Just picked up a Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) ’18 Terrain Denali, and while most of the vehicle was in great shape, the key fobs showed signs of wear. One key fob, in particular, looked like it had been through the wringer. It was coated in a sticky, hard residue and the rubber parts were visibly worn. After some elbow grease and cleaning solvent, it became usable, but definitely not pristine. The second key fob, thankfully, was in much better, almost new condition. This made me wonder if the dealership provided a new second key fob for the CPO process, or if they simply reprogrammed an old, less-than-perfect fob they had on hand.
Determined to improve the condition of the worn key fob, I started searching online for a replacement cover. My goal was to find an aftermarket key fob cover that was inexpensive yet closely resembled the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) version for my GMC Denali. After some searching, I found a vendor on eBay offering a cover that looked very similar to the OEM one. You can see in the images below the subtle differences between the new aftermarket cover and the original. Notably, the rubber texture on the aftermarket fob isn’t quite as “gummy” or sticky as the original, but it still feels good in hand. Also, the plastic backing has a different texture and is missing the “GMC” logo, a minor detail.
To get the best of both worlds, I decided to try swapping just the front cover of the aftermarket fob onto my original GMC key fob. And it worked perfectly! This allowed me to retain the original backing with the GMC logo and internal components, while getting a fresh, new front cover where it was needed most.
The aftermarket cover was listed around $15, but with a coupon code, I snagged it for about $10. There are even less expensive options available, around $8 plus shipping, for covers that look slightly less like the OEM version. If you’re dealing with a Gmc Denali Key Fob Cover that’s seen better days, I hope this simple and cost-effective replacement solution helps you out.
New aftermarket cover (left) compared to the original worn cover.
Close-up showing the worn condition of the original GMC Denali key fob.
Side-by-side comparison of the original and aftermarket GMC Denali key fob covers.
