Besides going to the dealer and paying an arm and a leg, is there a better place to get a replacement key/fob? Thanks for the help!!

 

What year (build date on door tag)??


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It is a 2008 R52

 

From a previous posting.

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My solution to the loss of button function was a $15 ebay key. I cut off the metal key part and just programmed the buttons to open the doors, which is easily done. I stIll use the original key to start the vehicle (because of the immobilizer requirements), and now effectively have a second fob for the door locks. I'll be damned if I'm paying hundreds for a replacement key on a 16 year old vehicle...

 

I don't know if it's the same for an 08, but on my 05(three button) I ordered a blank with remote off of ebay for about fifteen dollars, had it cut by my local locksmith for ten dollars, and programmed it to my EWS box with a cheap Chinese AK90 that I had left over from my Range Rover project. Total cost was under sixty dollars, including the AK90. When I was talking to my locksmith, the Ak90 came up, and he said he's successfully used them to program keys to R53s several times, and even gave me some tips to get the box out of the car easier. It's a mild pain to get the EWS box out, but if I were going to do it again, I'd have two or three keys ready to go so I could add them all at the same time and just keep the spares around.


Edit: one thing I ran into with this method, the AK90 had a hard time reading/writing the RFID chip in the mini key, just because of where it was positioned inside the key. I ended up having to experiment a fair bit with holding the key just right against the antenna in the AK90 box. I ended up taping it in place to do the write, just to ensure that nothing went wrong from a weak signal.

 

I didn't realize that you could get the EMS/EWS programmed to an RFID chip. Received wisdom has always been that the engine management computer is factory programmed with about ten numbers that cant be changed, and that you need to get a matching number RFID chip put in the replacement key, something that only BMW have the information and ability to do, hence the high cost of dealer replacements that have to come from Germany once they know your VIN.

 

There are indeed ten "slots" in the EWS3 modules I've worked with, but I've yet to see one filled from the factory. My MINI had five spots filled when I got it, and it came with three keys, two of them were aftermarket ebay jobs with no remote and one was a factory remote key in terrible condition. My Range Rover, also with EWS3(03 L332) actually came with zero keys(hence why it was only 500 dollars) and I believe six slots filled. On both cars, I deleted the slots corresponding with keys I no longer had, since I didn't want other people to be able to start my car with keys floating around in the wild, and programmed my keys to "empty" slots. It may be possible to use something like the AK90+ to 'clone' a key, so that you've got two keys with the same ID44 or ID73(can't remember which the R53/R52 uses), but I've never tried it, and I could see possible complications from going that route. I can't speak to anything involving the engine management computer, in both instances I've been able to successfully program the EWS module and my eBay keys have started the car after programming. The EWS box for my R53 was located on the left hand side, under the dash. It was held in with two standard nuts, though from what I've read it should have been security nuts, which tells me I'm not the first person to have removed and programmed keys to it, supported by the extra slots being filled(the extra two filled slots corresponding with the two ebay keys the car came with).

Two words of caution if anyone reads this and decides to add their own keys:

1) the cheap AK90 programmer I got is more or less programmed in Chinese with a Google translate applied to some, not all, of the settings and menus. Be prepared to do a lot of reading and carefully following other people's procedures for it, if you use it incorrectly you can brick your EWS module and need a replacement, which you'll either have to program again yourself or pay a locksmith to program.

2) using the AK90 requires partially disassembling your EWS box and physically attaching the programming cable to a microchip soldered to the board in order to read/write the information on this chip. This can be quite daunting to a home mechanic, and if you're not extremely careful, you can easily damage the hardware in your EWS module.

The only reason I attempted programming keys to any of my EWS3 equipped vehicles was because they were both weekend project type cars, that I did not need to rely on for daily transport, and so I was okay with the risk of needing to replace the EWS box or have the car laid up for a couple days. If you're not in this position, then your two best options are to either order your keys from the dealer, or to work with a competent local locksmith who has experience programming EWS3 modules. I've found that if I call and ask specifically about EWS3, a locksmith will usually know right away what's involved in programming them and whether or not they're able.

 

wrong thread