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Laser cut key cutter - Options?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Accessories and Modifications' started by h00ktern, Feb 18, 2012.

  1. hlunde

    hlunde Member

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    As noted, the Prius's mechanical key gives every indication that it is milled and not laser cut --- the depth of cut is constant and the center groove is obviously cut with a circular cutter whose axis is perpendicular to the key. Perhaps a laser is used in the factory to somehow position the blank and that gives the key its name?
    In any case the pricing of the mechanical key gives me pause. Other vehicle manufactures sell similar side-milled, factory cut keys for less than $50.
     
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  2. SuperGLS

    SuperGLS Member

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    I don't need a key right now, but I just wanted to say that I think it's awesome what you are doing h00ktern. Keep up the good work and when I need a key cut I know where to go.
     
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  3. h00ktern

    h00ktern Member

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    My pleasure and thank you. Once you delve into it, you find the $100 key is totally unrealistic. Sure, the machine is expensive, but it doesn't justify the prices that some are encountering, much less the hassle of locating someone to duplicate it. I'm here for those members who are between a rock and a hard place.

    Safe trips,
    Dave

    EVO ? 2
     
  4. OldDean

    OldDean New Member

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    hOOktern, you have the spirit of an early internet open-sourcer. A rare and valuable breed, not often spotted in its natural habitat.

    Although my in-laws have a Toyota Camry Hybrid, our immediate family is still hanging onto our 2004 Honda Civic and 2005 Honda CRV. Both are past 150,000 miles. My son drives the Civic, and has lost both of his original keys. I bought a replacement fob, but have yet to program it.

    My wife drives the CRV and both of our keys are starting to fall apart (fragile design). I recently bought a couple of CRV blanks on ebay and then ran up against the $100 replacement key-cut challenge.

    I have only read through this thread once, so I am not sure if you are offering your service openly, and what you are asking your fellow Prius Chatters to contribute to the machine's upkeep and your time expended.

    If this is available to non-Priusers, like us, I am interested.

    Thanks,

    OldDean
     

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  5. h00ktern

    h00ktern Member

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    OldDean, sorry I could not respond earlier.

    I am actually set-up to duplicate Gen3 Prius keys. My Silca Matrix S can cut any number of laser keys, however, there are different jaws, tracer points and cutting bits that are needed for particular types of keys.

    Looking at your photo, what you have is called an "external, four channel" sidewinder (or laser) key. I can check some reference materials to see what model key blank is prescribed for your Honda Civic - if you know you could save me the time. *If* the Honda uses the same jaws, points & bits, I would be willing to help you out (I do have one extra set of points & bits that were prescribed for the Gen3, however, my experience with GreenMaterialism revealed that they were actually one size too large - I adopted the smaller diameter set, and have had no issues since.)

    The actual milling/cutting operation is the same, just a matter of milling the exterior reliefs for the Honda, as opposed to the internal reliefs for the Prius. If however, I need to buy any or all of the components to do so (jaw, point, bit,) I think it would be prohibitively expensive for you to have me do the work.

    If you know what key blank you have, please advise, or give me a day to look into it. I may, or may not be able to help you out.

    Safe trips,
    Dave

    Edit: I did some checking. It looks like your blank should be a HON66T5. Silca prescribes no jaw adapter (good) and a T22 (tracer point) & F22 (bit). I need to double check, but I think I have both #22 & #44 sets. If so, I think you will be golden. I'll reply when I verify what I have. In the meantime, see if you can retrieve the key blank info on what you have.

    One last thing, provided everything falls into place, you must understand that not all key blanks are created equal. Cheap blanks' metallurgical compositions can destroy the bits before one key is cut. At about $60 a pop (if I remember correctly,) I loose out big time. Therefore, if there is any suspicion that your blanks are of poor composition, I would only duplicate them with blanks purchased from my locksmith. I would need to check on the price.

