I bought my 99 LC last week. I was aware it only had one key. I did not know that you have to have a master in order to program new keys. The one I had was a valet key. Time to do some home work. I read through many of the posts here on the forum. I learned that I did not have to be gouged by the dealer. They wanted $500 dollars for the keys and $700 for labor. They said i had to make two master and a valet. They also said that if my car had already had the one time free replacement ecu, I would have to pay $1700 for a new ecu.
I also learned from the forum that some lock smiths can flash the computer chip allowing you make a new master key. The posts refer to a lock smith in Arizona. I live in Los Angeles and thought some one in LA must be able to do this. I started calling lock smiths,most said they could not do it. Then I called Beverly Westside lock & key.
I spoke with Ronnie, he knew exactly what was required and had the programmer to do the job. I asked how much. He replied $560 for two master and one valet. He said he could be at my house in two hours. He arrive in 1.5 hours. First he removed the glove box and removed the ecu from behind it. This only took about 5 min. Next he took the ecu to his van and opened it up to get to the chip on the mother board. The chips on the circuit board are very small. He used a jewelers eye glass to verify the number on the chip. Now he attached the programmer to the actual chip. It actually piggy backs on the chip. Then he pressed the program button and bang it was done. He said see the green light on the programmer it is cleared. He put every thing back together. The whole process did not take more than 20 min. He took the new key that he supplied and cut them. Now he stuck them in the ignition one at a time. One master, the next master, and the valet. It was done. He said the ecu is expecting three keys to be programed, after that it stops being in program mode. All keys start the car and work great. His van was really set up for transponder keys of all types. He said that this is most of his business. So if any one in Los Angeles area needs keys or even a new master it might be worth giving him a call.
I also learned from the forum that some lock smiths can flash the computer chip allowing you make a new master key. The posts refer to a lock smith in Arizona. I live in Los Angeles and thought some one in LA must be able to do this. I started calling lock smiths,most said they could not do it. Then I called Beverly Westside lock & key.
I spoke with Ronnie, he knew exactly what was required and had the programmer to do the job. I asked how much. He replied $560 for two master and one valet. He said he could be at my house in two hours. He arrive in 1.5 hours. First he removed the glove box and removed the ecu from behind it. This only took about 5 min. Next he took the ecu to his van and opened it up to get to the chip on the mother board. The chips on the circuit board are very small. He used a jewelers eye glass to verify the number on the chip. Now he attached the programmer to the actual chip. It actually piggy backs on the chip. Then he pressed the program button and bang it was done. He said see the green light on the programmer it is cleared. He put every thing back together. The whole process did not take more than 20 min. He took the new key that he supplied and cut them. Now he stuck them in the ignition one at a time. One master, the next master, and the valet. It was done. He said the ecu is expecting three keys to be programed, after that it stops being in program mode. All keys start the car and work great. His van was really set up for transponder keys of all types. He said that this is most of his business. So if any one in Los Angeles area needs keys or even a new master it might be worth giving him a call.
