I went to the Lexus dealership today and tried to get another smart key programmed to my car. I Purchased the key off ebay and it looks the same and has same numbers above the denso on the back. They said the key could not be programmed....."it is not registered to the car?"

Can anyone help me out with this?

should I just try another dealership?

 

You should definately try another dealership. What happens if you lose a key fob and need to order another one? Those aren't "registered" to the car either. Some people on here have the smard key card that comes with the LS's, programmed it for their car, and works nicely.

 

that's not the first time on these forums that people have reported that the dealer said it couldn't be done.

 

If you bought it used, chances are its already been programmed to another car. That means in order for the dealer to set it to your car, they'd have to do a master reset of all keys. This is typically a 2-3 hour job and they will charge you for the subsequent labor. I just ended up selling my used key back on ebay and buying a brand new smart card for my car from sewell.

The key will work, but without a master reset, they won't be able to sync it to your car. A master reset is not the same as a simple programming to the car, which takes 10 min. If you bought a brand new key it would be a 10 min process.

Hope that helps.

 

I guess trying get a new key for cheaper is out the door. No pun intended. LOL

How do I get the LS Credit Card key?

 

Sewell has them.

http://www.sewellpartsonline.com/par....asp?id=187179

 

I had the exact same experience today at my dealership. Bites... Did they charge you $50 to fail?

 

No they did not. I was getting an oil change and I asked to advise me about the key. I did not just go in for it, but if I just asked about the key I am almost positive they were going to charge me.

 

Ahh... so they didn't try to program it? If I may ask, how did they know that it would not work for your car? The dealer I used gave the excuse that it must be for another Lexus, not the IS.

Oh well, my fault for trying to get away with getting a spare key for my car without shelling out $300.

 

They did try to program it. He even said they deleted all the keys on the car and tried to add it then. I never signed an estimate for the program just the oil change. I just asked if it could be done so he went ahead and tried. They even came out and asked if there were any other keys for the vehicle because they need to be reprogrammed if they erase the keys from the ECU.

It is just extremely hard to shell out $300 for a stinking key.

 

Not really, the smart key is complex and you did get a Lexus...

I've been trying to update keys for one of my car and was told that the dealerships would do it only if I bought the key from them. Its how they do business.

Once a smart key have been programmed it can't be programmed another time, it has to be new and not programmed for it to work. Most keys on ebay have already been programmed.

 

That is incorrect. With the exception of the smart key CARD, which to my knowledge can only be programmed once, all smart keys can be reprogrammed to another lexus vehicle, as long as the freq matches. HOWEVER. To reprogram the key the vehicle must under go a full reset. Meaning they reset the car and all outstanding keys that are set for that vehicle. Then they can start with a fresh slate and reprogram new keys used keys etc.

This is the only way a used key can be reprogrammed to a car. New keys do not need to go through this in order to be programmed. The master reset takes 2-3 hours, so most dealerships charge $300 or so for the procedure. A new key usually costs $300 from the dealer and most will waive the program fee if you buy it from them. Some will charge 50-75 in addition to program it.

I chose to simply buy a key card for $200. My local lexus dealer programmed it for me for free. It was a simply a nice gesture to gain my service for future appointments. It is not standard practice for sure.

 

If you want another smart key, just buy a new one on sewell's website. Most dealerships will reprogram it for you for $50-$75. No where near 300 on sewells. Make sure to enter the cl discount code. Do a search for it.