    Edit 2: I have both 22s & 44s. Price I paid is $45 ea. tracer, $49 ea. cutter. Let me what you come up with on your blanks...

    Last edit: Re-reading your post, now I'm not so sure which vehicle you are looking to duplicate, or if there is a key to duplicate *from* on your son's Civic...
     
  6. OldDean

    OldDean New Member

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    My turn to apologize for slow response. Thanks again for your generosity. RE: CRV key blank... extremely cheap models from China. Given my experience with other items from mysterious sources, I wouldn't ask you to risk your expensive equipment so I can save a few bucks (the key blanks were really cheap $). In the meantime I found another solution. I just used 1/2 of the body of the replacement key clam shell (the part that had fallen apart) and attached it with the tiny screw to the main body of the original key. It may not be perfect, but it is stable. As long as I don't use the key as a pry bar, we may be ok for a couple of years.

    My son's Honda Civic '94 -- is a different proposition. He has lost the two original keys (which I think may have an embedded transponder?). He is using the third key originally supplied (valet key?). I don't remember how it is different... it may not open the glove box... But it is our only key for the car.

    So I have solved the CRV question, but am willing to be advised on the Civic keys. It may be a moot question, since I don't know how he would manage without a car for a week. We will probably need to solve it locally. In any case, thanks for your trouble.

    Best wishes, OD
     
  7. h00ktern

    h00ktern Member

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    No problem. I would suggest calling around - both locksmiths & hardware stores. There are reports of Walmart having high security cutters. Just be diligent. Those who have been successful have been both lucky and persistent.

    Safe trips,
    Dave

    PS There is a service online that uses a photo of the key, which you provide to them. It won't help with programming, if there is a transponder, but it would provide a second mechanical key to start with. I don't remember the website, unfortunately.

    EVO ? 2
     
  8. hlunde

    hlunde Member

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    View attachment 44396 View attachment 44397

    I've only purchased a few parts from Toyota, but I have found their pricing to be extraordinary -- $93 for a mechanical key? This past year I purchased "laser-cut" keys to hide on my other vehicles and only spent under $40 per key at dealerships.

    The thin plastic panel (molded polyurethane?) that goes under my Prius bumper cost $175. I also paid $33 for a positive battery terminal for a 2009 Camry just a few weeks ago. This part is just a plated sheet-metal stamping.
     

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  9. Ken Blake

    Ken Blake Active Member

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    I worked at a Toyota Dealer for over 4 years. Conventional keys were cut at the dealership, on a key machine that cost the dealer $6000. "Laser" cut keys were ordered from Toyota, via fax, and sold for about $100, including overnight shipping. Toyota charged the dealer around $75 + shipping for the cut key, if memory serves, so the "stealerships" are hardly making a killing on them. As far as adding the electronic keys to the vehicle: The dealership has to pay a technician book scale, which is 30 minutes to add a key when the customer has an existing master key with them. If all keys have been lost, a "seed number" has to be retrieved from the car's ECU, uploaded to Toyota, and then a new program is downloaded and flashed to the computer, at which time two new master keys can be added. This job pays an hour per the book. The dealership I worked at would do the 1/2 hour job for free, if the service manager or a lot attendant they had trained on the procedure was available to do it. If neither was available, the customer could either return when they were there, or pay for a technician to do the addition.
     
  10. h00ktern

    h00ktern Member

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    Well, originating a key from code is one thing, duplicating a key from an existing one is an entirely different animal. I bought a Silca Matrix S for $2,600 for laser key duplication. Most people have not lost all their keys, so the dealer is scamming them using an originating machine. I have settled on $50 for PC members, & give them two duplicates. The fee includes blanks, shipping, packaging, & labor. I played the $100 game for a third key when I bought the car. It's a scam, no offense.

    Second, programming the ECU to accept another fob, whether eBay used or generating a seed value is not labor intensive. I also bought the equipment needed for doing so, and 15 minutes is 3/4 the time needed to do it -all keys lost - and that 15 min. is idle time, waiting for the ECU to reset!

