existing 'original' keys ;)
Yep, you need ID and registration and it could be a bit of wait.

That is good to know. I sprung for a new key from BMW a couple years ago.

I fear a couple things failing in this car and stranding me for good and you’ve taken one of them off the list thank you. Well, part of one of them. There are other parts of the EWS system that can fail I’m sure.

I would recommend spraying some lube into the lock cylinder, if you haven't already, to maybe prevent it from wearing (maybe use the new key more too ??) and it will probably help with how the new key works as well. I haven't driven the car all winter so I'm not totally sure, but the steering/key lock seems a be lot more positive than it was before as well. I should have taken more time to see how that all interacts with the lock cylinder, but was in a bit of a rush again.

I'm not really worried about the EWS, I think it's pretty reliable and only rarely gives trouble and then it's usually because of a battery/charging issue that knocks it out of synch.