Additional Keys for new car?

[springyboy]

I pick up my new 09 1.4 ES Jazz in a couple of weeks. It comes with two keys. I need some more keys, Honda's first estimate was £190 per key which seems a lot of money.
Can I get them cheaper from Honda, what about an independent key supplier/coder, What advice do you have for me?

Regards Springyboy
 

[guest983]

Why would Honda charge so much for a spare key?

The answer is simple, I'm afraid: because they can.

The Honda key isn't just a simple piece of metal, but a also small transmitter AND probably a small transponder (I know Fords do this), too. With the key in the lock, the car electronics talk to the key and back through  very low power transmitter to check the key's unique serial number. No matchy, no starty.

Now, all very clever, and DELIBERATELY hard to duplicate - that's the whole point, after all. So no one else other than  Honda is going to be able to make spares.

So - Do the keys cost that much to make? Nothing like it.

But then don't confuse purchase cost with selling price. An item costs a manufacturer what it costs him in time and materials. He will sell it for whatever he can damn well get away with. And while Price >> Cost, the manufacturer has what we call a business.

£190 quid, though. They must be 'avin a laugh. (and I bet they are)

Laurence
(Got me a Jazz EX I-shift, btw. Nice. I shall be paying a LITTLE EXTRA ATTENTION about where i leave the keys from now on!)

[RichardA]

Fiat charged me £53 for a replacement key (with transmitter but not remote central locking) for my MK2 Punto in 2003 after I broke the key in the passenger door. £190 for a key still sounds alot even taking into account remote locking and six years.

[ThomP]

Prices for spare/extra keys are absurd, and it's not just Honda!

We bought a Toyota Aygo about a year ago. On delivery we found that only one key had remote locking! The price for an extra "real" key was about the same as mentioned here so we decided to just live with the crippled spare key.

We learned the lesson: Make sure you include all the keys you need in the contract as extra's - even if you only need the "usual" two keys! Since there must be a huge profit margin on the keys it should be possible to get a good discount or maybe get them for "free" during negotiation.

When we bought the Jazz we double checked with the dealer before signing to make sure from the beginning that it was delivered with two fully functional keys.

[springyboy]

Thanks for your interest and replies.
Here's an update on progress. Got the car very pleased with it. Final quote from dealer for additional keys was £210 for remote and £35 for non-remote so I ordered a non remote to come with car. Non-remote came as a blank but the dealer was unable to cut it, (technical issue with the cutting machine?). Dealer and Honda UK said that an independent auto security specialist ought to be able to cut the blank and encode the key so I tried one. As I wanted more than just one extra key they tried cutting one of their own blanks first rather than my Honda one. Their blank looked just like the Honda blank but after the cut it would not work in the lock, hence no point in proceeding to the transponder coding stage. Lot's of apologetic head scratching at this stage as the laser cutting machine did accept the key code and did a cut. Spoke to a different dealer who says keys can be ordered pre-cut from Honda so this is the next step. Will let you know what happens.
Regards 

[guest983]

Guys, (and any girls reading), you use words like "absurd" and "outrageous" to describe the price of spare keys, but I repeat my earlier point - at the point you NEED another key, Honda (not just the dealer) have GOTCHA.

And so they can (and do) charge the most that they can get away with, commensurate with keeping your custom when you buy your next car. All of the manufacturers do it to some degree.

Yes, there is a whopping great margin, which of course is the beauty (for the seller) of a captive market, and high barriers to entry for the competition. Welcome to the "free" market

[ThomP]

Guys, (and any girls reading), you use words like "absurd" and "outrageous" to describe the price of spare keys, but I repeat my earlier point - at the point you NEED another key, Honda (not just the dealer) have GOTCHA.

Why the "but"? The fact that they can doesn't change the absurdity in it (at least not in the Danish meaning of the word - maybe there is something lost in translation).