    No offense to you, or anyone else, but the charges *are* theft, and merely a way to screw the owner for more money. Anyone needing advice on these services, feel free to PM me. I will gladly share the knowledge I gained.

    Safe trips,
    Dave

    EVO ? 2
     
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  11. Ken Blake

    Ken Blake Active Member

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    No offense taken. I was simply attempting to shed light on the situation from the opposite side of the counter. There are other expenses involved, like lease on the building, utilities, etc. and car dealerships are not non-profit organizations. They also have to pay the parts countermen, technicians, cashier, etc. I don't know if you are familiar with the shop rate book, but it doesn't matter how long a job actually takes. The technician gets paid whatever the book says. Some jobs the book allows for more time than is needed, others, there is not enough time allowed. If the tech is good, and can beat the clock, he can make money by billing more hours of shop time than he actually puts in on the job, much like a lawyer's "billable hours". Some companies charge a couple of thousand dollars to create a web site. It's not a labor intensive job, but if that is the going rate, then that is what you will pay if you want a website, and are unable to do it yourself. You might consider it theft, whereas the person who is doing the work considers it how they make their living.
     
  12. skwcrj

    skwcrj Member

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    H00ktern,

    I maybe missing something here .... Did you paid $2600 for a piece of equipment to cut your own keys to avoid paying the dealer a couple of hundred bucks to do the same? I'm not sure I see the economic side of your decision. How long before you brake even?

    We are talking about the mechanical key hidden in the FOB? Correct? How many people actually use/loose these?

    Just curious....
     
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  13. h00ktern

    h00ktern Member

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    I believe in principle. I had the cash, I put it where my mouth was ;)

    Break even, who knows... it wasn't a consideration at the time. I learned a lot looking into it, and learning how to do it. Helping out other PC'ers is just icing.

    EVO ? 2

    Edit: The machine will cut other types of high security keys, lol
     
  14. Ken Blake

    Ken Blake Active Member

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  15. h00ktern

    h00ktern Member

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    I will whenever some "mfckr" tries to sell me $100 ride up a ten foot hill.

    Safe trips

    EVO ? 2
     
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  16. rrg

    rrg Active Member

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    I'm just happy us Prius chatters have one more choice when it comes to getting additional keys.

    Keep up the good work.
    Thank you.
     
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  17. MisterLas

    MisterLas Junior Member

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    Got my keys in today from h00ktern and they worked perfectly. Mailed them out on Monday (WV) and have 2 working cuts back on the same Saturday at half the cost of 1 key from the stealership... Awesome in my book.

    :notworthy:
     
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  18. Easily Excitable

    Easily Excitable Junior Member

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    Hi h00ktern, I have been reading this thread with real enjoyment! I love the idea that someone would put the effort into thwarting this absurd cashgrab on the part of Toyota. To be honest I feel kinda victimized at the thought of having to pay hundreds of dollars to replace a key. Let's face it - people lose keys, it happens. To be asked to pay a not insignificant percentage of your car's worth just to replace a key on a non-emergency basis is just a greedy way for Toyota to suck more money out of us.

    My question to you is - have you chosen to continue looking into programming the fobs? I love your can-do attitude and if given the choice I would much rather give you money than Toyota! We have 1 key left and that card/barcode thing they give you with the car.

    We are in Los Angeles, though, and I don't know if this kind of thing can be done remotely. Thanks for any info/advice you can give!
     
  19. h00ktern

    h00ktern Member

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    Programming the SKS ECU really requires a physical hook-up to the car, similar to needing a laser key in my possession to duplicate it. If you are in LA, isn't there a franchise (pop-a-lock) that does programming locally? Send me a PM and I'll see what guidance I can give you.

    EVO ? 2
     
  20. Debbie Luikey

    Debbie Luikey Happy Boston Prius Owner

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