The blessing and curse of modern car keys
Wednesday's print column
Earlier this week, we traded my wife's old sedan for the key to a brand new car
Literally.
In
the course of final negotiations with the salesman, I said I wanted a
third key — we Zorns tend to be careless with our portable necessary
items, and we've found it best to have extra car keys in the house for
the inevitable emergencies.The days are almost gone when you can go to the hardware store and have the person at the counter cut you a duplicate. And here we were talking very fancy keys — minitransponders that unlock the doors when you approach and allow you to start the engine with the push of a button.
The salesman countered that a spare key would cost me $550, which, by coincidence, he estimated to be the value of our trade-in vehicle. Did we have a deal?
We did, ultimately, though the key-for-a-car swap was no longer explicit by the time we were done haggling (a story for another day).
I was sad. We'd let the old car fall into disrepair, not replacing the broken muffler or the stolen stereo. But it had been a reliable ride for us for 14 years, and still felt more valuable than a spare car key.
And outraged. A car key that costs more than the basic new iPad Air? Yes, it's cool that you don't have to fuss with locks and ignition slots. It's reassuring that the technology makes it tough on car thieves and hard to lock yourself out. But these so-called smart keys are little more than glorified remote controls sold at astonishing markups by opportunistic auto companies.
And resigned. The passive key system is standard on the car we bought and, pretty obviously, the future of auto security going forward. In a report last year, just-auto.com, a British site devoted to car industry news, said nearly half of all cars in Japan have this touchless technology, and the wave is headed our way.
"Mercedes-Benz introduced the idea, but it's fast filtering down from the luxury market," said Edmunds.com consumer-advice reporter Ronald Montoya. "It gives cars a high-tech feel and cuts down on some of the wear and tear in the ignition system."
Montoya is among those who credit e-keys of various sorts with playing a significant role in what the FBI reports was a 43 percent drop in auto thefts from 2003 to 2012.
Yet smart keys don't seem to make drivers smarter. "In 2012, we came to the rescue of about 4 million people nationwide who were locked out of their cars," AAA Chicago Motor Club spokeswoman Beth Mosher said. "This number has fluctuated very little over the past five years — even as the number of smart keys on the market has increased."
Whatever the value of the sophisticated electronics, most are buried in the car, not in the key (which, in our case, is a rectangular fob smaller than a box of Tic Tacs), which has others outraged as well.
"Auto companies (are using) smart keys to wring money from unsuspecting consumers," argued the Center for Auto Safety, a Washington consumer group, in a 2006 complaint to the Federal Trade Commission. "The specter of auto theft does not justify auto companies picking the pockets of consumers by charging hundreds of dollars more for replacement keys than they could in a competitive market."
Center Director Clarence Ditlow told me Tuesday that the FTC never responded to his complaint, but that in the intervening years, changes in the law in several states have caused many —though not yet all — manufacturers to release their proprietary key codes to locksmiths who have passed security screenings.
One such locksmith is Steve Gwin, of Keyway Lock & Security on the Southwest Side. He said half his auto-related business is creating duplicates for people like me who plan ahead based on their known weaknesses. The other half is helping out those who, in a panic, have just realized their weaknesses.
I asked Gwin, offhand, what he'd charge for a spare key for the car we just bought. He looked it up: $225, which made me feel even a bit sadder for our old car and still sounded like a lot of money for a key.
The auto company didn't respond by my deadline to repeated requests to explain why its price is double Gwin's price, though I suppose the answer is that customers will pay it.
For now, anyway. All signs point to smartphones soon taking on the job of automobile smart keys — Wired magazine reports that carmaker Hyundai is leading the way — along with all the other jobs they do.
It will be one giant leap for technology. One less thing to lose for me.
