Acura Key Fob

Honesty and fair play are the hallmarks of the Locksmith profession. Adhering to those hallmarks is very important to us and we believe that disseminating accurate and useful information to consumers is one of the best things that we can do for both the consumers and for our profession. We are Mile High Locksmith and we have been in business since 2002 and maintain a prestigious A+ rating from the BBB and we want to make it a point in this article to give the Acura owner the very best in general and applicable key and key fob information that we can.

The first thing that we wish to alert you to is that Acura keys and key fobs are somewhat more complex to manage than most keys and fobs. We highly recommend that if you lose a key or key fob or have one wear out on you that you consult either an Acura Dealership or a fully mobile Acura locksmith service. Acura owners should be aware that there is a great deal of specialization that comes with the Acura key and the Acura key fob. Please allow us to take some time to make sure that you, as an Acura owner, have a complete understanding of the keys and fobs, the Acura key fob battery which we always have in stock, how to program Acura key fob and the typical Acura key replacement cost.

Acura Key Fob Replacement Cost

The Acura owners first cost consideration is whether or not to get your replacement Acura Key at Dealership. The Acura key/fob cannot be “programmed” without the car present. So if you use a Dealership it will usually entail having to have the car towed to that Dealership, which is an added cost, and in many cases having to wait for an appointment to open up in the Dealers maintenance work schedule. By the time you pay for a tow and the service at the Dealer it is not uncommon for your bill to be around $300.00. Add to that the possibility that it might take a couple of days to get the service performed and you’re looking at expenses in money and time. And as the old saying goes- “Time Is Money”.

On the other hand, when you choose a fully mobile professional locksmith they come to you. A 24/7/365 mobile locksmith, and most professional locksmiths that supply car key, ignition and fob services are 24/7/365, brings all of the tools and assets with them in their service vehicles that the Dealerships have which can allow you to avoid the tow and perhaps having to wait on line for the service to be scheduled. The right mobile locksmith can usually be with you within an hour of your call and have the situation with your key or fob rectified in under an hour. And in the end the mobile locksmith typically charges you around half of what the Dealer would.

Acura Key Fob Programming

At this point you may be asking yourself whether or not you can avoid all of the time and expense by just running down to the local hardware store (or a cheap and unprofessional key seller) and having them stamp you out a key or sell you a fob over the counter. The short answer is “No”. Acura is a car maker with a very deep dedication to anti-theft technology and only a professional can make you a key or fob because Acura requires the technician to use key programmer tool “onboard programming” to make their keys and fobs work. Now, from 1997 to 2018 the Acura key code location has been stamped on every lock on the Acura vehicle and a non-professional locksmith can cut a mechanical key for the car without having an original key to format the newer key from. BUT the non-professional still cannot program the new key. This is because since 1997 Acura has produced and supplied Transponder key, or another name for it “Chip key keys and fob devices and in the newer models “Smart Proximity” keys and key fobs for all of their models. What “Smart Proximity” means is that there is a “Chip” or “Transponder” in each key and Fob that “Talks” to the car. In other words, the car and the key/fob recognize each other and if they don’t recognize each other the car won’t start. Originally the “Chip” was in the mechanical key itself or in the plastic fob on the top of the key. This, for example, was true of the MDX model for 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 AND 2014. But the transponder program has evolved over the years from being installed in the physical key, to being installed in the vehicle security door opener fob, to being installed in a fob built onto the key and as of 2014 in some models there is no longer a mechanical key to the car or a key channel in the steering column at all! Some models do still have the mechanical key, these being the lower end units (TL, TSX), but the up end models (RDX, MDX) have the keyless fobs for 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. Now, that said, there are sometimes options in your choice of a key. For instance, in the 2012 MDX you can choose to have a key without the remote door opener installed in it and this will be a less expensive key. But you can also have a key with the remote opener inside the fob that is part of the key and that will be a more expensive option. And then there are models and model years, like the 2013 and 2014 ILX, where you just don’t have any choices offered by Acura and you have to install the key or device that they require. In all of these cases we counsel you to shop around both in terms of the dealerships and the available professional locksmith companies to insure that you are getting the best advice and the best possible price for the service and for overall expense. So be certain to factor all of this into your decision making process when it comes to both dealerships and mobile locksmiths.

You can see that the Acura key/fob system is fairly complex and is clearly something that needs to be done right. So, please be advised that Locksmith companies will offer you mobile locksmith units responding to Acura key/fob calls that are fully equipped with everything that is required to solve your problem. The Locksmiths programming device attaches directly to the car’s ignition system which tells the locksmith how to cut the key when one is required or exactly what steps are necessary to program the key or fob to the car. When the key is programmed to the car the key is then “registered” in the Acura database which is another security feature. For the mechanical keys which have to be cut locksmiths strive to use only Acura produced key blanks. There are however times and circumstances where they have to substitute a non-Acura made product but these are rare and only occur when the circumstances dictate that they get the key made or fob programmed immediately.

Finally, let us politely point out that there are also circumstances that are not uncommon when an Acura owner may have neither lost nor damaged his/her key or fob but it would still be best to have another key or fob produced for their vehicle. We strongly recommend that every vehicle owner have two keys or fobs for each vehicle owned. In that case if a starter device is lost or damaged you have the second one as a back up and you are not trapped without your car. Makes sense, doesn’t it? Locksmiths are happy to come to you and get the second starting device created for you in case you only have one. And remember, Most locksmiths will have a mobile service 24/7 and so come to you at your convenience while the car is sitting in your driveway or some other safe location, do the work and hand you the key.

So, for key and key fob services for your Acura, decide which is the best option for you- the dealership or the mobile locksmith- and if you do decide to employ the locksmith find the best one in your locality (we suggest that you look for that A+ BBB rating) and you’ll have a quality locksmith on your site to get you rolling in your Acura again in the least amount of time and for the least amount of money possible.