key????

GWAYGWAY

GWAYGWAY

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I think I may have written off my Toad Smart car, I have lost the only key I had for it and the number of items needed to re-enable it is too expensive to consider.
Trouble was there was only ONE key when I bought it and that is the one that has gone off for a long walk. It needs another ECU, a set of door locks ,immobiliser, gear lever lock and a couple of keys plus a main-agent to fit and reactivate the new ECU and the bits with it. All for a bloody key being lost.
 
See this from Minxy Girl on another thread.

Now, why you may ask have I done this post? Well he can also do Fiat Ducato keys too (and I assume Peugeot and Citroen as well) for the princely sum of £100-£120 rather than the £250-£300 Fiat charge! He has genuine professional key cutting/coding equipment (its the version before the current one that Merc now use) so isn't just one of the many 'cowboys' who've just bought a bit of basic kit to do it with. He's also on contract with the RAC and AA for any key issues in his area - in fact he had to go out to a call whilst hubby was there to sort someone out - so obviously knows his stuff.

He is based at Skipton, N Yorks, but also works in York on a couple of mornings a week too, hence why we went there. Although he does offer a mobile service obviously he sticks to his area so don't expect him to travel hundreds of miles!

So if you need a spare key he can do you another. His details are:

Lee Holt: 07892 666 666

EDIT, sorry just read you only had 1 key.
 
GWAYGWAY said:
I think I may have written off my Toad Smart car, I have lost the only key I had for it and the number of items needed to re-enable it is too expensive to consider.
Trouble was there was only ONE key when I bought it and that is the one that has gone off for a long walk. It needs another ECU, a set of door locks ,immobiliser, gear lever lock and a couple of keys plus a main-agent to fit and reactivate the new ECU and the bits with it. All for a bloody key being lost.
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I thought I had lost a set of keys but they turned up in my toilet bag must have put them in there on oliday to keep them safe !!! lets hope yours turn up somewhere daft!
 
I need an original to retune the replacement as the chip must be activated at the same time also the pattern is needed to copy any replacement as well. I think that unless I find it I am stuffed, pity as it is a brilliant and quite recent diesel model.
 
Where did you get this information Graham ?
Because my brother not only has a workshop, and approved by all the recovery companies, he also gets into any vehicles and does reprogramming keys for many garages. ? Bob.
 
Mercedes made the model before mine more secure and only MB headquarters have the 'key' to the VIN number and the chip coding. released only to the main dealers to recode the ECU. I could code a copy key and blank chip but you need the original in the vehicle lock. I am still turning everything upside down in the house, garage, MH, garden, both cars and every bit of clothing I possess. now second time around and still nothing to find. It is big enough, a round lozenge with a big blade and on a ring with a red cloth label saying 'remove before flight' on it that is 5 inches long. should be pretty obvious to see at a distance let alone staring everywhere.
The car is in the garden parking and open, so the key was in it when it got here. It is totally my fault because I bought it with only one key and should have paid out for a replacement.
 
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Find a decent car thief :unsure: have you asked the police?
 
It’s not far away then. Check round the car and under it, pockets in the car and your trousers, boot of car, shopping bags, wife’s bag, jogged your memory yet keep looking it’s there somewhere. Good luck (y)

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Sit down, shut your eyes and think about when you last used the key, btw have you checked the bag you put your frame in?
 
I would speak to an auto locksmith, many of them can generate cut and program new keys .They access the info on the ECU.
Although I’m semi retired locksmith, autos were something i kept away from, look for a member of the the ALA(autolocksmiths association)
 
Lockie said:
I would speak to an auto locksmith, many of them can generate cut and program new keys .They access the info on the ECU.
Although I’m semi retired locksmith, autos were something i kept away from, look for a member of the the ALA(autolocksmiths association)
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That's why I wondered where Graham got his information, sounded like a place that cuts keys, or a garage that do not have the equipment a auto locksmith has to do the job, a professional will get in any vehicles and reprogramme and cut you a new key. ?
That's why they offer a emergency service, and that's what they do. ? Bob.
 
