$2, $20, $200. $2000. Which one of the four would you like to pay? I always liked to opt for that simple $2 key. A crafted piece of metal cut to fit another crafted piece of metal. Turn the key for 20 years and enjoy a simple solution. But not everyone thinks that way.
Certain manufacturers like to put little chips in their keys to prevent theft. GM has been a long time practitioner of this art. Ford began in earnest around 1998. How do I know about Fords? It’s an absolute pain to get chip keys for a Taurus these days. You have to bring the vehicle to the dealer and have them program it. If it’s older than a 2000 you’re doubly screwed. Ford’s key database is kaput for vehicles before Y2K, which means you better have a first name relationship with a local locksmith.
Toyota used to be the kings of simple… before they created Lexus. Then a lot of the cost DNA started to go into regular Toyota products. The $2 key that I used for my 1994 Toyota Camry is peanuts compared with the $100+ key/fob for my mom’s 2003 Toyota Camry. Yet that’s child’s play compared with the $700 key/fob combination for a 2005 Lexus LS430.
What’s the difference? Nothing except a couple of vague piece of anti-theft technology and a few clickers. I have yet to see any cost benefit study that justifies the dealer prices for a chip key and fob. Between losing a loyal customer and replacing cheap metal, silicon and plastic for a 60,000% profit, which one’s worth more?
The key is of course! Then there are the uber-keys. You lose a key to a Saab and you better be praying to St. Anthony, Patron Saint of Lost Things. Check out the discount prices for a pair of Saab keys. Most Saabs on the road now aren’t worth that much.
Bad Swedes have bad keys. Volvo keys of recent vintage also tend to be a bit on the pricier side. Most Volvo dealers will charge about $300 for two ounces worth of dealer serviced metal and plastic. Not bad at all for late model vehicles. Especially compared to the Saab. But keep in mind you can also buy about 3000 pounds worth of a scrapped Volvo 240 or 850at an impound sale for the same price… with a key.
One of my family members, more than likely the dog, misplaced the keys to a Mercedes S500 a year ago. I ended up in hock to Mercedes for $200 thanks to that cosmic screw up. Every six months or so I have to deal with this headache called lost keys. The $10 for an old Toyota or Chrysler doesn’t bother me at all. $100 for a Ford or Buick chip key bothers me a bit. Anything more and I’m ready to pray, and surprisingly it works most of the time. Just not for a Mercedes.
It must’ve been one hell of a board meeting the day they thought up a way of adding costs to something like locking and starting your vehicle.
Volkswagens of the last ten to 12 years have had the switchblade keys what require a special machine to cut the key and a reprogramming of the fob for replacements to work. My wife’s ’07 Passat goes even further; there is no key per say (except for a plastic emergency key in the fob) and the fob itself plugs into the dash. I shudder to think how much either would cost to replace.
What’s funny is that that fancy cut key is a distraction since the immobilizer of a VAG system needs to be programmed at the dealer and authorized by the VAG system in Germany. Even the Mercedes system isn’t this severe, their keys come programmed to your vehicle and can start the car out of the box. The only way to steel the a VAG car without a key is with a flatbed.
I was recently quoted $525 for a new”smart” key for my 650i. That price breaks down to $375 for the key and $150 to program it. $150 for some clerk to place it in a slot in the little black box and press Enter on his computer.
I still have my other smart key, so I took the option of buying the dumb backup key for $79. This comes in two parts as well: the little metal key and the plastic body that holds it. So that breaks down to something like $59 for the little metal key and $20 for the plastic body. Which you need to fit key in ignition.
I don’t suppose there is an aftermarket option to get these smart keys?
Heh. Phaeton and Touareg keyless start blanks and fobs will set you back some money… but then you in addition have to bring the whole car plus all other keys to the dealer for simultaneous re-registering.
So a lost key, more than actual hardware, involves labor costs at $105/hr.
Fortunately these vehicles all came with 3 keys (4 in Phaeton, including the waterproof one), so you have at least some leeway.
That’s all VWs and Audis that have the immobilizer system, even a Jetta.
