A New Car Key Costs How Much!?!?!?!?

[Robinrs]

I was told that a new ignition key for my Nissan Quest would cost $150.00!! I had the dealer give me an extra door key which was $50. What a mess.

 

[PatsMom]

The dealer warned me when I bought my new Suabaru in January that I needed to be very careful with the keys. Mine came with two keys, two fobs and one valet key that won't unlock the glove compartment. But if the car is started and it doesn't "recognize" the key it will shut itself off. And if the door is opened other than with the remote and the car isn't started with a key it recognizes in a certain amount of time and alarm will go off. The laser cut keys with a chip are expensive!

 

[MrsPete]

Little tip.... when buying a car INSIST on one free extra key. I always do this and have never had a problem getting it.

That's a great idea. It costs them very little (so they're willing to do it), but it saves you a bundle. I wish I'd read this tip last year when I bought my new car!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

My car is "keyless". There isn't a keyhole in the door. The car won't lock if the remote device is inside, so it is impossible to lock myself out of the car. If I lose the device I am toast. DH would have to come bring me the other one. The dealer told us they cost about $200 to replace.

 

[autumnbaby9]

This is why I treat my car keys like they are made of gold . They told me how much it would cost to replace them and I about choked.

 

[aepecoraro]

For my mom's 2006 Town and Country it costs $450! to get a new key/remote...

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I faced the same thing to replace the keys for my wife's Honda Accord. It had something to do with the security system.

Well I can tell you what happens. After a pre-set number of "starts" with the "Wal-Mart" key, the car security system disables the car and it will not start with that key any longer.

How did we find this out you ask? Well DH had the car towed from the driveway and that is what the diagnosis was.
So we had to pay for a tow, the dealership and a chipped key.

 

[Piecey]

Well I can tell you what happens. After a pre-set number of "starts" with the "Wal-Mart" key, the car security system disables the car and it will not start with that key any longer.

How did we find this out you ask? Well DH had the car towed from the driveway and that is what the diagnosis was.
So we had to pay for a tow, the dealership and a chipped key.

This is close to what the key-cutter at Wal Mart told us.

He said if the system doesn't recognize the key certain models will shut the car off and it has to be "reset" by the Dealer which can cost 100s on top of the cost of getting a new key. He said Wal*Mart is no longer allowed to cut keys like ours (electronic chip for a Ford Ranger key) because of the potential lawsuits.

We haven't made it to the dealer yet...

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

This is close to what the key-cutter at Wal Mart told us.

He said if the system doesn't recognize the key certain models will shut the car off and it has to be "reset" by the Dealer which can cost 100s on top of the cost of getting a new key. He said Wal*Mart is no longer allowed to cut keys like ours (electronic chip for a Ford Ranger key) because of the potential lawsuits.

We haven't made it to the dealer yet...

Yikes! I guess I got lucky that my Walmart wasn't informed of people actually trying to start their cars with the cheap key. I know (and I think the Walmart employee told me) that my cheapo key won't start my car so I never even tried it..it is strictly for stupid me when I lock my good key inside the car. As far as a time limit once the key is used to open the door vs. starting the car with the good key, I never knew about this. I don't know if my car does this, but I will certainly be aware of the possibility the next time. It seems like I have gone through putting the key back in the holder and putting it back under the car before I started it, I'm sure I did because I wouldn't get under the car while it is running. So maybe my car isn't quite that complicated..

My DH's Corvette had a fob like a PP described. If it was inside the car, you couldn't lock the door. Idiot (me)proof... I need one of those.

 

[Mickeyluver37]

Yes, I did this when DH bought himslef a new Corvette about 14 years ago. We were sitting in the dealers office finalizing and paying...then I asked about only ONE keyfob??? He says, "yes the extra one is $xx" I said, for $40,000, I think you can give us a free fob..he did.

ETA: I now have a Toyota w/ 2 keys and one fob. I am horrible about locking my keys in the car, my old car had a combination key pad to get in, so I always just locked the key in on purpose..(I know not advisable.) So now I am in the habit, but my new car doesn't have a combination. So I bought one of those magnetic boxes, and since the keys are so expensive from Toyota..I got one from Walmart cut that will only open the door..so I can still get my keys if I lock them inside, but I can't start the car with the hidden key.

I'm really stupid about locking keys in cars..

We also have a Toyota (2005 Sienna). A couple months after buying the car, we were sent a thing in the mail from Toyota that sorta looks like a credit card with a key cut out of the middle. It is designed to only open the door. Luckily we haven't lost any keys to that yet!

Now, our Honda is a different story. It came with 2 regular keys and a valet key. Dh and I have both lost our keys over the years (it's a 2001), and now currently only have the valet key. It's a pain, because it doesn't un-lock the trunk. Luckily before we lost the key we didn't lock the trunk popper thing, because the valet key wouldn't unlock that either.

 

[Mickeyluver37]

Well I can tell you what happens. After a pre-set number of "starts" with the "Wal-Mart" key, the car security system disables the car and it will not start with that key any longer.

How did we find this out you ask? Well DH had the car towed from the driveway and that is what the diagnosis was.
So we had to pay for a tow, the dealership and a chipped key.

Dh took our old van to the shop for an "electrical short" once. The problem? The battery was dying. So we paid for a tow, and a ridiculous overpriced battery plus "installation."