Lost Keys

[lt0055]

Hi there,

I have a 2008 Versa. Yesterday I decided it was a great idea to go sledding and lost my keys in the process. I don't have to use the car until Friday, and today is Tuesday. What are my options for getting a new key?

I talked to the local dealership (I'm on the mainline in Philadelphia) and they told me that in order to program me a new key, they'd have to tow the car to the dealership. Could I order a new fob online and could a locksmith do it for me w/o towing the car? Could I just get a new key cut from a locksmith and live w/o the programmed fob? What are my options?? Thanks so much!!!

[Knightro2]

Most of the time with cars and FOBs you can program a new FOB to your car but you MUST have an original working FOB in order to start the process (atleast this is the way on Dodges). If you don't have a FOB at all it must be done at the dealership as they have to plug into the computer and program it that way.

As far as cutting a new key, that would require changing your ignition and door locks as well. I believe you can order a new key from Nissan but more then likely that wouldn't come in in time.

When I bought my V it came with 2 sets of keys/fobs. Did you lose both sets or did you only get one?

[Pattington22]

Your dealer sounds a little fishy to me. Maybe this is a Canadian dealer thing, but when I bought my car, I received two sets of keys and on one of the sets was a little metal plate with a number on it. If I ever lost my keys, I could take it this code and they could order me a new FOB and set of keys.

[Knightro2]

Ahh yes! I forgot about that too. Pattington is right. You should have that info somewhere hopefully. Mazda does that too.

[justmerging]

Doing the above will get you a key that will turn in the locks but it still won't start the car. Our keys use nissan's immobilizer system and have to be programmed to the car by the dealer with the use of their computer. The computer has to recognize the transponder inside the key for it to allow the car to start. The fob is something that may be able to be programmed without using a computer but I don't know how (I can do chevy's and cadillacs but not nissans).

[Ginsu]

According to the Premium Roadside Assistance section under the Added Security Plan (The Black Book), towing to a dealership is free, unless things are different in the US. Also, although this is not a written rule, in my experience with past Nissan cars replacement of keys and fobs is complimentary. Just stress to them the importance of customer satisfaction if they try to ring up a bill.

[lt0055]

Thanks for the help guys--unfortunately, towing is definitely not free here in the good, old USA. Only if I have AAA or something, which I do, but I don't have the card, because I am in PA and I live in Iowa. Also, I do have a spare set, but they are in Iowa, and I need them before I can get them here. They do need the car at the dealership, because it has to be hooked up to the computer they have there in order to reprogram the keys (I called a couple of locksmiths to confirm this). Also, the keys are definitely not complimentary, and I also have no weight, because this is not my local dealership. But they told us when we bought the car specifically to NOT lose the keys and keep the spare somewhere safe because the keys are very pricy to replace. I ended up getting it towed to the dealership, where they are cutting and reprogramming a new key (just the actual key, not the fob). The key itself was like $100 dollars, plus a programming fee of $48, and to get a new fob would have been $150 more dollars, so I might try to get that once I get back to my local dealership.

Boy I'd love to live in a country where stuff like this was complimentary...haha.

Thanks again!

[Ginsu]

dang...

[Ginsu]

So the reprogramming fee is $48? I'll have to tell my wife that when she gets home tonight. She's a tech for GM and she did her first key programming on a new vehicle just the other day. She came home really mad because it took her like two hours to figure out the computer system and all the steps (I don't know why nobody was helping her) and after she finished she found out the flat rate for the job was for like 15 minutes or something like that. I'm sure I have the details wrong on this story, but the point is that she didn't get paid much of anything for doing it. I wonder how much of the reprogramming fee goes to the shop and how much of it goes to the tech?

[matt_a]

This may be a dumb question, but would it be impossible for you to go back to where you were sledding and search for them? It's supposed to warm up over the next few days so much of the snow will melt. Maybe a metal detector? Just a thought.

[iluvmyVersa08]

Like Pattington22, my Versa came with two sets of keys/fobs, and the one set has a tag on it. I keep that set in a filing cabinet at home in case I ever lose the one set. The dealer said I would need that tag to make a new key because the car needs a chip in the key in order to start it.

[Knightro2]

My dad just got 2 key fobs for his caravan because his original 2 were starting to not work right...even with a new battery. His dealership was charging a $45 reprogramming fee as well. Luckily he talked to me first and I was able to get his two new fobs programmed since he had one that was working.

For anyone who might search this thread in the future and need to reprogram their keys/fobs...I found a "How To". This is only if you have a working set to begin with.

http://www.nissanhelp.com/diy/...b.htm

[Andrews Chalmers]

You can program the keys yourself... do a search on the procedures in the service manual or the forum.

[Ginsu]

You can do the fobs, as Knightro says, but you cannot program a key with a microchip in it (nevermind programming, you cannot GET a key with a Nissan microchip in it from the key-cutter at Walmart). If you try starting the car with a 'normal' key from your neighborhood locksmith, the fuel management system will go into lockdown and you will have to be towed to the dealership.

Apparently this is the case with most new cars, however, I'm not entirely sure that entry level cars like the Versa have this. Justmerging has posted in this thread that the Versa does have Nissan's Immobilizer System, but I wonder where the chip is. Is it buried in the plastic? On GM's you can actually see it on the shaft of the key.

[iluvmyVersa08]

Hey GINSU, My keys have the chip in it. I was told I could not have a regular key made as the key must have the chip inside of it in order to be able to start the car. Did your Versa come with that?