RickP330

Hello All,
I'm afraid to even ask... My daughter (18months), is prone to put things in various spots and it seems my primary key must have been placed in the trash can and it's long gone.
How much is this going to cost and do I really need a back up key? Comments / suggestions please?

RickP

Derspeed

Whew, I thought you were going to say she swallowed it.

I guess whether or not you'll need a back-up key is up to you. I am assuming, like my keys, both of your keys are identical; eventhough you call one your primary key?

Just hope that your sanitation engineer doesn't find the key, put two and two together and access your car.

sleewell

ouch, that was an expensive load of garbage. a new key is going to cost anywhere from 170-230 depending on where you go. its not 100% necessary but if you lose your last one you will probably have to have a locksmith come out or have it towed to a stealership and then pay the same amount to have a new key made.

Star & Laurel

If you contact your dealership and have them perform the correct tests they can actually confirm which key you lost. Most likely if you have just the original 2 keys it will be key track 1 or 2. With that they can order what we call a duplicate of the key you lost. Then when you recieve the key and activate it to the car it will completely ignore the key you lost in the case that someone finds the key and somehow locates where the car is at. Again this is only locking out the electronics part. The Mechanicals will still function. Only way around that is new mechanical lock set. But again that is all up to you. if you think the key made it to the dump, I highly doubt anyone will find the key let along find where the car is it came from.

As said already new / spare key is all up to you. And all dealerships charge differently, but if you do get a new key I would tell them you lost the one so that they can duplicate the correct key to be safe.

RickP330

You said it, We have been amazed at what we have been finding in the trash latley!


Thanks for the info, Both keys are identical, I didn't actually know there was a #1 and #2. But I know it was lost at home Since my backup is stored in a very difficult place to access (car was at home when I couldnt find it.) Incedentally, I hope none of you leave your backup key around. If you leave the car at home and someone breaks in, they make good getaway cars....

I guess one key doesn't bother me, but if I loose it how much more would it cost to replace with no key then to do it now? If it's not much more then I won't bother, but if they don't have a key to scan isn't that much more difficult since I could tow in any car off the street and say I "lost" the key??
Thanks
Rick


RP

Flame3g

if you look at the back of the key the sliding tab that releases the hard key part, if it is black its the primary if it is gray it is the secondary. from what i was told (don't take my word on this) is you need the primary to get a seconday made

e1000

you don't need any keys to get new keys made. All you need is proof that you own the car, registration, etc etc. A new smart key and corresponding blade key can be ordered by the dealership using just the car's VIN number.

If you order a "replacement" key, the get that gets replaced will no longer work as indicated above. If you order an "additional" key, they will all work.

oh and PS, no matter WHAT you read on ebay, existing smart keys cannot be reprogrammed for your car.

RickP330

Okay, it is indeed Gray - so it is the secondary. I'd probably get a "replacment" - not an "additional" key... if the price is similar....
Thanks
RickP

e1000

price is same.

Star & Laurel

There really isn't a "Primary" and "Secondary" key. Every smart key car made has 8 key tracks that can be assigned. Amongst those 8 tracks each can have 2 duplicates.

So at any given time you can have 8 working keys for a vehicle. If you loose the key you can duplicate that "Track" twice. after two duplicates you can only have a dealership technician block / ignore that track or key.

As stated above under normal conditions dealerships will not require you to provide a key to get another key. You will just need proof of ownership of the car. Again it is up to the dealership and whether they want you to bring the car in for "Programming" or if they will just give you the key.

My only warning to you is that there are some very very rare cases that the electronic key code on file is incorrect for the VIN. This means that when they go to code the smart key to your car it does not work. In this case the fastest way to get a replacement is provide a working key so that the lock site can "decode" that key and correct the key code on file. I would have to say if you lost one key it is possible the second will be lost. Might be good easy insurance to have that second key made as a duplicate of the one you "lost" That way you won't have to worry about theft, or in the event you loose your current spare key.

RafaHim

I dont know how it is now, but about two years ago, I heard from a friend that it was cheaper to install the remote start system on your car than to get a new key...
I don't know if this still exists... but you might want to ask

e1000

lol, ask your friend where he got remote start to work on a smartkey equiped benz.

RafaHim

I'm wondering the exact same thing, as I started doing research on this as soon as I posted that lol

RafaHim

apparently the nav-tv one works

drpasteur

yeah...i'm one of the victims for this " If you leave the car at home and someone breaks in, they make good getaway cars..."

keith100

"do I really need a back up key"

With 18 month daughter.....maybe "yes"?

aprince2die4

I thought I lost a key once and called to see how much for a new one...it was around 250 here...midcity is in the works for the remote starter...price is gonna be up there tho...

Star & Laurel

Don't see how a remote starter can replace the key. all it does is let you start the car for warm up purposes. Once you get in the car you still need a key to drive away.

peet

All starters that are installed in cars that are chipped (i.e. need chip near keyhole to start) require the key to be present in the car totally circumventing the security. In other words, you are making your car old-school and it can be hot wired from that point onward. A lot of alarm installers mount the key inside the dashboard, in the vicinity of the "antenna" that is near the key hole.

Star & Laurel

If the vehicle is a Smart Key car and does not have keyless go there is not an antenna. The key needs to be inserted in to the EIS Electronic Ignition Switch. This is becasue the key is not just a code that can be copied it is a rolling code. This means every time you insert your key the code rolls over to a new number and both the car and key know what that next number is.

This is the reason why there are not remote starters for MB Smart Key cars. Because of the rolling codes. There is one company that is just about to break the securities and allow remote starting.

Ron Jr

Stupid question, if the security code rolls each time the key is inserted how does a second key work? Two sets of codes is possible and I wonder if there is a master code that MB has for your car.

e1000

read post #10.

Ron Jr

As I said stupid question. Must not have remembered reading that post

Star & Laurel

Just to note there are a total of 8 Smart keys the car keeps track of.