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Depends on the type of key security. Sometimes a locksmith may need to copy certain information from an existing key to create a new key, even though not cloning it.
Mercedes should have a record of the security information for the vehicle though, and ought to be able to supply a new key that can be coded into the vehicle through connection to their server at an approved dealership, albeit at a cost as the car would have to be recovered there as well as the cost of the key.

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Deneb said:
Depends on the type of key security. Sometimes a locksmith may need to copy certain information from an existing key to create a new key, even though not cloning it.
Mercedes should have a record of the security information for the vehicle though, and ought to be able to supply a new key that can be coded into the vehicle through connection to their server at an approved dealership, albeit at a cost as the car would have to be recovered there as well as the cost of the key.
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Yes & that is what the op said in post #1. The cost is far in excess of the value of the car.
 
gus-lopez said:
Yes & that is what the op said in post #1. The cost is far in excess of the value of the car.
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No, he said they need to replace the ECU, immobiliser kit and all the vehicle locks. He didn't say whether it was a Smart/Merc dealer that advised that or if it was an independent, but I find it difficult to believe that Mercedes won't have records including the existing security codes that will allow a new key produced by them to be programmed to the vehicle without all that malarkey as long as it is connected to their server through main dealer diagnostic equipment.
 
I bought a stolen recovered Brabus Smart a few years ago
Contacted Merc, took the log book in and they ordered a new key for it..
Not cheap mind. from memory £350 !
 
Deneb said:
No, he said they need to replace the ECU, immobiliser kit and all the vehicle locks. He didn't say whether it was a Smart/Merc dealer that advised that or if it was an independent, but I find it difficult to believe that Mercedes won't have records including the existing security codes that will allow a new key produced by them to be programmed to the vehicle without all that malarkey as long as it is connected to their server through main dealer diagnostic equipment.
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Yes & I took that to mean second hand from a scrap yard as no one could afford to do it buying new. & that is the only way to get around the problem if the key is going to be in the high 00's.
 
Jaws said:
I bought a stolen recovered Brabus Smart a few years ago
Contacted Merc, took the log book in and they ordered a new key for it..
Not cheap mind. from memory £350 !
Click to expand...
I got a quote and they said £350 from MB Stuttgart and then a computor tweek to put it in They also offered to have it collected, which I declined as it is a 'toad 'and the frame allow me to tow it with the car if needed, I have also asked a specialist locksmith in Hythe, but he was unsure if the cutting pattern would be available to him or that the codes are possible, the earlier model 450 is easy he said but not the 451 and newer. I annoys me that it takes two weeks pension to get a key, when blanks, uncoded are £9.50. but need the master key to code it.

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You need a auto locksmith, they have fully equipped van's no need to move the vehicle. ? Bob.
 
bobandjanie said:
You need a auto locksmith, they have fully equipped van's no need to move the vehicle. ? Bob.
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Depends on the type of key security employed by the vehicle manufacturer and how tightly it's controlled.
 
Deneb said:
Depends on the type of key security employed by the vehicle manufacturer and how tightly it's controlled.
Click to expand...

As I said in my first post, my brother is a auto locksmith and has been in business since 2004, his area is Norfolk Suffolk Essex not Kent where Graham is, but he would advise and put you in contact with a member of the auto locksmiths association that covers that area. ?

Yes technology moves on, and so does their equipment they use to do the job, this is why when someone looses their keys the insurance company's contact auto locksmiths who come out and get in the vehicle cut and reprogramme keys, and if the keys locked in the vehicle the AA man has a go. ? Bob.
 
bobandjanie said:
As I said in my first post, my brother is a auto locksmith and has been in business since 2004, his area is Norfolk Suffolk Essex not Kent where Graham is, but he would advise and put you in contact with a member of the auto locksmiths association that covers that area. ?

