I always wondered if this is true. When I purchased my car brand new almost 5 years ago the dealership told me to use the spare fob once in a while otherwise it may lose the code. He said I would one day try to use the spare key and the car may not work.

2 Questions. Does the Fob really send a signal to the ignition? And if you don't use it for a long time will it need to be reprogrammed?

 

The key fob uses rolling code technology for locking/unlocking the door(s). In some systems, after a few hundred signals from a commonly used transmitter, an unused transmitter will no longer have it's signals recognized. I'm not sure if this is true for the Crossfire, but it is possible, and I would use the infrequently used key fob once in a blue moon to unlock the door(s). It could always be reprogramed if it is nolonger recognized. As far as starting the car, that involves another electronic circuit - an RFID chip - and the key should start the car without any problem even if the fob is no longer recognized.

 

I use my key fob for one year, then switch to the other key fob on the car's purchase date. I did this with my 2002 Camaro, switching off every year. I never had to replace the batteries in the fobs, and they never lost the ability to open and lock the doors.