I have a 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I recently lost my key fob so, using my spare, I went to the dealer and ordered a new one. That cost $68. When I picked up the new key fob, I was told I needed to go to the maintenance department and pay them $28 to cut the physical key (it pops out of the fob in case the battery dies) and another $140 to get them to program it for me. Obviously, I left the dealer ship, went home and searched google to find out how to program it my self.
What I found out was that IF I have 2 working key fobs, I sit in the car with them and plug the blank key fob into the slot behind the start button. I can get the car to program the third blank key fob my self. But this apparently ONLY works to program a third key.
There must be a way around this. $140 is outrageous! Does anyone know of a way around this? (How to spoof a second key, where to get the equipment the dealer has, ect)
This has been a thing already when for example Mercedes introduced it 98 with the S class. There is unfortunately hard to program by yourself and the methods of doing so often relies on buggs or hacked software. It is outrageous that this is still going on almost 20 years later but no one has taken a stand because it only affect consumers and it is not a "big cost" compared to everything else (for you, for them it is super easy).
Sometimes the insurance company stand for the cost if you take the deductible cost but this varies greatly between where you (country and even different cities) are from and which company you have.
Edit: Can add that this is for those car companies I know well and newer american cars are quite rare in northern europe (exempt for Tesla)
my ford ranger with PATS is the same way. if i have two verified keys then the vehicle itself can verify i am indeed the owner and will let me add more keys to it. as for around it, idk i dont do much with vehicle hacking
That was part of the point of the post. I apparently have all the equipment as the truck's manual has instructions on how to program additional keys IF you have two. I also know at DEFCON there are people that can lock, unlock, start, kill, ect.. your car from a lap top. I know there is a way, I'm just trying to find it.
I'm guessing it takes them about 2 minutes to program the key at $140 a pop, that $4600 per hr. I would LOVE to make that kind of money! And I would rather pay $1400 to have the equipment then get ripped off by the dealership.
I personally hate the new key fobs and combo key and fobs. They are bulky and I hate them getting tangled in my poket and the buttons keep getting pressed when I sit down.
I took a multi-tool for allen wrenches I bought at harbor freight and modified it to hold all my keys. Unfortunately I can't include my car keys due to the bulk.
I've looked online on how to bypass the key fobs, and found that on some, its trivial to remove the chip from the fob and tape it to your steering column. Then you can get a key cut anywhere and it will start. The downside is that you've just bypased a major security feature and you risk destroying your fob that will cost you an arm and leg to replace...
Many brands use a scan tool to program keys. It may be more secure to do it this way, than allowing owners to program them, but I have a feeling that money was the primary factor here.