LINKS AND RESOURCES
As cars get smarter, thefts plummet -- (Minneapolis Star Tribune, August 28, 2013)
Crime in the United States 2012, Motor Vehicle Theft -- (Federal Bureau of Investigation)
Public Affairs director Frank Scafidi of the National Insurance Crime Bureau notes that car thefts reached a high of 1.56 million in 1991 and in 2012 the number was less than half that, 721,053
Lost your car key? That'll be $400 --The 'smart key' technology has its advantages. Cheap replacement is not one of them. (MSN Money, April 22, 2013)
Your Smartphone Will Replace Your Car Keys -- (Wired, December 27, 2012)
Smart keys vs. smartphones (UPI, March 17, 2013)
Key-replacement coverage could be on its way to unlocking more profits for dealerships (Automotive News, April 4, 2012)
The High Cost of Losing Your Keys -- Key Technology Has Advanced and So Have Replacement Costs-- (Ronald Montoya, Consumer Advice Editor of Edmunds.com, March 29, 2011)
iPad Air prices
If you lose `smart key,' prepare to pay a price (Tribune Newspapers, March 5, 2006)
Why Losing Your Keys Could Cost As Much As Your Monthly Payment;
Smart Keys Can Be Anything But
(AOL Autos, Sep 28, 2010)
The March, 2006 petition to the Bureau of Consumer Protection of the Federal Trade Commission from the Center for Auto Safety:
Today auto companies have consumers by the keys. And none do so more than Mercedes Benz and
Toyota which require some consumers to get a new computer to get a new key. With the advent of smart
keys with embedded computer chips, the days of a consumer going to the local hardware store to get a
replacement have all but vanished. Based on a survey of 50 makes and models, the Center for Auto
Safety (CAS) found the average dealer price of a smart key to be over $150, more than 12 times the
average dealer price of a mechanical key at $12. (Attachment A,) If one has to replace a computer to get
a new smart key, the costs soars to $2,200 for a Toyota and $3,600 for a Mercedes.
Beginning in the late 199O’s, auto companies took advantage of electronic control modules (ECMs)
in vehicles to install readable computer chips in keys which the ECM would recognize.
In the simplest
case, the key chip would have a unique identifier number which would be read by an electronic control
unit in the ignition. Others have both a unique key identifier number plus a rolling code that changes
every time the key is used.
Some systems utilize the primary ECM or computer in the vehicle to
recognize the key. If the electronic codes in the key are not recognized, the ECM will not allow the
vehicle to start even though the mechanical key will function.
Some vehicles such as the Acura RL and
Toyota Prius utilize an electronic key fob which has no mechanical key whatsoever, relying instead on an
electronic communication between the fob and vehicle ECU.
Auto companies say they went to smart keys to reduce auto theft. Any advantage gained over
thieves is only temporary. Already thieves have learned how to hack into the vehicle’s electronic control
system using laptop computers plugged into the OBD (On-Board Diagnostic) I1 system and reprogram the
vehicle.
Another technique used by thieves is to simply pop the hood and replace the factory ECM with
another one modified to start the vehicle. (See “Thieves Outwit High-Tech Advances,” Los Angeles
Times, Feb. 8, 2006.) Less sophisticated thieves can simply put the vehicle on a flatbed truck and haul it
Off.
Although the auto companies have not outwitted the thieves, they have created a monopoly on
replacement keys by not releasing the electronic key codes to locksmiths and aftermarket key suppliers.
Although ebay has a limited market in replacement smart keys at http:Nstores.ebay.com/AUTO-KEY-
STORE, it works only if the consumer can find the right key and then get the key programmed. Some
keys cannot be found on ebay - see e.g., Acura and Volvo.
For those smart keys that can be found, there’s a big problem. An independent locksmith or shop
does not have the electronic codes and cannot program the keys. Most dealers cannot or will not program
replacement keys bought in the aftermarket. Those that do charge an exorbitant price.
Although some
keys can be cloned from an existing master key, this cannot be done if the manufacturer has also
programmed a rolling code into the electronic key system as exemplified by BMW, Mercedes and Acura..
A 1998-01 Mercedes ML 320 key can be bought on ebay for $12.95 but it's practically useless as it
cannot be reprogrammed for another vehicle other than the vehicle it originally came with because the
key contains both a fixed identification number and a rolling code. The consumer has no choice but to
pay $260 to get a replacement key from Mercedes. A VW Jetta smart key retails for $153 from a dealer
but goes for $54.95 on ebay. But then that key must be programmed.
If the consumer can find a dealer to
do it, the cost is $85 to $90.
Most dealers will only program a key bought from them and typically charge an hour of labor to do
the programming, no matter how little time it takes. CAS did find an exemplary dealer in its survey - Passport BMW would program the key for free saying it's no big deal.' Several dealers passed the $100
mark for greed in programming with Fairfax Volvo topping the charts at $140. Including both the cost of
a blank key and programming, the company with the most expensive keys in our survey was
Toyota/Lexus at $264 for the Lexus RX 330, $290 for the Toyota Landcruiser and $278 for the Toyota
Prius.
The VW Beetle tied the Landcruiser for most expensive at $290.
The Cars With the Golden Keys - Mercedes and Tovota
CAS uncovered two manufactures whose models made all others pale in comparison because the
price of getting a replacement key included a new computer - Mercedes and Toyota. What consumer
buying a car would ever consider that replacing a key in the future would cost $2,000 to $4,000. And
what consumer would ever consider that they would be deprived of their car for up to two months while
waiting on a new computer to get a new key?
