made to change this concept 450 dollar key to start the jeep ??? I mean come on , yes I can see 40 but not 450 .00 lol

 

It's not the lock that you need the chipped key for - it's the ignition. If the sensors don't get the correct RF signal from the key, the ignition won't start.

 

Exactly. When I got that plain steel key made I tried it and the Jeep started right up...

but a friend pointed out that I had the factory coded key very nearby.

i had him take the factory key and go like 25 ft away and the plain steel key wouldn't start it.

i had no expectation of it starting, just wanted it incase I locked my keys in the Jeep.

matthew

 

lol I know I was saying break the ignition and then they would have to pop a new ignition and new keys

 

Ah - thought you meant the door lock - my bad.

 

My father's been a Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge/etc... mechanic for 40+ years. I was chatting with him about these keys a while back and he mentioned that with the new chip systems, there's effectively no way to hotwire a car anymore. I guess that's a good thing, but the side-effect is these outrageously overpriced replacement keys.

FYI - I recently replaced my wife's GMC Acadia key fob and key and it was ~$200. There's no good reason for Jeep to charge 2.5x that amount...

 

I can only speak for 13's and 14's but even if you have the correct chipped key in your pocket or even taped to the inside of the dash you can not start the vehicle with a non chipped key. I was hoping I could just tape one of my chipped keys inside the vehicle close to the ignition and that way I could just have a couple of non chipped blanks made and it did not work. Vehicle would start for a fraction of a second then die. It would have been nice if it would have worked but alas it did not.

 

do a "transponder key" search on Ebay and you can get blanks without remotes for $10 and with remotes for $42 That is what I did. Took them to the local ACE and had them cut then programed them myself with the included instrutctions. You do need two good chipped keys to do it yourself tho.

 

How was your clone key made?

If you use two keys to program a third key that third key isn't a clone. It's just another programmed key. It's the next one in your series of ten that function with your ignition immobilizer.

Each immobilizer recognizes a transponder ID series of ten. So you can start with two original keys (that have different IDs within the series of ten) and from there make more copies until the series of ten is complete.

The two keys used to program the next key have to be different ID numbers within the series.

A clone is a key that has the exact same ID as the one it is cloned from. Two identical keys (clones) can't program a third key because the computer sees them as only one key. It requires two separate keys to complete the programming of the third key.

That's why you need two keys to do the programming yourself. The computer reads them as different members of the series of ten.

 

The 450 is for both car keys, of course I had a key for our Jeep and Dart on the key chain. The Jeep key was $110 + 60 to cut and program. The Dart is a $220 or so and 60 to cut and program. Jeep is the plain gray key. Dart was the door, trunk and remote start.

Thanks for the tips and ideas guys. I'll be making a 3rd key for each after going through this.