One other option not mentioned in the article: Replacing the key shell and moving the guts from the old key.
Obviously not an option if you lost the key, but when my Toyota keyfobs got really worn (button membranes breaking and exposing the underlying microswitch), I discovered that you can avoid the fuss and/or expense of reprogramming the keys by buying replacement key fob shells and moving the circuit board from the old key. Wasn't any harder than changing the key fob battery..
Tesla is all the way on the easy and cheap end of the scale. It's $40 for two new key cards or $175 for a new key fob, and as long as you don't lose all of your existing keys at once, you can program new ones and deactivate lost ones yourself in about a minute with no extra tools or software. And using their phone app as a Bluetooth key is free forever.
I just made two additional keys for my 10 year old Toyota which only came with one (bought it used), and it cost me just over $200. And that is aftermarket keys with an aftermarket programmer. The keys are also fobs, which does account for $100 of the cost. $40 for a pair of key cards is a bargain by comparison.
What are you talking about? Most people just use their phone for their Tesla. Most carry they $40 credit card style key in their wallet just in case, but rarely use it. The $175 fob is just a kind of collectors item nobody has except for people who are really into Tesla and buy all the merch.
You get two for $40, and also worth noting is that you can use that on any number of Teslas. I carry one card that works on any of three cars.
Beats the heck out of paying hundreds of dollars to leave the car at a dealership for a few days to get a new key. And as you said: even then, this is just for the key that I need to use if my phone died or I just bought a new one.
I love it, so many things just make sense on my Tesla, which is why I have two. It's really a step backwards getting into any other car at this point. I just walk up to it, it unlocks automatically (because it senses my phone). I fasten my seatbelt, touch one button on the screen, and it then drives me to me to work (through busy city and highway roads). I don't have to do anything, I don't even have to drive it.
PS: it's $20 per key. Because that $40 buys you a pair of key cards. I learned that when I wanted to buy two of these and was surprised to see they shipped me four card. The product name doesn't make it obvious that it's a pair...
Buying fobs online is a gamble. I got one for an older Kia Rio recently for some $40 plus shipping. Very good fob with a flip key and all the remote buttons. Unfortunately, the shady vendor did not mention that it does not include the transponder, which is some kind of RFID tag type thing that is sensed by the vehicle in order to start the engine, in addition to the key having to be cut correctly to turn the ignition.
I had to pay additional money to the automotive locksmith to put that in, on top of the $120 CAD base rate.
And, less than two months later, the new fob's battery died! I had a bunch of CR2032's around, which I had gotten cheaply; but insult to injury, you know?
Not just a missing transponder, but a shitty old/used battery on its last legs.
Not all of them are that expensive. From memory, I paid AU$200 for a genuine Toyota RAV4 key at the dealership (including cutting and reprogramming), which is about US$140.
They should be a $5 piece of machined metal. I don’t know how we let car keys turn into computers. Not everything has to be a goddamned computer. If your car requires a computerized remote control to open, it’s defective and should be returned.
A car key having a RFID transponder in addition to correctly cut teeth to turn the ignition is a good additional security layer though.
If I were to guess, how we let cars turn into computers probably started with fuel injection. The same embedded system that controls the timing of injectors (in response to numerous sensors) and variable valve timing and whatnot.
From there, feature creep.
Next thing you know, you're getting an engine code due to forgetting to put the gas cap back on at the pump (paying money to reset that because it's still years before consumer OBD2 dongles become available) and it goes downhill from there.
In the old mechanical-keys-only days without ECUs, there was no lock picking; thieves just went behind the steering wheel and connected two wires together. Starting a stolen car without a key was called "hotwiring".
They would get into the car via various means: find a car left unlocked; use coat-hanger wire to pull up a window-side lock peg; break a window.
One other option not mentioned in the article: Replacing the key shell and moving the guts from the old key.
Obviously not an option if you lost the key, but when my Toyota keyfobs got really worn (button membranes breaking and exposing the underlying microswitch), I discovered that you can avoid the fuss and/or expense of reprogramming the keys by buying replacement key fob shells and moving the circuit board from the old key. Wasn't any harder than changing the key fob battery..
I'm so old, I remember having separate ignition and door keys on our ridiculous GM vehicles.
Yes the square and the round ones! I think t tops were a different key that only had a couple possible combinations.