It’s possible (I don’t know for sure) that harder to steal cars save money in insurance costs. There’s a reason cars from the 1990s top stolen car lists. After my ’96 Subaru was stolen and wrecked, the insurance guy said that you can practically steal them with a butter knife. On Mazda3s and 5s, at least, you can buy a chipped key for $10 online, and program it yourself, IF you have two good keys in your possession.
In late ’90’s cars started to come with factory immobilizer (government mandated at least in Canada).
Not living in Detroit, theft is a pretty small percentage of what I pay for auto insurance. I bought my car new and it is now a few months from being 4 years old. I’m going to keep it, but surely I’ve had it for the period of time that carmakers are most concerned with. A look at my insurance bill shows that the line item covering theft costs me less than $90 a year. My car is a 2007 Civic Si sedan, one for which theft might be a concern because it has a drivetrain that there is a ready black market for. It doesn’t have one of the more elaborate and expensive keys in the world. A quick look around the internet shows that there are a variety of sources for blanks starting around $10. I don’t think I want expensive keys in order to reduce a $90 a year expense by a couple percent.
My ’94 LeSabre has the chip keys but with the additional annoyance of requiring separate keys for the ignition and doors/truck. Of course, these keys aren’t reversible either. I miss my old Hondas where one simple reversible key did everything.
Passlock, with the small resistor chip embedded in the key. I have one of those, too. I still wonder how much it would cost to have another one of those made.
My Ford has the PATS (passive anti-theft system) chip/ transponder key. If you have two, you can program a third yourself through a sequence of ignition key inserting and turning. Every time I lose a set of keys, I get a chipped key blank from eBay for ~$12, have it cut locally for $2, and program it in the parking lot via RTFM.
I dread not owning at least two chipped keys, as it seems to be ~$78 minimum to get a new one programmed.
The Ford remote entry fob is another item that can be bought for a few bucks via internet, programmed via owner’s manual directions using just the ignition switch and a couple good keys.
The main thing is to have minimum of two keys. If you are buying a used car make sure you have both or buy an extra key quick.
Losing the only key is a nightmare with some transponder key cars. Might require a flatbed to the nearest dealer.
On Audi and VW some keys RFID are set to the cluster, so if you replace the cluster the car won’t start until the dealer reprograms all your keys.
Many locksmiths can clone PATS keys from Ford and Toyota, as long as you have one functional key.
My first car was a 94 dodge spirit my parents handed down to me after passing my driving test. After track practice one day I couldn’t find the key to my car. Not a problem! I had a friend drive me home. My parents weren’t home so I grabbed the spare key. Off to Home Depot and $.99 cents poorer I had a new key and my parents were none the wiser.
Spirit/Acclaim’s were on the lists of most-stolen cars when there were more of them still on the road. To avoid this, our Spirit has a $200 alarm system, with cheap fobs that nicely tied into the power door locks I installed.
This setup works perfectly well. Better than the annoying keyless system on the Grand Vitara, which utterly defeated efforts to add a third factory keyfob from eBay.
I have a similar objection to costly proprietary headlights. People claim to be against these things, but either the theory that people will put their money where there is better value is wrong, or these things are a huge conspiracy.
Actually, chip keys are HUGELY important.
Without them, car theft is almost trivial: many 90s hondas and toyotas can be driven off with any thing that fits in the key way justabout. My boss’s 90s civic has been stolen twice (at least)!
With them, it is a right royal PITA: you have to either look for an idiot who left his keys in the car, swap computers to one that allows the car thief’s key, or bring a tow-truck.
Steve,
The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) reports that 2009 marked the nation’s sixth consecutive year of declining vehicle thefts in the United States. U.S. motor vehicle thefts declined 17.1 percent from 2008 to 2009—the largest annual decline in decades.
Using the FBI’s average valuation of $6,505 per stolen vehicle, the 794,616 vehicles stolen during 2009 caused estimated property losses of $5.2 billion.
I don’t have the study but the massive drop in car theft since the 1990’s is party attributed to the introduction anti-theft technology including chiped keys.
