Car Keys With Chips

Video Transcript

"On behalf of expertvillage.com, I'm Jim Koch and today we are talking about auto lockouts and in this clip, we are going to talk more specifically about the keys that we can and can't make and how you are going to deal with it. A lot of the newer cars have what they call a smart chip or a ECM or a Vats chip in the key. This is a new security measure that a lot of the manufacturers are going to and it is a really neat system. Inside the head of the key here is a small chip and in that chip when you go to put your key in the ignition, it sends a signal to the car and says its okay to start. If that chip isn't in range or the key doesn't have that chip, what happens is when you go to start the car, the car just shuts off; says you are not supposed to be here. When you have a key like this and your dealer can tell you quickly by a simple phone call whether your car has one or not, you almost have to go to the dealer for it. There are a few locksmiths to cover them, I don't. When you do go to a dealer, keep in mind that they keys are probably between $40 and $100 a piece so try not to lose your key and you won't have that problem. Just because the key has that rubber head it doesn't necessarily mean that it has a vats or chip in the key so you really need to call your dealer or call your local locksmith to find out for sure. Either one can look it up in a book and tell you whether your car has one. We are going to move on and I am going to show you one of the keys that we can make. "