Noone in Reno has the equipment to program and cut the key to my 2008 Jaguar XK. Does anyone have a suggestion?

 

Have you tried the local Jaguar dealer?

A locksmith should be able to help you with the programming.

 

I took my new fob to a dealership. It cost about $125 to have it programmed. I had tried a locksmith who claimed they could do the job but found it harder than they thought. The dealership only took about 20 mins to complete and they washed the car too.

 

Thanks. I had to schedule an appointment with a dealer in Sacramento, CA, which is about 2 hours from Reno. I hope I get the car wash too.

 

Same cost here... $285 (I think) for the SmartKey and $125 to program.

 

My dealer also charged $125 for labor, but it took the tech only 15 minutes. I questioned him about the charge, since that was an hourly rate of $500 and is more than what my lawyer charges. He said "Yes, I know. That's more than what I was making when I was practicing law!"

Sorry, couldn't resist.

 

Mongoo You can buy a Mongoose SDD tool to change the computer settings in the car for $40 at obd2sales.com in China.
When there, I noticed a 300 pound package to make the jag and land rover keys. If your last key is in the holder, you may be able to make a second key and third.
I spoke with Alex.
Secondly just call all Jag dealers and ask if their tech guy has the SDD obd2.
The cut metal key is sent from England directly to you for $150.

 

A plot-thickening issue with my car: according to the Jaguar Independent who has just set up a second, Jaguar-supplied, smart key on my car, the key that came with the car (also apparently genuine Jaguar) was rejected by the dock - even though it starts the car etc..... and consequently the new key is also rejected by the dock. He says that in order to have the dock function working I would need to get a second new key (throwing away the key that came with the car). I can't understand why the smart key would be fully functional and recognised by the car as it should and yet not be accepted by the dock. I wondered if the dock itself was broken but he said no, that's not the problem.

I guess i can live with this but it doesn't cover the worst-case scenario where the smart key has a flat battery and the car tells me to put it into the dock.

Also, no blade came with the new smart key. Jaguar would supply one at £175 - and this would be pre-cut per the vin number of the car. Jaguar apparently don't supply blanks. So I just bought a blank from ebay which I will have cut.

 

Be aware that the uncut Blank Keys are made out of titanium or something similar. They are difficult for older machines to cut, and I had one guy with a burr-machine curse me out because the blank I provided destroyed it.

 

@Cee Jay I'll warn the locksmith! Mind you, who knows what the el cheapo blank off ebay will be made of? Brass? Tin? Corrugated paper?

 

Those cheapo blanks are the ones I speak of. They are probably every single one from everywhere produced in one Chinese factory and distributed world-wide.
BUT, I bought myself a piece of 1" by 1/8" by a foot piece of brass bar stock and made my own blanks to the exact size of the ones sold. This worked MUCH better for having mine cut.

 

Brilliant! It's comments like this that remind me there are way more capable people than me on this forum...

 

They are using different methods of authentication, passive and active. When you put the fob in the dock it is reading a chip attached to the fob body and doesn't need a battery to power it.

When you press the start button or unlock the car a different part of the fob exchanges messages and authenticates with the various car computer modules using RF.

Both parts of the fob would need to be programmed on a new fob so it sounds like one is working and one not.

 

I apologize in advance if I might be getting off the main topic.....I have 2 factory OEM Fobs that are both programmed by Jaguar. One does not have the insert blade, but I do have the original one with my other OEM fob. Where must I get the blank insert blade to get it cut? Must it be gotten through Jaguar or would a local locksmith cutting car keys be able to supply one and/or cut it? Approximate cost? Thanks all for any input.

 

Buy a blank on Ebay. Find a local locksmith with the proper equipment and be prepared to pay $60 -$100 all in. Make sure you discuss the material the blank is made out of with the locksmith before he starts.

 

Which would be irritating, because I blew the money hoping to get 'full' functionality. It seems that I would have to get a second brand new key and throw away the original in order to get the dock working again. But why should this be? Assuming the key that came with the car was an original one, and the new one came from Jaguar, why wouldn't it be possible to get the dock functionality happening on at least the new key?

 

Thanks Ralphwg. Will the aftermarket sidewinder key fit back into the OEM key fob?

 

I got my blank off of ebay for like $7. I found a local locksmith that would cut the 10 cut key ( not all would cut it for some absurd liability fears) for $20. No mention by him of key material hardness being a problem. Fits in the fob perfectly as well.

 

Thanks V7Sport. Just ordered 2 blanks off of ebay for a little under $11 and found a local locksmith who quoted me $39 to cut the sidewinder. He offered to get me the blank for $25 but I ordered the key already. All these blanks come from China. I read somewhere that someone had trouble getting the locksmith to cut the key due to the key material being too hard. In addition I'd like to make sure the key fits the OEM fob. . Amazing how Jaguar asks over $200+ for the key regardless if they cut it. Let's see if the cheap way out works.

 

Have you read the attached smart key programming guide? If you haven't it would be worth you or someone with SDD going through the flow diagrams and processes to establish what state your fobs and instrument cluster are in.