[springyboy]

Bit of an update:
Honda UK suggested that the dealer should order blank non-remotes and quote the code so they could be cut by Honda before delivery to the dealer, then the dealer would do the coding to the car immobiliser. Dealer tried to place the order but Honda UK said sorry cannot cut the key for you. So dealer ordered a blank and used a mobile key cutting service to do the cut. Then the dealer tested the newly cut non-remote key in the locks to prove the cut was ok and then successfully coded the key to the car. So I now have the two original remotes and one non-remote. The non-remotes are of course much cheaper than remotes.

I was also told that the Jazz has a limit of two remotes, so getting additional high priced remote keys was never going to work for me anyway and my only option for additional keys was to get non-remote keys, which is what has finally been achieved after six weeks and much communication between myself, Honda UK and the dealer. Everyone has been professional, polite and tried to help solve the problem but what a longtime it has taken!

Using a mix of remotes and non-remotes is ok for the Jazz which does not have an alarm, but there may be problems for other cars that do have an alarm. If such a car is locked using a remote which also sets the alarm, and then unlocked with a non-remote, the alarm may go off, and how do you silence it? 

I remember when getting a spare key was a simple trip down the high street and gettin a copy made in the shoe-repair bar, cost about five pounds, oh well that's progress I suppose.

[JOCK55]

Yes, I remeber getting keys cut "willy nilly" from the local shoe repairer, but I also remeber the number of cars that were stolen with Micky Mouse keys!

What price security??

 

[nowster]

Yes, I remember getting keys cut "willy nilly" from the local shoe repairer, but I also remember the number of cars that were stolen with Micky Mouse keys!

Certain of the British Leyland cars of the 1970s could be unlocked with a screwdriver.

[springyboy]

Certain of the British Leyland cars of the 1970s could be unlocked with a screwdriver.

Except the Mini Moke, didn't have a lock, you simply had to unzip it.

[guest1145]

I pick up my new 09 1.4 ES Jazz in a couple of weeks. It comes with two keys. I need some more keys, Honda's first estimate was £190 per key which seems a lot of money.
Can I get them cheaper from Honda, what about an independent key supplier/coder, What advice do you have for me?
Regards Springyboy

Hi Springyboy,
I speak from Brazil, and i had the same problem here. The new Key in Brazil cost £ 185,00. Cut and program a alarm control is easy.
 
The problem is the transponder key code. Honda has a system named HDS (Honda Diagnostic System), that can program a new key with the correct code to your Jazz.

If you don't program the new key with correct code, the ignition is doesn't started. The  immobilizer symbol remains lit, when you insert the key with incorrect code in ignition.   


So the better procedure is used your dealer to program the code in new key. 

But, its possible to program the new key if you have the original key. It's important looking for a good independent key supplier/coder.

Look this, video, program a Acura flip key to New Jazz (New Fit). The Flip Key is original , Honda Acura, but is not program or cut. The service made in independent key supplier/coder.   

Regards,

Hiro

[guest954]

This is the answer to all our needs, but we are in the U.K. does anyone know of such a service in this country ?  my local locksmith can program the old Jazz but the new jazz key is different and requires new software to do the job...there must be someone in this country that can do it. A new key from the states cost about $35 plus post...the new key I.D. is 48  so come on who knows "the" man over here ?

[guest954]

Hi Spring boy,

I am in the same boat as yourself...I need a spare key as I am down to one original key..now I have done some research and as far as I can tell, the new jazz key has I.D. code 48 these can be obtained quite cheeply from the states, cutting over here is not a problem, codeing is, you see , if you supply the key, your local Honda dealer just won`t want to know! I guess its because he can no longer make a fat profit from us ! There are independent locksmiths about that cut and code provided they have the up to date software for the new jazz. So you see we can circumnavigate the Honda dealer if we can just find "The" locksmith ?

                     DOES ANYONE OUT THERE KNOW OF ONE ?

[guest1461]

Bit of an update:

Dealer tried to place the order but Honda UK said sorry cannot cut the key for you.

Who told you that honda can not cut the keys?

All the dealer needs to do is order the key to the key number for that car and it will come through pre-cut. All the dealer needs to do is code the key to the car.