Producers wanted Steve Guttenberg to commit to the sequel without a script, but he declined. Twenty years later, Guttenberg expressed in an interview that he regretted turning down the chance to star in this film.
While it is usually accepted the city in the movie is New York City, Oscar gives Number 5 a tourism guide with St. Louis on the cover. (It was filmed in Toronto.)
Because this film got mixed reviews and "disappointing" box-office returns, a third "Short Circuit" film never happened.
In 2013, a remake of the original film was announced as being in development. Fisher Stevens stated his interest in returning. The proposed remake was said to be darker in tone than the original movies.
The opening scenes where they are selling on the street is in reality at Yonge and Dundas Street in Toronto. Most of the buildings in the scene are no longer there. The Hard Rock Café building is still there but the Hard Rock closed in 2017.