Tesla is all the way on the easy and cheap end of the scale. It's $40 for two new key cards or $175 for a new key fob, and as long as you don't lose all of your existing keys at once, you can program new ones and deactivate lost ones yourself in about a minute with no extra tools or software. And using their phone app as a Bluetooth key is free forever.
> It's $40 for two new key cards or $175 for a new key fob
The scale starts at crazytown prices and just gets increasingly insane from there.
I just made two additional keys for my 10 year old Toyota which only came with one (bought it used), and it cost me just over $200. And that is aftermarket keys with an aftermarket programmer. The keys are also fobs, which does account for $100 of the cost. $40 for a pair of key cards is a bargain by comparison.
What are you talking about? Most people just use their phone for their Tesla. Most carry they $40 credit card style key in their wallet just in case, but rarely use it. The $175 fob is just a kind of collectors item nobody has except for people who are really into Tesla and buy all the merch.
You get two for $40, and also worth noting is that you can use that on any number of Teslas. I carry one card that works on any of three cars.
Beats the heck out of paying hundreds of dollars to leave the car at a dealership for a few days to get a new key. And as you said: even then, this is just for the key that I need to use if my phone died or I just bought a new one.
I love it, so many things just make sense on my Tesla, which is why I have two. It's really a step backwards getting into any other car at this point. I just walk up to it, it unlocks automatically (because it senses my phone). I fasten my seatbelt, touch one button on the screen, and it then drives me to me to work (through busy city and highway roads). I don't have to do anything, I don't even have to drive it.
Wait until you hear about Rivian. $75 or so, including the labor you have to pay to the service center to get the key paired to your car.
For my Tesla, I don't even have a key, I just use my phone.
But, I can use a credit card style key if I want. They are only $40 for a pair. I can program them in various ways. https://shop.tesla.com/product/key-card
PS: it's $20 per key. Because that $40 buys you a pair of key cards. I learned that when I wanted to buy two of these and was surprised to see they shipped me four card. The product name doesn't make it obvious that it's a pair...
Buying fobs online is a gamble. I got one for an older Kia Rio recently for some $40 plus shipping. Very good fob with a flip key and all the remote buttons. Unfortunately, the shady vendor did not mention that it does not include the transponder, which is some kind of RFID tag type thing that is sensed by the vehicle in order to start the engine, in addition to the key having to be cut correctly to turn the ignition.
I had to pay additional money to the automotive locksmith to put that in, on top of the $120 CAD base rate.
And, less than two months later, the new fob's battery died! I had a bunch of CR2032's around, which I had gotten cheaply; but insult to injury, you know?
Not just a missing transponder, but a shitty old/used battery on its last legs.
It was sort of funny in a twisted way when I bought my $20K car from Carmax and they handed me one key. Still haven't managed to get a replacement...
Not all of them are that expensive. From memory, I paid AU$200 for a genuine Toyota RAV4 key at the dealership (including cutting and reprogramming), which is about US$140.
Cynic: because when you need one, you'll pay through the nose for it.
Interesting topic, boring article
Reprogramming/repairing/recoding the gateway and/or the immobilizer/anti-theft-relevant parts is like... super exclusive?
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They should be a $5 piece of machined metal. I don’t know how we let car keys turn into computers. Not everything has to be a goddamned computer. If your car requires a computerized remote control to open, it’s defective and should be returned.
Because mechanical keys are not a good enough security measure.
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kia_Challenge for what happens if you skip the immobilizer
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A car key having a RFID transponder in addition to correctly cut teeth to turn the ignition is a good additional security layer though.
If I were to guess, how we let cars turn into computers probably started with fuel injection. The same embedded system that controls the timing of injectors (in response to numerous sensors) and variable valve timing and whatnot.
From there, feature creep.
Next thing you know, you're getting an engine code due to forgetting to put the gas cap back on at the pump (paying money to reset that because it's still years before consumer OBD2 dongles become available) and it goes downhill from there.
:)
Did you read the article?
Are you familiar with lock-picking?
In the old mechanical-keys-only days without ECUs, there was no lock picking; thieves just went behind the steering wheel and connected two wires together. Starting a stolen car without a key was called "hotwiring". They would get into the car via various means: find a car left unlocked; use coat-hanger wire to pull up a window-side lock peg; break a window.