Yes technology moves on, and so does their equipment they use to do the job, this is why when someone looses their keys the insurance company's contact auto locksmiths who come out and get in the vehicle cut and reprogramme keys, and if the keys locked in the vehicle the AA man has a go. ? Bob.
Click to expand...

I know, I used to use them on a daily basis for my job. They can work wonders, but they can't do everything. The original advice the OP was given was to replace ECU, immobiliser and all locks at more than the value of the car. I suggested contacting Merc and he's now got a quote for £350.

I don't know the system Mercedes/Smart use, but if you have no key at all some just can't be done or are not cost effective without connecting to the vehicle manufacturer's server. I've dealt with plenty of recovered stolen cars with no keys that insurers have transported to the main dealers for key work when mobile locksmiths couldn't do the job. We used several different locksmiths and they would all decline certain vehicles because there was nothing they were able to do on them.

They charged us less, but retail in the N.London & home counties area was £130 - £150 just to get into a deadlocked car, no key made, and that's going back a few years. £350 for a fully functional and programmed key doesn't sound too bad to me.

Try getting a new key programmed into one current make for instance, if you don't have any keys available at all. Certain information is needed that the manufacturer won't even tell the dealers. The car has to talk to the factory server before you can proceed. Actually, there is a brute force method of circumventing that, but it can take up to 5 days connected to a laptop with suitable software ;)
 
If you have a new key made, I'll just bet the original will re-appear the same day!

So, I have a cunning plan...... all you need to do is act as if you already have a replacement key and the original will leap out of its hiding place. ?

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GWAYGWAY said:
They also offered to have it collected, which I declined as it is a 'toad 'and the frame allow me to tow it with the car if needed,
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That is ok if you are absolutely sure you have left it in true neutral but without the key you can not make sure or change it.

When I mislay keys it is usually because I have put them down absent mindedly in a silly place when picking something up, or doing another task. I once dropped house keys in the garden waste bin without realising it when I stopped to pull up an annoying weed on the way out. I only found them by carefully thinking of everything I had done on my way out earlier that day.
 
GWAYGWAY said:
Mercedes made the model before mine more secure and only MB headquarters have the 'key' to the VIN number and the chip coding. released only to the main dealers to recode the ECU. I could code a copy key and blank chip but you need the original in the vehicle lock. I am still turning everything upside down in the house, garage, MH, garden, both cars and every bit of clothing I possess. now second time around and still nothing to find. It is big enough, a round lozenge with a big blade and on a ring with a red cloth label saying 'remove before flight' on it that is 5 inches long. should be pretty obvious to see at a distance let alone staring everywhere.
The car is in the garden parking and open, so the key was in it when it got here. It is totally my fault because I bought it with only one key and should have paid out for a replacement.
Click to expand...

Sadly I suspect that the old adage will apply;

The harder and longer you search, the no chance of finding it!

The moment that you stop searching, you'll find it in a bowl, on the coffee table, right in front of you.
 
You know that when you’ve payed out for new keys the old ones will turn up.
 
GWAYGWAY said:
I think I may have written off my Toad Smart car, I have lost the only key I had for it and the number of items needed to re-enable it is too expensive to consider.
Trouble was there was only ONE key when I bought it and that is the one that has gone off for a long walk. It needs another ECU, a set of door locks ,immobiliser, gear lever lock and a couple of keys plus a main-agent to fit and reactivate the new ECU and the bits with it. All for a bloody key being lost.
Click to expand...
Just had a thought !
Inside the cover of most of the hand books I have had with the various Smarties I owned over the years was written the key details.. Have you looked ?
 
The Old Man said:
Sadly I suspect that the old adage will apply;

The harder and longer you search, the no chance of finding it!

The moment that you stop searching, you'll find it in a bowl, on the coffee table, right in front of you.
Click to expand...

Car keys in a bowl on the coffee table, your on the wrong forum. ::bigsmile:

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