Key Replacement Fee

Thursday, October 12, 2006

If you own a late-model Toyota, your car probably starts by means of a “Smart Key.” Ford, Chevy, and many other car manufacturers also now have keys using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). Smart Keys save a small amount of time, maybe a couple hours a year, by sparing us the burden of having to put the key in the ignition. It’s a modest time saver, more useful than a remote-controlled blender, but not as useful as the long-awaited intravenous coffee drip.

But in some ways, the Smart Key is really stupid. If you lose one of your keys, forget about going to a locksmith. Car owners are supposed to go through the manufacturer, which will charge them about $200 for a replacement, and much more if the “Master key” has been lost as well.

There are also privacy concerns, as RFID use generates more and more personal electronic data.

Ironically, the security “feature” of RFID systems in some ways can increase the risk of theft. Earlier this year, researchers at Johns Hopkins were able to open and start an RFID car without a key. Car thieves have successfully conducting their own “research” as well. This is possible because vehicles with RFID-based systems send off a signal to the keys. By using a laptop, the researchers were able to decode the signal, unlock the door, and trick the ignition into starting—all without a physical key. The problem is that much of the high tech security relies on a porous, 40-bit security chip made by Texas Instruments rather than the 128-bit security industry standard for computers.

If you’re flush enough to be driving a Lexus IS300, your champagne and housekeeping expenses may weigh heavier on your mind. But a replacement key would cost you $335, the highest of those surveyed. Costliest of all is when the owner needs to replace a computer to get a new smart key. For this, Toyota will charge you $2,200, Mercedes $3,600.

As long as you still have a master key, it is possible to engineer a DIY reprogramming. For example, as bizarre as it sounds, this is what you need to do to add a duplicate key for a 2004 Toyota Highlander:

1. Simultaneously depress and release brake and accelerator pedals 1 time.
2. Insert existing master key into ignition. Do not turn the key from the OFF (LOCK) position.
3. Within 15 seconds of inserting the key, depress and release the accelerator pedal five times.
4. Within 20 seconds of completing the above step, depress and release the brake pedal six times and remove the key.
5. Within 10 seconds, insert the new key into the ignition.
6. Within 10 seconds, depress and release the accelerator pedal one time.
7. After 80 seconds the new key is registered and the security light will go off.
8. Remove new key and depress and release the brake pedal 1 time.

Your neighbors will think you’ve come down with obsessive-compulsive disorder, but apparently it does work. You can buy extra keys on Ebay and reprogram them with your master key. To learn more about this option, click here.

The Center for Auto Safety filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) earlier this year, arguing that automakers haven’t sufficiently disclosed these replacement key fees and have set up an unfair monopoly for key replacement.

Come to think of it, the engineer who came up with the Smart Key was really smart, since it provides a gusher of extra revenue for automakers when you lose your keys. But it’s too clever by half for those who discover that one lost car key is more expensive to replace than a stereo system.

Do you have a juicy Fee of the Week? We'd like to hear about it. Click here to e-mail us at the Hotline.