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Hey All, greetings from California, I was wondering if you guys know if I can change my old outdated ugly all black keyfob with circular panic button (2003) to a newer keyfob I believe it comes out in 2004 and above with a circle panic button I was just wondering if I can just remove my batteries and chip and place them on the new one I have a 2003 e500 but my question is if I can just fit it into the keyfob from maybe 2004 or 2005 with the silver and black finish
If you mean the shell I beleive that yes, I've seen many in ebay. It's like 10-20 usd, read the descriptions and give it a try..
I haven't done it because mine is keyless, different internals.
Yes I mean the key shells is what I'm trying to upgrade I have the nasty first gen look and I want the shell from a 2004 or 2005 with silver and black idk if you quite understand me but I just want to swap my old case all black to a newer shell
Originally Posted by cMazara
If you mean the shell I beleive that yes, I've seen many in ebay. It's like 10-20 usd, read the descriptions and give it a try..
I haven't done it because mine is keyless, different internals.
Yes I mean the key shells is what I'm trying to upgrade I have the nasty first gen look and I want the shell from a 2004 or 2005 with silver and black idk if you quite understand me but I just want to swap my old case all black to a newer shell
theres the link. Just search on eBay for w211 2005 key shell
Jose0424. what you're asking can be easy if you upgrade the exterior but within the same
generation. if you are proposing that you upgrade across generation, it becomes more
challenging and into the advance, chip de/soldering which can fail if done improperly. it is
possible for you to disassemble the chrome key with solid key panel, but pretty much
impossible to disassemble the upgraded chrome key which I've labeled gen3.1
(keyless go is a separate issue which is not covered here)
Yes I was just wondering if it's possible to upgrade from 2 to 3.0 just the shell get my chip and battery ones and place it in there I have keyless entry not keyless go
Originally Posted by raymond g-
Jose0424. what you're asking can be easy if you upgrade the exterior but within the same
generation. if you are proposing that you upgrade across generation, it becomes more
challenging and into the advance, chip de/soldering which can fail if done improperly. it is
possible for you to disassemble the chrome key with solid key panel, but pretty much
impossible to disassemble the upgraded chrome key which I've labeled gen3.1
(keyless go is a separate issue which is not covered here)
Yep go talk to Dave. He did two of our keys for the CLK. Came out perfect. Went from nasty *** black key fob with cracked buttons to the nice chrome key.
I would like to use your image to standardize the naming of the various keys. You have come up with simplest way to label these keys and get across the variety of styles
For the most part, a gen 1 can only go into a gen 1 case, etc.
The gen 2 key in Non-Keyless-Go form can be swapped into a Gen 3 key. This requires moving a chip with 30+ legs from one board onto the other. This is not easily done at home. Break just one of the legs off and you have destroyed the key. And YES, you will need $350-450 at a dealer to get new one. If it was last key you have, they may very well require you to have car towed in along with pink slip to order new key. For anyone who wants to read about it, there is an existing thread at the "other" board in the W209 section, look for "Chrome Key DIY upgrade".
If your key works fine but case has cracked buttons that let water and dirt in, your best bet is to get a new case. Either find a used key on eBay that is identical and in GREAT shape, or find a new case. Some of the chinese copies of these cases work well, some don't. I have had a few people send me keys for repairs with gen 2 who managed to smash the IR chip for starting right off the PCB.
It is either due to case being wrong dimensions or excessive force used. Key would still lock and unlock doors, but not start car.
This is why it is best to read Ebay feedback. If last 10 or 20 people who bought same case say it works great, it probably does. If some of the feedback mentions poor fit or quality, keep looking.
Last edited by MacVidMB-V8; Mar 31, 2017 at 04:48 PM.
sure use however you need. i am currently not working and eager to keep my hands busy so thank you for the info regiarding the IC swap. i presume the beat tool is solder wick and SMD heat gun? just picked one of the digital soldering stations last month waiting to be unboxed. (need to retrofit MB HIDs into w210 headlight shell. same for Nissan Frontier)
too bad the newest chrome key can't be disassembled. i like the aesthetics better
not trying to be smug about this but I organized a group buy of sorts and was
able to score chrome Smartkeys for about $62. very shortly thereafter MBUSA
put the hammer down on key buying and that was the end of that gift horse idea.
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