Quote:
Originally Posted by phathom
Ya, the dealer has no coding or cutting ability. It all has to come from the factory. You bring in your registration and Id. They send off the request. They pull your vin and the codes that are in your EWS andwhich ones/how many have been used. They then assign an unused code to the new transponder. It's one thing that makes our cars hard to steal without a towtruck or someone having the tools and access to the inside of the vehicle for a period of time. It's like those Mercedes from Gonr in 60 seconds.
Btw: You can only make 6 extra/replacement keys after the original set, EVER. Once that limit is reached and all keys are lost, you need to replace the EWS.
|
Yes, this all sounds right to me. A couple of clarifications ...
More specifically, I think the EWS is limited to 10 valid codes total. So if the car originally came with 4 keys (sounds right), then yes, you get 6 more before you are out of luck.
Yes, the keys are cut and EWS programmed from "the factory" only. But don't worry, this factory is not in the fatherland, it is somewhere in the Eastern US, so it can get to you in a day or two if you need it fast. And they are cut and programmed only as needed - they do not have all 10 keys sitting in a warehouse (because if they did, you would not be able to choose among the various key types).