From time to time (over that last 20 years or so) I have changed the battery in the fob, and I did that recently.
This morning neither the fob nor the key itself would open any of the doors. We have very seldom inserted the key into the lock over the years so it must have worn down from being in my pocket.
It is a good thing that I was home and I could grab my wife's key. Her fob worked.
Is there anything special about the physical key for our 2001 Jeep Cherokee Sport ? Are there any electronics etc embedded in the key or can I simply have a new key made at Home Depot ?

And let's say I was miles from home this morning. Would I simply have been out of luck and needed to call a locksmith ? I guess I could have taken a taxi to a store and purchased a new battery...

Thanks

PS : as an aside, I was recently shocked to learn that when I changed the battery in our 2016 Subaru the battery needed to be reprogrammed. The world is getting too complicated.

 

If the original door key is black then no chip.
If gray then it has a chip.
That is my understanding anyway.
Now wearing down in you pocket seems a little excessive.
Plus if it is worn I can't see the copy working either.
I have thing I do when I get a new to me vehicle.
I get 2 sets of keys made from the ones I got with the vehicle.
The original set goes on the key ring in the junk drawer.
This way if I need more duplicates they get made from the originals.

 

Right - I wasn't thinking. The key has worn down over the years from starting the car. Which is even more scary ... But I guess the door locks are more sensitive to the key than the ignition - because once I had the car opened this morning I had no trouble starting it with my key.

 

Thinking cause you use them so little maybe they just need a bit of lube.
Could try some of the Lock-Ease stuff I use.

https://www.acehardware.com/departme...bricants/10716

 

It is just kind of weird. After using my wife's fob to open the Jeep both my key AND fob work fine. I did not change the battery in the fob.
I just now squirted all three locks with some white lithium grease.

Now that I think about it, this same thing happened maybe 3-4 years ago, but we were about 4 hours from home and only had the one key with us.

The only lock the key would open then was the rear hatch. My wife had to climb in the back and manually open the front door.

In case someone else knows for sure - my door key is grey - does that mean it has a chip ?
And if it has a chip does that control the locks and the ignition ?
Might my real problem today be with the chip in the key and not the key/locks ??

Thanks