Key Replacement PRICEY !!??

Man, that sounds ridiculously high. I'd scour feebay and kraigsfist first high and low for a replacement transmitter fob and then go to the dealer to have a new key cut.

 

When we all bought our cars, the salesman does one of those "what I haven't covered yet" speeches before sending you off on your merry way. My salesman in particular explained in depth about the SKS and how to replace one for whatever reason. He stopped short of saying that you can buy the fob and the metal key as two separate items but I was under the impression that it would be possible to do it.

 

You should shop for a better price, but eBay is the wrong place. Used fobs cannot be reassigned to a different car.

 

2010 Prius remores are still hard to find elsewhere. If you can wait a bit they should start showing up. As an example of prices here is one for the version II.

2004-2008 Toyota prius Smart Key Keyless Entry Remote (NEW) Silver Logo
2004-2005-2006-2007-2008 Toyota prius Smart Key Keyless Entry Remote (NEW)

FCC ID : No N... Price: $129.95


Keep in mind you will still have to get it programmed although still having the second remote in your possession makes it a much easier job.

I found the above at Keyless Remotes from Remote SuperStore

 

We lost the key to our 2010 and today the dealer said a replacement would be $500 to $600. Wow!
Any suggestions by anyone?
Thanks,
Geoff

 

that is extortion in my opinion.

 

wow thats expensive for a cheap looking plastic key with a censor.

 

no more expensive than any other keyless remote fob.... check around... they all charge several hundred dollars... my guess if you had to buy all the parts for your car piecemeal you'd probably end up paying several hundred thousand dollars...

 

You can buy a laptop cheaper than that. Major rip-off. That little thing isn't worth more than $150.

 

I am so tired of these people who think they have the right to tell us what to read and watch. I hate censorship. If I had known that Toyota was pushing that, I would not have purchased my Prius! Down with Censors!

 

Yep some people have zero common ..........

A. cense

B. cents

C. sense

D. since

 

I have trouble understanding why a smart key itself should be more than an iPod, let alone twice the price. Garage door opener remotes can be had for $25-50, granted they are somewhat simpler, but not $300 less so.

The electronics in the smart key fob are not complex; some kind of a transceiver chip, another IC and 3 switches and maybe a dozen other simple smc components. Less than $10 dollars of electronics and the plastic housing (the fob itself).

These are obviously a big profit item for somebody.

 

Agreed, time will allow secondary sources to offer the fob. My 2001 Audi remote-opening fob with integral manual key was stolen in a break-in, and I had to have all 4 of the manual locks replaced by Audi ABQ for about $1K (they have a marble showroom!). I found a site online and got a replacement remote fob for about $100. My independent mechanic knew how to mate the car with it (or vice versa) for about $50. Audi ABQ said they could not cut me the manual key part of the fob to match the new one, they sent me to the ABQ VW dealer, they could.

If the 2010 Prius fob with inserted manual key is is someone else's possession who knows where your car is, you'll have to replace the manual locks (3) to prevent interior theft and replace the fob. Try not to lose it until there are other suppliers!

 

I suppose it's "worth" whatever you're willing to pay for it, but I am in the semiconductor business, and a part like that costs less than $10 to build.

 

Small volumes and a captive market. Ever buy food at an airport or beer at a ball game?

Tom

 

When I was buying, the salesman mentioned that Toyota sells a "warranty" for the keyfob that entitles you to one free fob and key each year. Unfortunately, he also said it cost over $500, and I passed. I try to keep one of the fobs in a safe place.

 

We have multiple drivers and often need to jockey cars our of the driveway in the morning. So I wanted 4 key fobs. When I was buying the car, the salesman told me it would cost over $1,000 for two additional key fobs. Needless to say, I did not buy them from the dealer.

Instead I bought a couple of key fobs from ebay. They were used; hence, previously programmed to another car.

I then took all my keys to the dealer to have the two additional fobs programmed. If the fobs were never programmed for another car, the dealer would be able to add them straight away and charge me about $100. But since they were previously programmed for another car, the dealer needed to reseed my computer to add the four keys. This took more time to accomplish, but they only charged me about $200 to do it.

The dealer was unable to cut the metal keys, because they did not necessary machine. I can live without the mechanical key on a couple of fobs. So in the end I got 2 additional keys for less then half of the dealer's price.