I know this has been asked several times in many forums but I thought I just ask again in the vague hope that something had changed.

I lost a key the other day and have one spare so looked up how to get another and was disappointed to discover I needed to go through the dealership. So I called the steeler and, $200
($90 for the key itself plus $120 to program the car) eye-eye-eye-eye-eye!

Now I've read countless times that if I had two keys programming a third is a cinch but am I really going to have to cough up two Benjamins to get a 2nd one?

Oh, and please don't tell me if I had two keys it would be a cinch - I FRIKEN KNOW

 

OK Mate

We can save you some coins here

First - keep that last key close by your nuts so that one doesn't go missing
Second - go to e-bay and search jeep transponder/jeep chip key blank.....order 2 and should cost around $20 per key shipped GET 2
They are manufactured by 'Strattec' so don't worry if that's what pops up and not Jeep logo'd
Third - go to a reputable locksmith to get the keys ground......the kid at the hardware store isn't going to replace the blank if he screws
the cut.
Fourth - Take the one original key and only one of your new keys to the dealer to have it programmed. All he should charge is for the one
key program what....1/2 hour labour (too much) = $50
Fifth - take your 1) original and (1) new programmed key home and get your manual out to tell you how to self program your second
new key

This could save you $100 or more

Keep your Sheila close and your Kelpie even closer (inside joke) Cheers

 

I think the first step is the most important.

 

Thanks guys.

I've ordered a transponder key of eBay ($9 - amazing) but ended up coughing up the $200 the steelers wanted anyhow. Before I'd realised my Kelpie (errr, I mean wife) ordered the key from the dealer and had paid for it over the phone so rather than chase it down and cancel it I just sucked it in and grumbled.

I did ask the dealer about programming an after market key and they said they were happy to do it but they wouldn't budge from the $120 they quoted before. So for the sake of $80 I figured I just cough up for the second key (which also comes with the remote/fob) and will wait for the third to arrive from the land of the Internets.

 

To all: As soon as you can go to a reputable key shop. Have one key made, no chip or programming, a simple valet door key only. Have a third ignition key made, assuming you still have 2. Hide the valet key somewhere in the engine compartment, use a magnet, wire, whatever. Then, hide the 3rd ignition key inside the Jeep in a spot where only you can find it, even if you have to work to get at it. Now, the valet key gets you in, the ignition key gets you going. My cost was $50. Been doing this for years....soon as I get a new Jeep. When I sell my Jeeps I inform the new owner of the hidden keys location and at that point its up to them to do as they please with the keys.

 

I thought there was an electronic chip in the fob. Without a key with the chip, the engine quits after a few seconds.

 

Doesn't Home Depot and lowes now have the ability to do car keys with programming chips? I think I saw that when I walk by there key cutting section.

 

That's what the "transponder" is. From what I understand it's a small chip about the size of a gain of rice (probably not that dissimilar to a dog's microchip) and is embedded in the handle of the key. Each chip has a unique code and the car has an areal/scanner in the ignition that reads the code and compares it to a list of keys it has been programmed to accept.

The fob has a wireless transmitter which broadcasts a "rolling" code each time the button is pressed and works over a larger range. The car uses this "rolling code" to lock and unlock the doors but needs the "transponder" code to start the engine. The keys that come with the car incorporate both the transponder and transmitter but it should be possible to get a key with a transponder but not a fob for less than the fob integrated keys cost.

 

I had a spare key with transponder made at my local Ace Hardware. It was around $75 total, but it saved me from chasing around looking to save a couple of bucks.
x2 on the "hide the key on the Jeep" advice, if only for saving you a long walk out of the wild if you lost your key in the backcountry.

 

Thats actually not a bad idea. One of the things I really dislike about the keys is that you cant just tie one inside your shorts or whatever if your are going to be in the water. A valet key with a n ignition key hidden inside is a great way around that.