[rollinhonda]

I went to the local Honda dealer and brought in my wife's CRV key that broke off the original fob, and a new shell with a key blank. Parts guy said this looks like a 3rd party shell (he is right) and the metal on those is too hard on the cutting machine.

I was pi$$ed but could not prove the metal is the same. The original fob has a 4 button transponder and works fine, I was going to move the module to the new shell after the key blank was ground.

Now I have to use another locksmith. Of course, Honda was more than willing to charge me $45 for a new blank shell and key. I am sure the cutting would have been free, but now Mr. Lazy does not have to do anything but he did not make a sale either. What a waste of time!

 

[Dnick]

I hate when that happens..... but now that you got it out of the way...

there's one less thing to go wrong!

 

[rollinhonda]

I hate when that happens..... but now that you got it out of the way...

there's one less thing to go wrong!

Right..except for the parts guy. I am calling his manager tomorrow...I did not spend some $35K at that dealership to have this happen.
I am sure the two metals are the same.

 

[H&A]

The fancy key machines are super finicky and break really expensive bits pretty easily.

Although the metals are likely the same they may have run into ones that aren't in the past or other issues and at the price of the bits I can actually see them not wanting to risk it.

 

[rollinhonda]

The fancy key machines are super finicky and break really expensive bits pretty easily.

Although the metals are likely the same they may have run into ones that aren't in the past or other issues and at the price of the bits I can actually see them not wanting to risk it.

Thanks, I was hoping to get a more objective feedback on the metal issue. I appreciate it.

The metals 'look the same', same color (slight gold tone), exact same size, both are non-ferrous, The only visible difference is as expected, the older key shows some signs of wear. Same weight also.

I think I will just drop by a referred locksmith and see what happens at this point. I did not think this would be such a big deal. Oh well....

 

[S.T.U.V]

If a customer brings in a aftermarket key from ebay etc. I warn them that we are not responsible for any issues that may arise. Toyota keys are freakin hard. So our machine is set up to cut toyota keys. We have to run them through 2-3 times to get the correct cut/depth. I have had aftermarket keys cut either to deep or have chunks go missing because they are cast horribly.


I bet the honda employee has had a bad experience. If you really wanna find out the difference between the keys bend them. I took a old toyota key and turned it into a pretzel to prove to a customer they get what they pay for. And took a cheap key that we had and it got to about a 45 degree angle before it broke. Not 100% its the same with honda though.

I don't make copies of keys because they never work from our machine. Had a customer throw a fit that I wouldn't do it and I explained they never work. Well after a threat to complain about me. I did it on three keys. He came back and of course they didn't work and threw a fit to my manager and I had to eat the cost.

 

[rollinhonda]

I can appreciate all that, and it is great info. I don't put a lot into reviews, and I got this blank with the shell on Amazon. Most folks had no issues, but most of the complaints came from those where there was an issue cutting the key. In most all cases, the keys were cut OK but simply did not always work. I don't think I read one where the machine was damaged, but I am sure that could happen also.
Bummer.. I hate to pay for a factory 'blank fob and key' but may have to, but will try and get it cut first and hope I don't get thrown out of the shop!

 

[speedlever]

I got the same response from my local Honda shop when I brought in my own blank. But they tried it anyway and it worked, so I was relatively happy. But it turns out that I could have bought the blank from them and they would cut it for no charge which would end up being cheaper than my purchase price I paid plus the cost of them cutting it.

It turned out to be a much more complex issue than I imagined. The good news is that once I transplanted the RFID chip from the old case to the new one after having the key cut, the key works fine in the ignition switch.

 

[rollinhonda]

I got the same response from my local Honda shop when I brought in my own blank. But they tried it anyway and it worked, so I was relatively happy. But it turns out that I could have bought the blank from them and they would cut it for no charge which would end up being cheaper than my purchase price I paid plus the cost of them cutting it.

It turned out to be a much more complex issue than I imagined. The good news is that once I transplanted the RFID chip from the old case to the new one after having the key cut, the key works fine in the ignition switch.

I recently priced the Honda shell replacement (3 P/Ns. if you count the top half with the blank key, the bottom of the shell, and the screw).
The total is just under $30 if you get it at a discounted online Honda dealer.

Have to wonder if they will still question the pedigree if they did not sell it. Maybe not if you have a copy of the invoice. My local dealer quoted me $42. I can just imagine what it costs with the transponder. Glad I don't need one.

While doing some web searches and ran across a locksmith forum with a similar discussion. Some were saying too many consumers are not aware that most department and auto parts stores uses cheap cutting machines.
Generally the more reputable independent key shops have the best machines.

 

[speedlever]

I don't know what cheap is in terms of the cutting machines. I recall hearing the number $10k being the cost of the one the shop has. That sounds plenty expensive to me!

 

[rollinhonda]

I don't know what cheap is in terms of the cutting machines. I recall hearing the number $10k being the cost of the one the shop has. That sounds plenty expensive to me!

That's probably the better one! It might do laser cutting. Here's cheap to not so cheap. Some have built in code detectors/readers for keys with integrated chips.

http://www.lockpicks.com/all-produc...punches.html?gclid=CN6Y1oHyssYCFRKUfgodXwkOHg