i am getting mixed results when i call stealerships in the area. i tell them i have a key that i want to add but it just needs to be re-programmed. some stealers say they cant do it and they can only sell me a new one while one stealer said it would be between 60-100.

whats your guy's thoughts, if i manage to get a key off of CL can a dealer re-program it or no??

My bad. It was Hammersly, in VA. I stand corrected on that point.

Keys are tied to VIN's. No reputable dealer should be telling you that it can be re-programmed.

you can now drive the CL, but not your own car.

as said many times used MB smartkeys are JUNK. do not buy them unless you are buying them for the purpose of replacing the outer casing for your own key.

also as I said above if you have a good relationship with the parts guy at any dealership you can politely ask them if they will be able to give you the discount on them. I can get mine for $140 if I want and NO I cannot buy it for you since you have to be the registered owner of the car to purchase the key.

Hi, There
First of all, sorry for me inglish ( Or english ) but im from portugal...and i live in portugal

I Just want to tell you guys the cheapest way of having the new key ( W204 ) in a older model ( W203 or W202 )

1º- You have to buy a used Key from anybody ( i have buyed mine from ebay, its a 2 button Key )
2º- And the worst thing is taht you have to ruined one of the keys from your car
( not ruined but remove the chip )
3º- Im going to show you the step by step, on how to do it

STEPS

1º The New Key

2º The New Key ( Interior removed )

3ºThe Old Key ( interior removed )and The Chip that you have to replace, is out

4º This is the closer Look of the chip that you have to remove and replace

5º The Chip already in place ( new Key )


The Chip from your old keys has to be welded in the new key.
Be carefull, the welding was to be made with a Hot Air Station, ( This is the name in portuguese ) and was to be made by a professional welder

If you have any dought, just e-mail me or look at this in the portuguese Mercedes Forum

http://www.forum.amigosdosmercedes.c...ighlight=chave


Mine so far is working...like new

awesome, thanks for sharing that with us!

Has anyone verified that the chip swap works..?

If your car is under warranty, the EASIEST way to get a new style key is to take your old one in and tell them it's cracked or it dosen't work correctly. They'll replace it with the new style chrome key.

If you're out of warranty, I would just spend the $250 for the key from the factory. Chrome keys off of ebay are still like $50-$75 and the IC in question has TINY contacts. Very good chance you'll ruin both keys and then have to shell out the original $250 for a new key from the factory.

I did...and a lot of members in Portugueses Mercedes forum too...and the keys are all still working....

I know that MB overcharges for a lot of things, but that's kinda ****y don't you think? If you need to have a new key just because it's chrome, then you should pay. I did for my old C-Class.

Well if the key cracks before the warranty is up, then it should be replaced shouldn't it? It's completely up to them if they want to replace it with the old style key or the new style key.

I just had mine replaced last week under warranty b/c it cracked on the unlock button.
I already had the new style chrome key though, and they replaced it with one of the same.

This works 100%. I just did it myself. Thanks for sharing this info.
pic to prove it:

Hi, it seems in this post you are changing a three button fob into a two button fob. can you do from 3 button old keys to 3 button new keys??? please verify before i give it a go!!!

look at the post right above yours. and he is going from 2 button to 2 button so i don't know why you said 3 to 2

What's a 3 button key???

I think you mean 4 button key,.... 1. unlock, 2. lock, 3. trunk and 4. panic.

pretty sure those are both 3 button keys in that "post above his" not 2 button...

Hi all... well i think it is only in the us where you get the old fob with panic button. we don't see them here in the Uk. i have never seen anybody with 4 button keys....
anyway if you look into the picture of no40 the pcb of the old fob contained 3 push buttons though the plastic casing only had 2 button which is strange .. since i'd opened several fob both with 2 buttons and 3 buttons. the 2 buttons pcb definitely do not contained any extra push button for the boot.

so what i'am asking here based on you guys experience of swapping the chip ... will it work on the 3 button remote?? since i had 3 button old fob which had cracked plastic case and a new chromy 3 button fob to replace with... i hope some one had done it before... tq

i know in the usa that the coupes had a three button case panic,lock, unlock button but no trunk but when you opened it it had the trunk. so you could use the one from a sedan that has the trunk and then you could pop the hatch.
it is interesting if you look at the pcb their is the 2 solder points that you could add buttons to if you wanted too. that leads me to believe that the pcbs are all identical except for how many buttons are soldered on. just thought of one more thing i bet the keyless and go keys have different pcbs or more things on the board but that won't effect the w203 except for the very few that have keyless and go.

2 button case with the generic 3 button pcb. sorry i meant TelmoChaparro post the quote threw me off. and amaazon post both have 4 buttons.

alarm is an option in some countries so that won't always be there. and the trunk won't be on the case but will have the pcb that supports it at least in the usa.

Hey where are you located? would you offer to do this for any members for some short cash?

these still costing over 200? i was thinking about purchasing the chrome key from ebay since I have access to soldering equipment at my school but just wanted to make sure this would for sure work! do you still just get the blade from the dealer?! just tell them you need a replacement blade or soemthing? and those are like a few bucks right?

I think your old blade key will fit the same way into the new key housing...
I have aquestion though, will a 4 button key be a direct plug and play with the new 4 button housing?

No, the old blade and new blade are different, they are not swappable. The blad keys are cheap.

You can't take the guts of the old style key and put them in the new style key. You have to remove the chip and solder it into the new key, OR, just buy a new style key from the dealership.