VEHICLE FOB WITH EXPANDED DISPLAY AREA

A multi-mode portable electronic fob and method allows a user to control various vehicle functions and obtain information about the relative location of the vehicle and fob. The information presented to the user can include the vehicle status, vehicle location and/or maps, photos and directions to assist the user in returning to a parked vehicle. The visual information display can share a fob surface with various functional control buttons of the fob or a larger area display can be provided that pulls, folds or swings out from the fob so that the display area is not reduced by the space needed for the control buttons. In a still further embodiment, the display projects the desired information on an available nearby external surface or on a passive screen that extends from the fob. Thus, a larger and a more detailed display image can be obtained.