I’d certainly rather spend $300 ever few years on a new key than deal with a 1990’s level risk of car theft.
Likewise, especially as I’ve never lost a key in 22 years of driving. I’m not sure how people manage to do it enough to have it be a concern.
Steve,
Here we go:
http://www2.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2009/data/table_01.html
You’ll note that the rate of motor vehicle theft in 1990 was 655 and today it’s 258.
Which looks great until you read the whole chart. EVERY category has dropped. I don’t think that the murder rate fell because of chipped keys.
It’s demographics again. There’s less thieves so there’s less thievery. Would it be as low without the antitheft measures? Well, they certainly helped, but I’m also sure that the current generation of thieves can work their way around the chips just as well as all previous antitheft measures built into cars.
I’m also sure that the current generation of thieves can work their way around the chips just as well as all previous antitheft measures built into cars.
That’s a pretty bold statement. I assume you can provide a link to some evidence to back up your claim?
Also, please explain how the rates for burglary and larceny fell so much less than the rate of auto theft. How can that difference be explained by “demographics”?
Thieves have learned to push cars they can’t start.
http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/local_news/investigations/security-flaw-renders-cadillac-escalade,-other-ritzy-gm-suvs-targets-for-thieves
That is 655 per 100,000 inhabitants. That is still less than 1%. If the average car theft loss is $6,505., then that would be a cost per person of $42.60. That doesn’t make me want to get ripped off to the tune of hundreds of dollars on car keys.
CJ, That’s $42.60 per year. How absent minded are you that you’re constantly losing your keys? It’s been 20 years of driving and (knock wood) I’ve never lost a key.
Now, if your issue is the replacement key costs as much as an iPod touch – then I agree. The level of technology in the fob can’t be that high…
jmo,
I don’t think you’re grasping the math. The amount we’re saving with a reduced auto theft rate is $25.82 a year. As has been stated elsewhere, there are factors beyond elaborate keys in the reduction. My involvement with expensive keys has been due to friends buying cars from dealers who only have one key. The duplicates cost a fortune. When you buy a new car, you also pay for the system. I dare say the numbers work in favor of the consumer when we don’t have several hundred dollar keysets. Europeans actually consider fancy car keys to be a selling feature for the prestige they bestow, but Europeans are developmentally arrested children.
Hi Steven!
My answer to your question is just too easy. We are kindedre souls!
BTW, I though ST Anthony was the pa[tron saint of marriages. Women wanting to get married in Brazil will buy an image of him and keep him upside down until they get their wish. The patron saint of lost things in Brazil is São Longuinho. I dunno if he’s a validated Vatican saint or some form of popular Brazilian sincretism. But I pray to São Longuinho when I want to find something. The prayer goes like this:
São Longuinho, São Longuinho, São Longuinho
Me ajuda a encontrar _________
Que eu dou três pulinhos
Or:
Saint Longuinho, Saint Longuinho, Saint Longuinho,
Help me find ____________
That’ll I’ll jump three times
Who knows, might time it might work.
As to the fobs, in Brazil it’s become ridiculous. On some lower end cars (specially VWs) the “special” “sweitchblade” fob is an optional!!!!!!!!!!! Imagine, if you pay a certain amount of cash more, you’ll get the “special” fob. Mind you, most of the time with no extra functions over the regular key than the “cool” factor.
Wow and sigh! Keeping to the religious theme, I pray for the poor sucker whose self esteem is so low he’ll foprk over the extra dough to buy some cool. How pathetic!
Brazil mandates a Lojack-like system on all new cars, correct? Much worse than chipped keys . . .
They are trying to, but so far, concerns over privacy issues are winning out the day.
Let’s hope rationality wins out in this case down here.
Sure looks like car thefts have decreased till you take into account the number of drivers who have a pistol shoved into their temple by a bad guy. Car “thefts” down maybe ; but car jacking has sky-rocked. Another one of those unintended consequences. If I lose the only key left for our 2000 Saab 9-3 the tab is $3400. Two computers make up most of it. Help !