The Owner's Manual which is used to convey operating
information and warnings of all sort to the vehicle owner and operator contains no disclosure of the pitfall
of the last key going bad or getting lost.
If anything ever deserved a bold faced warning in the owner's
manual, it's the hazard of the golden key. But given such a warning, the consumer may not buy the car.
For at least the 1998 and 1999 M-class, Mercedes programmed an absolute 8-key limit into each
vehicle at the factory before going to a 24 key limit in 2000 or 2001. (Dialogue on BenzWorld.org, a
website for Mercedes owners, indicates the problem is more widespread. Attachment B.)
Roger Stephens
of Park City UT found out the hard way when he bought a used 1998 Mercedes ML 320 SUV from Ken
Garff Mercedes in Salt Lake City UT where the vehicle had lived its entire life. The keys on Mr.
Stephens 1998 ML 320 simply wore out and stopped working. According to Mr. Stephens:
Car won't start, computer won't recognize key. 8 keys have been issued to car so Mercedes can't
make another. ( computer pre set for only 8) Must replace all locks and computer system to get car
to run. On 1998-2000 ML320 SUV system has only 8 keys that can be issued, then must replace
system completely. (system designed changed later on, but not defect just improvement) I am told
MB could reprogram/clear computer or maybe make duplicate keys but company policy forbids this
On owner web site it shows others have had the same problem and same result. Parts department
gave me copy of rejected key order from MB with circled words "all keys used order lock set" I was
forced to order Lock set package of parts at $2,508.08 from MB. Labor will be over $1,000.00.
Because the computer had to be special ordered from Germany, Mr. Stephens' ML 320 set at the dealer
for 8 weeks before the replacement computer arrived and his SUV was reprogrammed for new keys.
Janna Smith ran into a similar problem with her 2002 Toyota Highlander when she had to flee the
New Orleans area in the face of Humcane Katrina. She used her valet key to start the Highlander and escape the flood when she did not have time to find her regular master keys.
(The valet key has limited
authority to open the driver door and start the engine. It cannot open other doors nor can it be cloned to
create a duplicate. Realizing that she only had the valet key, Ms. Smith stopped at the first Toyota dealer
in her evacuation path in San Antonio to get another master key. The dealer told her it would cost $2,200
for a new key because he would have to order a new computer to go with it. A replacement key for a
Toyota could only be cloned from an original master key which in Ms. Smith’s case had been destroyed
by Hurricane Katrina.
Carefully guarding her valet key, Katrina refugee Jana Smith drove to her new temporary
evacuation home in Washington DC where she found Jim Coleman Toyota in her new journey to get a
master key at a reasonable price for her Highlander. Jim Coleman contacted Toyota and found that the
company had just changed its policy to “the first computer is on us” and would provide a reprogrammed
used computer for free but the consumer still had to pay for the new keys which would be $650 for the
set. Given that she no longer had a home or a job, Jana Smith could not afford the $650 for new keys so
Jim Coleman Toyota stepped up to the plate and said we will be pay for the new keys even though Toyota
will not.
Conclusion
Whether it is a new smart key costing over $150 or a new computerkey system costing $2,000 to
$4,000, auto companies have used smart keys to wring money from unsuspecting consumers who are not
told that they face replacement key costs up to $300 or at least 10 to 15 times what they have paid for
replacement keys in the past. In the worst case scenarios, consumers may have to buy a new computer to
get a new key at a cost of 100 to 200 times what they have paid for replacement keys in the past. While
they wait up to 8 weeks for a replacement computer, they have no use of their vehicle adding to the
unforeseen cost imposed on the owner.
Mechanisms exist to allow auto companies to share smart key technology codes while maintaining
whatever, if any, value smart keys have in preventing auto theft. Auto companies could release smart key
technology to organizations such as the National Insurance Crime Bureau which was formed to prevent
auto theft. Smart key information could then be made available only to consumer who prove proof of
ownership such as vehicle registrations.
CAS respectfully petitions the FTC to investigate the practices of auto companies in not releasing
programming information for smart keys and in charging exorbitant fees for nominal programming costs.
These practices are unfair under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act.
Mercedes failure to
disclose consumers have to buy costly computers when keys fail is an even more egregious failure to
disclose a known defect to consumers than the line of cases holding auto companies accountable for
manufacturing defects because this is a intentional design defect engineered into the vehic1e.l CAS
requests the FTC to move immediately against any manufacturer such as Mercedes found to require
consumers to purchase a new computer or ECM to get a replacement key.
The specter of auto theft does
not justify auto companies picking the pockets of consumers by charging hundreds of dollars more for replacement keys than they could in a competitive market.