Replacement keys: huge price increase

[MD5]

Perfect if you are selling a car with a view to a profit, as I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't check!

 

[omega1]

Hi all, on the subject of replacement keys and to avoid a new thread...

I have just picked up my new (second hand) C220 CDI and have just discovered that not only is there only one key, but the insert (needed when the electronics dont work) is also missing...

What are my options here, can I order a new key from MB for my car? Can I order just the mechanical insert bit? What are the costs likely to be for either?

Thank you.

 

[nick mercedes]

Hi all, on the subject of replacement keys and to avoid a new thread...

I have just picked up my new (second hand) C220 CDI and have just discovered that not only is there only one key, but the insert (needed when the electronics dont work) is also missing...

What are my options here, can I order a new key from MB for my car? Can I order just the mechanical insert bit? What are the costs likely to be for either?

Thank you.

The inserts are fairly cheap.

They'll want a load if id to order one though.

 

[kwakdonut]

Doesn't the battery recharge itself once in the ignition??

Nope. Part of an annual service is to replace the battery in the key fob.

 

[Howard]

Have you tried a new battery in the key Peter ?

Being that it isn't a proper key as such , and that it goes into a hole with an IR type transmitter/receiver in it, surely it would need to have some sort of power source to speak to the car even just to give authorisation to turn ...

I bet the car won't start if you take the battery out of your fully functioning fob and try it in the ignition. It needs to give a flash of info to the car saying ' Yes , it's me , it's ok to start ' , no battery , no info ...

At least thats how i thought it worked.

 

[peterg1965]

Howard, the key doesn't even turn in the ignition which leads me to believe that the key is not for my car. Can't see that having a new battery in it, even if it did make the internal electrnics work, would mean that the key would turn.

Think that it means I have to shell out £215 for a new one.

 

[peterg1965]

Is there someone with access to the MB parts database would could tell me what the part no A203 766 40 06 comes up as?

 

[Howard]

The key won't turn in the ignition because the ignition doesn't work like that.

The lock won't disengage until the key says ' Hello, please disengage the lock ' , no battery , no 'Hello' ...

Remember the sliding 'clunk' that you hear when you put the key in and don't turn it , that is the lock disengaging ...

 

[kwakdonut]

Howard, the key doesn't even turn in the ignition which leads me to believe that the key is not for my car. Can't see that having a new battery in it, even if it did make the internal electrnics work, would mean that the key would turn.

Think that it means I have to shell out £215 for a new one.

I take it you have the big plastic 'key' that most of us newer owners have? You should be able to put it in and if it is ok you will get that little 'unlock' noise. As Howard said, a dead battery will not let you even do that. Think the advice is to change the battery first (will cost what, a fiver at most?) before shelling out a couple of hundred on a new key!!!

 

[peterg1965]

Looks like a trip to the MB dealer tonight to purchase new battery then!

 

[Howard]

Any excuse to get out and have a drive in it eh ?

 

[renault12ts]

See post 13. As I said the battery is only needed to open the car, not to start it.

To prove the point I have just gone out to my car and used the remote to open the door. I then sat in the driver's seat, removed the battery and then started the engine without the battery in the key!! Read the posts. To others don't say something unless you know you are correct. That way the facts will come out quicker.

 

[Howard]

Crikey , you're rude .... been like that since you joined ....

Do you have the same key as us ?

 

[renault12ts]

A big plastic one? Yes. Why not go out to your car and try it. If it does not start I give my abject apologies. If it does then we have all learnt something to-day. Not trying to be rude, just frustrated that my earlier post may have been ignored.

 

[renault12ts]

Howard, mine is like this one:

 

[Howard]

No , you are being rude .

I was just relaying what i had always been told , my car is in the garage , which is not connected to my house. I'm not walking round there and taking my key apart to try it in the rain i'm afraid.

You have my apologies too , obviously you are the font of all knowledge , and get frustrated when others are wrong.

None of the info was designed to mislead , we were saying what we thought was right. There is a lot of duff info out there , as it turns out , i was the one giving it out this time , not you. So for that i'm sorry.

 

[peterg1965]

Back to paying £215 then!

 

[Shude]

not only will the key start the car without a battery in it but there are slim, wallet-sized, "emergency" keys that can be used to both open (comes with a slide-out blade key) and then start (clicks in to the slimmer part of the ignition slot) - the emergency key has no battery in it at all. The alarm sounds when you open the door after unlocking because it was not unlocked electronically but otherwise pretty useful if you're desperate.

I have an emergency key for my previous W202 and fancied one for my current but it was claimed that they can't be ordered any more (not sure I believe this!).

 

[renault12ts]

Back to paying £215 then!

I'm afraid so. Sorry about the handbags

:

 

[renault12ts]

The most annoying thing is that the casings of these keys wear out and break. The innards can be extracted, but you cannot buy a replacement casing from MB. The only use for the Ebay keys is as a replacement for a worn out casing.