I'd also suggest investigating the purchase of a hidden GPS tracking device that can be traced via an app on your phone....and re-checking your insurance coverage!

 

+1
GPS - Done (yesterday).

 

MINI may still be able to provide keys in other countries that use different frequencies but they seem to be out of the 315 MHz keys that are used here in the U.S. 433 and 868 MHz are widely used in the U.K. and the E.U. where they don't use the 315 MHz frequency for automobile remotes.

If you do get new remote boards, etc., I wouldn't bother chaining out the door lock and ignition barrel (the door lock is a real PITA to get to), just change the blade in the key to what fits your car currently.

Val

 

Thanks, Val!

 

i guess i'm not understanding the crux of this key thing

What do you do if you lose all of your keys? (since mini has made them nla)

 

I think the goal here would be not loosing ALL the keys @ssoliman lol...

I have assume we will get to a point where most R53s have bypassed EWS / immobilizer. As once bypassed it does not read the fob/key security chip, the proper key blade cut simply has to engage the ignition barrel. Not only does this solve the driving portion, but if a new FOB is required (if you can find one), it only involves syncing to the car and not having the key programmed to the cars EWS / ECU. Which will restore remote locking, ect. Sort of glad i am already at this point with mine, Futureproof!

If you hide one key for safe keeping, there will always be ebay knockoffs that a locksmith should be able to cut. The key is to have a template on hand as BMW apparently do not care about us anymore!

 

ok thats what i figured. Disable EWS.

Good point about locking up a template. I think i will do that today

 

It's a bit offtopic but I have twice used a service on ebay which can cut a key for you by sending just a high res photo. It worked great and was rediculously cheap. Like €10 cheap.

 

Thanks for the tip, great way to secure a backup. I was thinking of making a mold but your idea works brilliant.

 

Thanks @LukasH .
I found 2wo locksmiths out here where I am that said they can obtain a key Fob and cut the blade but neither one has called me back.
With regards to @Scoobaru2010 's idea of making a mold and casting a key - I made a simple mold by pressing my key blade into some Chavant (modeling clay) and poured a 2 part high strength (aluminum filled) Epoxy to cast a nice rigid replica in lieu of handing over my one and only key to be cut.
And, yeah - (so far) the Epoxy casts are even strong enough to unlock my door without breaking!

 

Alright - So here's the deal.
The short version:
I got my missing key back!!!

The Long version
As I had initially posted; About three weeks ago,.I'd lost my only factory working (remote locking) key FOB for my pre-facelift R53, in a parking lot where I live.
As I suspected (feared); someone found it and never sought to return it to its rightful owner (me).
After spending a couple of hours trying to source a proper 315MHZ replacement, with code, in hopes I could have it cut and synced with my Mini, by a reputable locksmith - Success! - I'd managed to score a pair online.
The most challenging aspect of this whole ordeal; was to find a locksmith or an indy car garage who still had the (old) software and the ability to code the car to the new keys - Success! (finally!!), So I set an (the only) appointment for 2wo weeks from now to have the programming done...

So, Yesterday, I'm out in the parking lot, cleaning the daily dirt off my Mini, when this old lady walks up to tell me how cute and nice looking my car was.
I responded kindly with a "thank you" but couldn't help but mention my lost key. Having said that, she casually pulls this massive assortment of keys from her handbag and asks "Do you think it might be like this one?".
Wholly #@!## - I couldn't believe it - This old lady had found my key and added it to her "collection"!!! - wt# ???

I now have my original lost Mini key back in my possession.

 

Hope you gave that little old lady a "reward"!

 

Perhaps I should / could have but Nope - no reward. I was so torn between resentment and elation at the time. She is a resident at the apartment. I see and greet her almost every day. When she said she had figured it was my key, I asked her why she didn't bother returning it to me? Her response was "Well I pick up things all the time"....
Whilst I'm very happy to have my key back - Im still a bit bent and can't help overcoming the stress, worry, effort in ripping my interior apart for the kill switches and financial burden it had cost me. Sure I was careless for losing the key in the first place. But she knew the key was mine.

Edit/Addendum:
I also had a 1-1/4" metal MINI medallion and a key to my storage unit attached to the key chain. When I asked her about them, her reply was "Gosh - I dunno...I probably have them somewhere along with some other stuff I pick up now and then".
Ill miss that medallion but at least I still have a couple of back up keys to my storage unit.

 

geez! that is a head scratcher and people are weird, but at least you got it back!

 

what are the odds?! good to hear you got it back

 

Weird is right .
..
The real (full) story behind my lost Mini key -
As it turns out; The old lady wasnot the one who found my lost Mini key in the parking lot.
She had been harbouring a young couple for several weeks in her apartment and helped them finance a car by co-signing their loan..
The girlfriend (wife?) of the young couple is the one who found my key. Her boyfriend (who was also one of the wannabe racer boys that hung around the parking lot), decided to keep my key.
A few days before my key was returned to me by this old lady - The boyfriend of the young couple was involved in an altercation with one of the racer boys and tried to run him over in the parking lot. But instead hit another car. The police were called. The boyfriend fled the scene in the car and a police chase ensued (with my Mini key dangling from the key chain of his vehicle). The police caught him and detained him on multiple charges. Since the car was titled in both the old lady's and girlfriend's name - the car was not impounded and returned that evening along with the (huge key chain), keys to the car. It wasn't until the next day that my initial, coincidental interaction with the old lady, which resulted in having my key returned to me.

Here's the capper -
When I got my key back, having inspected it, I had noticed a crusty white substance embedded within the contours of the key blade. My concerns of someone (potentially), accessing or stealing my Mini were valid.
The girlfriend came forward and told me that her now estranged boyfriend intended and attempted to make a mold of my key blade using/mixing baking powder and Elmer's glue.
.
I have since moved from that apartment complex into a nicer, quieter location. My Mini is safer now, surrounded within the confines of a gated community patrolled by 24hr security.

Outlandish as it may sound - Trust me when I say... I can't make this S**T up!
Weird doesn't begin describe this whole scenario.
What a headache!

The End..

 

You can retire once you sell the movie rights to this! 😱😳🥴🫢