This IS another reason to own a Tesla. Let me explain…
When I was 15, I wanted to drive an old Vauxhall (that wasn’t mine) that was parked in our back yard. I simply filed down an old Ford key till it fit, charged the battery, and I was off to the races. In retrospect, I think a screw driver would have worked just as well. But I took the more challenging route, and succeeded!
Take the time machine forward 55 years or so and here we are in a place where every car is either push-button start, with a ‘fob‘ of some sort, or uses an actual ‘key’ – that metal thing you insert into the steering column and turn to start your car. And there’s a good chance your fob or key is ‘chipped’, meaning it has to be programmed to work with your specific car.
So here’s the problem. Lose one of those keys or fobs and you’re in for a rude awaking when your dealer quotes the replacement cost for just one #^$% key. My Mom lost a key to her 2017 Subaru Forester (which still uses a real key that’s chipped). The local Subaru dealer quoted $243 (plus tax, plus cutting, plus programming). I expect the final bill to be around $400 so. Also, all he needed to start the replacement process was the vehicle’s VIN. Now that’s convenient, but way too expensive for just one #^$% key. I have been researching other ways of getting a replacement key and I’m halfway through the process:
Step 1 – Buy a compatible key on eBay ($17)
Step 2 – Talk your friendly neighborhood locksmith into cutting the key ($15)
Step 3 – Try to program the key yourself (yeah, good luck with that). I’ll follow these instructions to the letter. Then, failing that, try to find someone other than my local dealer to program it for me. How hard can it be with the right equipment?? I’ll soon find out…
In my mind, this whole replacement key thing is a total profit center for the dealerships and I really don’t want to play their game! But hold the phone, there’s a solution!!!
The Solution
Buy a Tesla. Tesla Models 3 and Y use something called a ‘key card’ which has a short range radio-frequency identification (RFID) chip in it. Here’s a picture of what you get when you pick up your new Tesla:
Of course you can also load the Tesla app on your smartphone and use that as your key, or buy a ring with the RFID chip in to that takes all of 5 seconds to program, etc. BUT should you lose one or both of your key cards, Tesla will replace them for $40. Yup, that’s it! ONLY 40 bucks:
And that include two new keycards that are easily programmed by the owner once received.
So here’s my point. “This IS the way it should be!” There’s absolutely NO reason why replacing a lost car key should be so expensive or complicated. None! Tesla understands this and we, Tesla owners, benefit. And you can too…
Now call me paranoid (and cheap). I don’t really want to lose my Tesla key card, so I invested another $35 in a Tile ‘Slim’ that I taped to the back of my Tesla key card, so I can try to locate the card if it gets lost in a shirt pocket, or worse. The Slim fits the key card perfectly and you hardly know it’s there. Plus, you just click the app on your phone to find your Tile/key card. Perfect!
Then there’s also the very cool CNICK Tesla Key Ring. This is a little pricey, but these rings are good quality and work well as a back-up key solution. This is the key ring I purchased:
In the final analysis, I have spent a bit of money on my Tesla key solutions, but I didn’t have to. Regarding the Subaru replacement key saga, I’m already $32 into that adventure with programming still on the horizon. We’ll see how that turns out??