There have been alot of break-ins in the greater Kansas city area, due to Ford F150’a weak locking systems. These were pre 09 models as I recall. The new models have been changed. Thieves just punch out the door lock, which also disables the alarm and they are in/out in matter of seconds. Had 8 broken into in a major mall, all within an hour or so. Never caught the thieves.
I had my Honda 06 Ridgeline’s keys reprogrammed and it costs around $100 with the reprogramming and two extra keys. Don’t know what the dealer charges since this was aftermarket. I had to take the truck to the locksmith to get the truck reprogrammed. Now I have 4 sets of keys and should never have to worry again.
At least for European cars, don’t blame the makers entirely, blame the European insurance companies. Cars being stolen and shipped East is a such a HUGE problem that the insurance companies essentially mandated all this electronic security madness, or the car gets an insurance rating only a Czar can afford. Not just keys, but the whole business of electronic modules being “married” to the car and needing “security access” from the mothership to be changed out. Of course, the car companies went right along with it because it garantees return visits to the dealership for repairs.
IIRC, a lot of newer GM vehicles don’t have programmed keys (the Colorado/Canyon and Epsilon platform cars come to mind). The ignition switch itself has some sort of device that won’t clear you for takeoff if the switch is jimmied or broken.
On the other end of the spectrum, most Nissans and all Inifinitis now come with the “intelligent key.” I replaced the batteries in both of mine today (under $2) because the car has been in service for two years.
While smart keys are great, they won’t stop a thief with a flatbed truck. Of course, most auto thefts don’t happen that way.
http://moneywatch.bnet.com/economic-news/blog/cars-money/used-cars-avoid-these-most-stolen-models/1760/
Heh… I just realized that key fobs have something in common with printer ink and cocaine- they all cost a lot of money! Maybe I should start a side business in one of these three things…
@JimC
I once had to have a Volvo 850 key struck. The locksmith had to eyeball the laser cut grooves and machine them by hand. He kept the car, so he could test the key to make sure it worked. Took 3 hours and $40
Is there a B&B from Europe who can comment on car theft there? Most European tend to have far more aggressive anti-theft features versus american or japanese cars.
A friend of mine, an AAA locksmith, has some interesting stories about German cars. Most German cars can’t be slim-jimmed and have a “double lock” feature, which disables the interior unlock/trunk release buttons. One summer, a couple accidentally locked their baby in the car, and the keys were in the trunk. The solution was to break the window. The car sat for a few days while the couple had a new $300 key made.
On the other hand, with Japanese cars, Toyota Pickups can’t tell between scissor blades and a key, and a 90s Civic or Integra can be had with a flathead screwdriver, prybar and a slim jim.
For my A6 I’m pretty sure its 500 bucks total to replace a lost chip key. Small price to pay for a car that’s virtually theft-proof. Of course, there is always a way to get around everything, its all a matter of making it as difficult as possible. A co-worker of mine got a brand new F-150. Stolen a week after he got it. I guess they chip the key but they deliver the vehicle with a spare key in the glove box. Thieves knew it, co-worker didn’t and somehow never noticed the key in there. Truck go bye bye.
There are aftermarket replacements for some, but not all, of the specialized modern keys. Our local Ace Hardware stocks and cuts some of them. Good locksmiths usually cover many as well.
http://www.autotransponder.com/
I bought a bypass module at the parts store that disables VATS, PATS, Passlock and most other transponder type systems. One of your spare keys gets placed inside the module and you can use a dummy key from then on. It was around $30 and I’ll install it if I lose my spare key and I’m down to just one. It’s designed and required for aftermarket remote car starters.
I did a post on the advancement on keys about a month ago, and it stemmed from noticing about 2 years earlier a key w/ the remote fob as part of the key head, sitting on the pew in front of me at church, I think one Christmas Eve service or something along those lines and later noted switchblade keys from the likes of VW in existence and that prompted the post.
