[joekitch]

searches reveal many threads of people arguing how the keyfobs work, without much in the way of results.

but basically, what's the cheapest way for your average schmuck bmw owner to get a keyfob for their car?
get a "blank" one off ebay and get it programmed? can you program it yourself by sticking it in the letterbox or something? can any dude with bmw coding software program it for you?

buy any old used one and have it programmed?

or do you ABSOLUTELY have to buy one BRAND NEW from the dealer?

and what about comfort access keyfobs? i know you can get a regular old keyfob programmed and it'll work fine....minus the comfort access bits.
and apparently you can get a generic CA keyfob and get generic programming and it'll also work.....minus the CA bits...
but how do you get a CA keyfob working with CA features?

i ask because the e91 i just got only came with one key, and new-from-dealer comfort access keys are priced around $500 with programming, yikes!

[Denny347]

You cannot use a used key fob on another car. You have to order a fob with your VIN already programmed to it. They are not re-programmable.

[335NJ]

Findalocksmith.com and use your zip-code to find a locksmith in your area, call the ones listed and get a price.

I'm an automotive locksmith myself, and even I can't program keys into these cars. So there will be slim results aside from a dealer. The way we're trained to program these keys, is to actually remove the EWS/CAS and read/write the .bin file enrolling the keys data manually.

In all honesty, a key fob, programmed for under $250 is a good deal. These fobs ARE NOT cheap, and the ability to program them means money as well. Any cheap key you're seeing on eBay is likely either a re-flashed "used" circuit board with a new blade & shell, or a cheap chinese knockoff.

The bottom line is that cars made nowadays are being made to force you back to the dealer for stuff as simple as a key.

That $500 price tag seems high, i'd call a different dealer if I were you if you have no luck with a locksmith.

[joekitch]

hmm
ive also heard about the possibility of getting a used keyfob and using surface mount soldering equipment to replace the EEPROM chip with a new, blank one (the chip is probably some generic piece of crap you can get on digi-key for $5), and then getting it programmed. with a blank eeprom the key is essentially blank itself

has...anyone else heard about this?

[joekitch]

Originally Posted by Shafer

circuit board with a new blade & shell, or a cheap chinese knockoff.

well i mean, is that a bad thing?
apparently there are generic blank chinese keyfobs now
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BRAND-NEW-VI...82882c&vxp=mtr
if you pop open one of our keyfobs and start looking up the part #s for all the little chips on the board, you'll notice all the components are made in china and cost like $1 at most, each. the only unique thing is the assembly code flashed to it (if it even contains any code at all), and that's not too difficult to pull out and just cold copy to a generic clone.

even $100 is way more costly than the parts in the remote, but it's better than $300

[joekitch]

not to mention there's a number of keyfobs from wrecked e90s, for cheap
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-REMOTE-K...e55579&vxp=mtr
and assuming they aren't CA keyfobs, all i have heard is that it only requires dealer programming to ad this keyfob to the list of keys the car will recognize


EDIT; actually found a thread with the answer i was looking for.
as long as you dont want the CA functions, pairing a new remote takes all of 5 seconds, although i'm not sure if you need a brand new virgin remote for this to work....
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=360647
getting CA functions is another matter though

[chazzz]

Here's what I did. I called five different dealerships in So Cal. The price difference between the dealerships are as much as $75. I went with the cheapest.

Do you have several BMW dealerships around in Mass?

[joekitch]

Originally Posted by chazzz

Here's what I did. I called five different dealerships in So Cal. The price difference between the dealerships are as much as $75. I went with the cheapest.

Do you have several BMW dealerships around in Mass?

a few
i just find it surprising that almost 10 years after the platform debuted, there is supposedly no better solution to getting another key than "pay a dealer"

[NormE91]

You can program any remote to unlock the doors, it's the immobilizer chip that you can't program. Without that you can't start the car.

[joekitch]

ok so wait;
if i were to drop $300 on a brand spankin new virgin key from germany....
would i need some dealer tool to program the key to the car? or is there some letterbox trick like in
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=580496
to do it yourself

[VTECaddict]

A brand new non-CA key doesn't need programming. You're supposed to provide your VIN and registration (and I think the car is supposed to be present) before the dealer will let you order it. Then you just stick it into the slot and it programs itself.

CA key needs dealer programming to enable CA features for that key. The car is only supposed to have 2 CA-enabled keys so they have to remove one of the old keys from the CA list and add the new one.

[KwlAznKid]

Originally Posted by VTECaddict

A brand new non-CA key doesn't need programming. You're supposed to provide your VIN and registration (and I think the car is supposed to be present) before the dealer will let you order it. Then you just stick it into the slot and it programs itself.

CA key needs dealer programming to enable CA features for that key. The car is only supposed to have 2 CA-enabled keys so they have to remove one of the old keys from the CA list and add the new one.

wait so if i don't have CA, i can just buy a blank key off ebay, shove it in my car and bam it works?!

[joekitch]

Originally Posted by KwlAznKid

wait so if i don't have CA, i can just buy a blank key off ebay, shove it in my car and bam it works?!

i think the implication is that if you buy it blank off ebay you need to get someone to code the key to your car's VIN......
....unless thats just a security measure by bmw

[gcreese]

I'd take the locksmith's advice and buy it off the dealer. Otherwise, you're consuming time researching it and buying uncertainty. The last thing you want to do is buy something off of eBay, spend money to have it "programmed," and then find out it doesn't work. At that point, you'll finally conclude, "Gee, I should have bought it off of a dealer." Better to cut to the chase.

If you're horrified at the cost of a key fob, you should get ready to pay a lot for a car battery as well. When you change your car battery, BMW needs to reset the system so the car knows it's a new battery. The system charges a new one differently than an old one. You don't need to buy the battery from the dealer, but you do need have the reset done by a dealer, and the reset isn't cheap. If you don't, the new battery doesn't last as long, or in rare cases, blows up. Do a search on the forum for the war stories.

You need to resign yourself to the fact that BMWs are not cheap -- both in purchase price and maintenance.

[joekitch]

Originally Posted by gcreese

I'd take the locksmith's advice and buy it off the dealer. Otherwise, you're consuming time researching it and buying uncertainty. The last thing you want to do is buy something off of eBay, spend money to have it "programmed," and then find out it doesn't work. At that point, you'll finally conclude, "Gee, I should have bought it off of a dealer." Better to cut to the chase.

If you're horrified at the cost of a key fob, you should get ready to pay a lot for a car battery as well. When you change your car battery, BMW needs to reset the system so the car knows it's a new battery. The system charges a new one differently than an old one. You don't need to buy the battery from the dealer, but you do need have the reset done by a dealer, and the reset isn't cheap. If you don't, the new battery doesn't last as long, or in rare cases, blows up. Do a search on the forum for the war stories.

You need to resign yourself to the fact that BMWs are not cheap -- both in purchase price and maintenance.

battery reset can be done by some guy with BMW code tools in his backyard (i actually know one), however i dont know if he can do the entire keyfob process himself

[335NJ]

Bottom line, any locksmith (including myself) or dealer, WILL charge you the programming fee, even if your eBay fob doesn't work.

If someone brings me a key they buy online for any vehicle to my shop, they pay ahead of time, and understand I don't guarantee their key.

A BMW programming fee can easily cost $100 in of itself.