How do I program my garage door opener to work in my car?

You’ve got a brand-new garage door, new car, or maybe even both. Now you want to use the two of them in tandem but pairing them together can be tricky. Warning: do not leave your car parked underneath your door while programming these settings.

  1. Clear out anything previously programmed into your in-car system from the factory by holding down on the 2-outside buttons simultaneously, until the in-car LED starts flashing rapidly. This may take up to a minute (in most cases, the key should be on auxiliary, and/or the car door must be shut).
  2. Decide which button you want to use as your in-car garage door transmitter. Hold your transmitter up near the selected button, pressing both the garage door remote and the selected in-car transmitter button simultaneously. Hold down on the buttons until the in-car, LED light flashes rapidly. This pairs your in-car remote transmitter with your garage door opener transmitter, but you are not done yet. You now need to make this in-car transmitter your personal transmitter.
  3. Go to the Learn Button on your garage door opener. The button is usually next to the area where the floppy antenna is connected to the motorhead.
    1. With Genie it is most often behind the light lens, and an indicator light flashes red when pressed.
    2. With Sears or LiftMaster (Chamberlain) it is near, or part of, the terminal screw board, and is a red, green or purple square button with a green, amber or purple indicator light.
  4. Press this learn button momentarily. The indicator light will turn on and blink or otherwise stay lit.
    1. For Genie systems, go back to the in-car transmitter button you programmed and press this button 3 or 4 times, or until the door starts moving. This should set your in-car transmitter to your garage door opener.
    2. For LiftMaster, Sears, or Linear Megacode press and hold the in-car button you programmed until the garage opener light flashes.
  5. Congratulations! Your in-car system is now programmed to operate your door.

Please refer to your car’s manual before pairing your opener. If you need help at any point of this process, please reach out to a local garage door expert.