In the hunt for an extra key.....

I call 3 dealer service centers to find out how much it cost to program a new FOB. It ranged from $150 to $90!

Going to call a few LR specialty shops tomorrow to see if they can do it.....for about 3o minutes of work, I think $50 is fair.

 

To be fair, you're not paying for much 'work' at all, but specialized computer/software/licenses/updates/etc that cost a lot of money to purchase. ****ty fact of the LR owner's life. Everything is expensive...

 

RAVE = "Rovers A'int Very Economical"

 

Where did you get your "new" fob ? If it wasn't the $260 item from the LR dealer then frankly you're wasting your time (if it's for the LR3).

Haven't found anything on eBay that works sadly, unless you're buying a replacement shell to refurb one that is already paired and working with your Rover. The pairing itself takes less than ten minutes but most shops have that one hour minimum charge. Yes, the software is expensive but divide it up by the number of customers and the rate and it ain't *that* expensive as a line item on the bill ;-)

 

I am looking for one and found one eBay retailer that has new ones, guaranteed, for $140.

I spoke to an LR service manager who was kind enough to talk though the details. He explained what to look for in sourcing a new FOB and process of programming. He also mentioned that it will only take 30 minutes to do the job. They were actually the least costly to do the work....so far.

But, I have a few more places to call today.

 

IIRC, you need to have ALL of your keys on hand, as any that are not present during the programming will be 'dropped' off the list and rendered useless.

Some to ask about when your screening dealer/shops anyways.

 

Who was it - remotesinc ?

I returned my key to him and he refunded me and was very pleasant to deal with. You still have to get the key blank cut which some shops have quoted at $45 after talking to some other forum members. I got mine cut for $15.

Make sure that guarantee is valid. In my experience you will find that your dealer will be unable to pair it to your LR. When you order an official key through your dealer, they send the VIN # off to the UK with the order. From what I have been able to piece together, that is used partly to mill the blank key itself from the stored pattern tied to the VIN but also to seed the immobilizer transponder so that it will talk to your car. The dealer then basically just pairs the two.

This is why used keys won't work as they already have a VIN embedded which doesn't match yours. The chip spec I saw was a write once, so you could dismantle, remove the surface mount transponder and replace with a new one. But then you have to program in your VIN. Tricky.

Yes you will need all your keys present at the pairing time otherwise the missing ones will be ignored. The new key takes 7-14 days to come in from the UK. Contrary to popular reports, the physical key can be copied with the right jig - it isn't cast in rare earth Unobtanium and hardened by Dragons in the hills of Wales.

If you get your eBay key working (and this is an LR3 not an older Disco) then let us know. I'm just trying to level set your expectations that you're going to be spending $260 for the key alone at your friendly LR parts counter.

The only other option which *might* work is if you can find a locksmith who can "clone" your existing key into the new one. This will make it appear to the LR that it's one and the same. There should be no need for a dealer visit then as the LR already "knows" that key.

One of these days I will get round to writing this all up.

 

thanks for the info....and yes, this IS for my LR3...see my signature.

The dealer did mentioned that i will need my other key to make sure it doesn't drop off. I haven't had the chance yesterday to call around, maybe tomorrow.......

Yeah, get that write up going so noobs like me wont make stupid posts...