature the JL offers. This is part of the "you gotta love the Jeep" mentality of not having, or paying extra for features other vehicle manufacturers wouldn't dare not include to remain competitive.

That said, research indicated people wouldn't mind larger fobs if they never had to access them or a key to open their vehicle in the first place. Maybe these findings were skewed by half the drivers being women, more likely to carry purses (where fob size was less of an issue than a pocket) or be concerned with opening their car doors in vulnerable situations, and the time to take out a key (which BTW security experts say should be in hand before reaching the vehicle to expedite entry or even used as a self defense weapon.)

(I don't mean that to be politically incorrect. I'm merely citing what the research showed.)

I don't know, after I had one JK catch fire and burn to the ground due to a known problem that later had a recall, and another with electrical issues they could never fixed that caused the Jeep to constantly shut off while driving, I had a brief bout of insanity with a Range Roger and their FOB had all the functionality and more, and it was half the size of my JL fob!

 

[RussJeep1]

I too wish the FOB was smaller, and believe it could be, but probably not this small:

 

[Indio]

Am I the only person who remembers the "good old days" when each car had a "normal" sized key?

We have 4 vehicles in our family, and I used to be able to carry one key ring, with 4 vehicle keys, house keys, and other keys on it. Now I practically have to have a suitcase (sarcasm) to carry around all these key fobs just to move vehicles around in our driveway.

I absolutely HATE this new Wrangler HUGE key fob! My wife's Honda has a key fob that does everything the new JL fob does and it is 1/2 the size.

Why must the Wrangler fob be so large?

Up until a week ago I was living in those good old days, then we got a used van with a chunky key fob (that also malfunctions and opens the rear tailgate if key fob button is pressed lightly). And I can't go to Ace Hardware and pay $3.00 for a couple of extra keys for my kids. I hate key fobs but do appreciate the manual window offering on the JL.

 

[RussJeep1]

Looks like AJT design is working on a smaller key fob with the physical key that is stash inside the the fob.



Looks like it should be here in Feb and looking at other products they sale should be like 35 bucks.

If this came up already I apologize.

The AJT FOB in the OP's picture matches the, what I will presume is the most feature rich of the FCA JL fobs, complete with buttons the fob for my JL doesn't have.

Based on people's knowledge of AJT, do they sometimes produce various size FOBs for a particular rig that are smaller and only have the buttons specific to a particular FOB of the overall vehicle model--such that AJT might produce say 3 different JL fobs?

Do people believe, if this answer is "no, that the fob AJT is producing might work only with the FCA fob that matches the AJT one in button options, or that AJTs fob shown is likely to be compatible with less feature rich (i.e. less button) FCA fobs for the JL?

FWIW: I sent the owner of AJT an email. If he lets me know I'll share the answer here.

Thanks.

P.S. perhaps all FOBs are the same size that FCA produces...or more relevant, maybe the circuitry inside, that the AJT encapsulates, is the same size irrespective of the buttons/features it presents.

 

[Budagreg]

Gibson Leatherworks FOB holder works great!
Got mine in black.

 

[drdriller]

I'm confused with the key fob dilemma. For those who bought the Gibson Leatherworks fob holder, how do you carry it? By putting on the holder, you just made the fob bigger. Do you now hang it on your belt loop or something? Attach a chain to it and put it in your pocket like a biker? I just can't figure it out. PS Gibson makes fine products, this isn't a slight on them.

 

[Rhinebeck01]

@drdriller
Anyone old enough to have ever carried a pager on their belt would understand...

 

[BillG]

I'm confused with the key fob dilemma. For those who bought the Gibson Leatherworks fob holder, how do you carry it? By putting on the holder, you just made the fob bigger. Do you now hang it on your belt loop or something? Attach a chain to it and put it in your pocket like a biker? I just can't figure it out. PS Gibson makes fine products, this isn't a slight on them.

He makes several styles. An in pocket, a belt clip, and one for belt loop hanging. All with windows or without.

Sponsored