In my research, beginning with the early VATS system from GM, I learned about how it works (it uses resistors embedded in the key shank) these values are read by the reader that’s part of the ignition lock tumbler and if the values match, it then let the system function as normal and were tied to certain codes per resistance value, 15 values total for the system. Those early systems can’t be learned, you simply have to match up the resistance value of the new key to the original is all to newer chipped systems, such as the PATS system from Ford (passive) to the Fobik keys and the Proxy key, such as used by BMW where you just have to be near or in the car for it to unlock or allow one to start the car without having to remove the key from one’s pocket.
And as some have said, as long as you have 2 original programmed key, you can often program up to 6 additional keys yourself, otherwise, it’s off to the dealer or a good locksmith to have it done.
Many of these locksmiths are trained to handle all of the various key types, including the Tibbe key, the laser cut and the conventional keys, chipped, transponder or none and will usually cost half of what the dealer will charge.
I ran into a story over on Faux news (Fox) that got posted to YouTube about Chrysler/Dodge products I think up through 2002 or so before they made the immobilizer system standard as being the most stolen cars in East Detroit, for those who worked or lived in that area of the city, it was a huge crime, kids as young as 13 were steeling these cars, some arrested driving w/ booster seats. Now I take Faux News stuff with huge copious amounts of salt and the story left some critical facts out and I have no clue if the story was recent, the clip was posted to you tube in 2008 and judging by the set design, was probably aired that year or in 2007. My Mom has the 2004 Dodge Stratus and it has the immobilizer and she bought it a year old and with 2 original keys w/ separate fobs and so far, no issues yet.
In the end, keep spares in your house, but not on the car, thieves WILL find it and your car will be less likely to be stolen, now without the alarm itself, these immobilizers won’t prevent/reduce the chance of having items taken from INSIDE so don’t leave your laptop or leather coat in the car, please. :-)
It was all very interesting and while not 100% foolproof, it WILL reduce thefts hugely. In fact, the 2009 and later Dodge RAM trucks have upped the anti theft measures by locking the wheel and shifter so even if remotely started, these are still locked and you have to perform several procedures to get the car to release them before you can drive off and yes, it involves using y our fobik key in the push butten starter as part of the procedure to verify you ARE the proper owner w/ the ORIGINAL key. Interesting to say the least, and yes, it was documented on Youtube too.
What gets me is why insurance companies (who are the greatest beneficiaries of these “super-keys”), do not offer to cover a portion of the replacement cost with the consumer.
They aren’t the beneficiaries. The car dealers are. I pay less than $90 a year for comprehensive insurance, the part that covers losses from theft. Would I want to pay $300 a year so people who buy cars with expensive keys can get reimbursed for their own failings?
Manufacturers also reap a large benefits from offering a product that is harder to steal. I wouldn’t say Insurance Companies are the largest reapers of the technology, reducing auto thefts is great, but it’s really the bodily injury claims that are the cost-drivers.
Lost keys are typically covered under personal property by homeowners/renters, of course subject to the deductible, which is usually $500…
Insurance is for the big stuff, you don’t want to go down the road of insuring oil changes and tire replacement, else we’d end up like health insurance.
jimal the vw dealer(or audi) doesnt have a special machine to cut keys. Every VIN has one of 8 parts numbers for a key. There are 8 mass produced cutou A6 key isn’t near $500 even with programming. If you need just the blade they are 80 plus prgramming if you need a whole key its like 170 plus programming.
See this http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20827894.500-criminals-find-the-key-to-car-immobilisers.html
the header reads
Criminals find the key to car immobilisers
06 December 2010 by Duncan Graham-Rowe
Magazine issue 2789. Subscribe and save
For similar stories, visit the Crime and Forensics Topic Guide
For 16 years, car immobilisers have kept car thieves at bay – but that may now be changing
AFTER a 16-year decline, car theft in Germany rose in 2009, according to figures released recently by the German Insurance Association. One “white hat” hacker, who probes security systems to flag up flaws that can then be patched, thinks he knows why. Karsten Nohl of Security Research Labs in Berlin, Germany, has identified vulnerabilities in the engine immobilisers used to protect modern cars from theft.