there are a lot of (OEM) new smartkeys on Ebay for like ~160USD.. would they not work? and how hard is it to program the keys?
for example ORIGINAL JAGUAR XF XF-R XK XKR 09-13 OEM SMART KEY LESS REMOTE WITH UNCUT INSERT | eBay

 

Those are used.

Item condition: Used

 

You would want one like this:
Unlocked OEM Jaguar XK XKR XF Prox Smart Key - KR55WK49244 | eBay

or write the seller (so you have documentation) that theirs has been unlocked from the donor car.
I think your question about how hard it is was addressed by u102768 above.

 

Correct, as I think this thread is largely specific to used Smart Keys

 

right, I was just correcting Parzival as he stated they were new.

 

whoops. my bad.

 

It took me a lot of searching to find this thread, and I'm glad that I did, because it verifies what the dealer eventually figured out. I realize that the last post was some 4 years ago, but there is an extremely important bit of information contained herein that is not very well known. No matter how hard the dealer tries, they cannot program the wrong FOB. As it turns out, my 07 XKR, #B11712 falls into the range of 'single channel' FOBs. As noted by Cambo up above, these cannot be interchanged. What is not noted, is that the dealer may not be aware of that detail. After 3 trips and missing 3 weeks of prime driving weather, I will have my cat back with 2 working FOBs, and an emergency mechanical key. Total cost around $1,000. (For background, my single FOB only worked in the 'key holder' and the remote didn't work at all, so locking the car was not an option.) I think I could have saved 2 trips if I had read this thread sooner, so I wanted to bump it.

 

I too had to have a new key (from a Jaguar dealership) programmed to my XK-R and the cost was (last year) several hundred UK pounds (close to a thousand bucks at the time). I was fortunate that the seller of my car paid for the key for me (agreed during the deal). I also had to pay (myself) for a key for my Mercedes a few years back and it was a similar cost. Whatever the reasons, it does seem to me to be ludicrous that replacing a key can cost $1,000. It's a freakin' *key*. If it is a genuine price (not just a massive money spinner for Jaguar dealerships) then they really need to find a better solution. I have secure keyless entry to my house and I can program (via the internet) as many 'keys' (plastic cards similar to how they do it in hotels, but more secure) as I wish, for a few dollars each. I am more concerned about the security of key access to my home than I am to my car (even my XK-R) so something seems to be wrong here to me. A key replacement just should not cost $1,000. Heck, you can buy a half decent X-Type sedan here in the UK for that sort of money, and that has a proper keyhole on the steering column and the plipper just opens the doors AFAIK. And I never heard of X-Types being top of the list for car thieves on account of how they don't use a thousand dollar key.

/RANTOFF

 

Barnsie

It depends if you want the 'mechanical key' as well?

As you know our UK number plates cover the boot access, so the likelihood of actually having and using a mechanical key is rare.

If however you just want a fob to lock/unlock/drive the car then it's possible for £300 (£250 for the key and £50 for the reprogramming).

As has been mentioned if buying a used fob it must be divorced from the original car. I bought one that wasn't and was putting out no RF signal (my indy demonstrated it for me) so the ebay seller (by prior arrangement if it failed) took it back and gave me a full refund.

 

You might want to use the mechanical key to gain access to the interior via the passenger door lock (if, for example, your battery suddenly went flat in the fob thing).

That is certainly a lot better, although still a lot of money for a 'key'. There has to be a better way for manufacturers to make a care secure than a thousand dollar key solution I think.

Minefield isn't it!

 

The Jaguar Smartkey is not "just another key." It is a highly sophisticated digital vault.

Years ago, Jaguar had problems with the X100 and other models being stolen because the keyfobs were so quickly and easily cloned. To prevent this, Jaguar created a diabolical new design - the Smartkey - that made it impossible for thieves to quickly and easily clone the key and steal the car. Unfortunately, that also made it expensive for owners to replace a key. No problem, just more profits for your dealer.

From the factory each X150 Smartkey is electronically paired with modules in the car. If that Smartkey is separated from the car with which it was born, it becomes an orphan. That orphaned Smartkey must first be electronically divorced from its parent before it can be reprogrammed and paired with another X150 for it to be fully functional. Both key and car must be present to simultaneously program and pair their modules with the proprietary Jaguar SDD tool.

Both the car and key need to be programmed to each other, not just the key to the car.

A used Smartkey from another X150 can be reprogrammed. I bought one on Ebay and had it done.

See this thread:
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/w...d.php?t=191448

 

I was told by the dealer that 2 key FOBs have to be programmed. Presumably, you would only be adding a FOB, so it could be done for the price of one FOB plus programming. In my case, the FOB that I could use to start the car was damaged beyond salvage, and didn't work for unlocking the vehicle, so I had to purchase 2 FOBs and orphan the old one. It made sense to me to order a mechanical key as well, in case the battery died.

The thing that made it hard for me was that my car uses a single channel FOB. The dealer tried 3 different sets of multi channel FOBs, and tried swapping out the ICM before they figured that out. The day they figured it out, I found this thread, which prompted a face-palm on my part, because I spent 3 weeks without my car in the meantime. I did not get charged for the diagnostic due to their using the wrong part, but I did miss out on 3 weeks of good summer driving.

 

This car key cutting in London helps me to solved my problem