I purchased a key off Ebay for my 2008 Mini Cooper S thinking I would just pay the dealership to program it as I have done with many other cars. The dealer told me that the key will never work with my car as keys have to be ordered from the factory by VIN and the come pre-programmed.

Can anyone verify this information?

Thanks,

Scott Rosenthal
CollectorCarsUnltd@totalspeed.net
Cell 303-946-4299

 

That sounds correct. I know when Mercedes first started using this technology that was the case for security reasons.

 

Correct.

 

Yeah thats right; it a way to try and stop auto theft/insure that you will have to pay the dealer for something.

 

I've heard of this too for all the listed reasons. The zinger is always the price

 

correct, at about $200/key

 

Sounds like BMW/MINI is protecting us owners from potential auto theft. We would all be in danger if those Ebay bought keys could be programmed by a local dealers machine.

 

No, it sounds more like they're protetcting a VERY lucrative income stream for themselves. Bastards.

-RW-

 

How about just getting a duplicate of the integrated key (the metal emergency door lock key that's inside the fob); anybody know a source for just the integrated key?

 

+1

I bought one of these on ebay too when vallet lost it...waisted $45.

 

I don't think that would work.. it would maybe open the door but most certainly pull off the car alarm until you start the engine, which you can't because you need the fob with the electronic transmitter

 

I don't have an alarm so that wouldn't be an issue. My plan was to hide the integrated key somewhere outside the car and use it to gain entry to the spare fob that I would hide somewhere inside the car.

 

There was somebody in the UK who had theri R56 stolen, I know its off topic but with the keys hard-wired to the VIN, how's a MINI get stolen?

 

I'm sure they make money from each sale, but I doubt they sell enough replacement keys to be a "VERY lucrative income stream".

btw, MINI always had a smart chip system, and it is not something new with the R56. The 1st gen also required purchasing a preprogrammed key from BMW.

Sometimes the keys are stolen during a break-in to a residence, otherwise the car is towed away on a flatbed. Towing seems to be a fairly common method for auto thefts in the UK. Stolen MINIs are reported occasionally on the MINI2 and totalMINI forums.

 

Yeah alot of car theft anymore is someone laoding the car onto a trailer or tow truck... With all the potential fuel cut offs and alarms its just easier to latch onto the car and tow it off than it is to spend the time to break into/disable the alarm or start the car.

 

+1

 

What I cannot seem to fathom is *why* Mini makes it SO hard (and uber-expensive) for their owners to replace a lost key fob? $365 is absolute highway robbery. What is one to do if the key(s) are lost during a trip? Are we expected to incur the cost of a multi-night stay at a hotel while Mini reproduces your key and then posts it to you?

This is one area where automotive technology has taken a huge step backward and I can see no benefit whatsoever to their current policies and practices. It ought to be as simple as putting a new, un-encoded key into a little machine, entering the VIN # of the vehicle, and 5 seconds later the owner is handed the key, ready to enjoy another day of "happy motoring".

 

+1 its way to expensive for these... cant they just plug them into that little reader when you check in to get your service and wipe the old info and add the new... is the technilogly that far fetched? i mean if a can turn my home lights off from my cell phone, 2000 miles away, i should be able to get a simple key fob reprogrammed and not have to walk funny from the expierence with the dealer from takin the kick in the pants..

 

I'm reviving this old thread because I'm interested in getting my hands on a glove box lock cylinder (searching for one from salvage yards) and having it re-coded to work with my current key.

I know that's not what this thread is about, BUT I did discover this during my search which could be helpful for those who want to code a replacement fob without going to the dealer:

http://www.autokeyprog.com/cat_doc/BMW_KeyCoder.pdf

It appears to be immobilizer coding software for BMW/Minis.