I am new to your group and have a question that I hope has not been asked before.

I bought a 2007 Aspen Limited. It only came with one key...the fob key. I went to the local Chrysler dealer to have another key made. I purchased the regular key without the controls. They made my key and I paid $114 and off I went.

However, a few days later when I tried to use it, it unlocked the door, but when I opened it the alarm went off. The key in the ignition stopped the alarm. I sounds the alarm every time it's used.

I called the dealer where I had the key made and they gave me a story that you must unlock the vehicle with the same key you locked it with or the alarm will sound every time......that sounds a little fishy to me! I have a Sebring and had a key made for it and that doesn't happen.

Am I being jerked around on this one?

 

Probably.

The Aspen key/fob has a chip in it which allows you to get in and go. If you purchased a dup key without the fob then you got hosed. The replacement key NEEDS to have the fob imbedded with the key.

You can have Home Depot (or whoever) make you a key just in case you lock the key/fob in the trunk for $2. But an official replacement key should have cost you over $200.

I'd talk to the dealership manager and make them give you an official key/fob.

 

I, too, have only one OEM key fob, and I have the same problem when I use the key to unlock my door. Same model year, 2007.

 

The $114.00 cost for a replacment key along with the reply indicating the cost of over $200.00 for an additional key from the dealership sounds excessive.

The chipped keyblanks should not be that expensive and programming it to the vehicle would not be that labor intensive if you have the proper equipment, which every dealership should have.

I spent over twenty years as a locksmith so I do have some knowledge of the costs. Granted I have been retired for over ten years, but still I find these costs to be pretty high.

The owners manual does give instructions for programming additional keys, but if I remember correctly you need two working keys to do it yourself.

I would never buy a vehicle without at least two working keys, if the dealer wants to make the sale the least they could do is provide two keys!

 

Finally ....someone who "Gets it"

My daily Driver is a 2001 Caravan....Without SKREEM, and without Theft .....At any given time...I know the location of at Least 5 Spare Keys.....

There is No excuse for Having ONE and only ONE key to a vehicle......

DAD.... Unfortunately......Retail price of the key, plus half an hour to Program it....Has it between 110 AND 120 for a Plain Skim Key. The RKE Fobs can easily reach 175 to 200 depending on Options...

Yes it is True that Customer programmed keys are possible...But you must have at least two "WORKING "Keys to the vehicle, and any new additions MUST BE PERFORMED AT THE SAME TIME... Once you have your two working keys Baselined...You can only program 2 more....And it must all be done at once...or you lose Them ALL.

Personal opinion....But at 100 bucks an hour, 1/2 hour labor is a small price to pay to ensure that everything goes as planned, and you arent stuck in your driveway with 4 ignition keys that dont work.....That 1/2 hour is still cheaper than the tow truck....

 

My issue is not so much the cost as it is that no one at the dealership ever said..."hey, if you don't get a fob key, this one will set the alarm off every time you use it!"....I would have gotten the fob had I known this.....

 

My apolgies....I didnt answer your question......

But first.... That wasnt a bash at anyone....It is just a simple matter ...No matter what you drive, what kind of key you use, Or even Where you live...Im sure there is more than just one "HOUSE KEY" available to you....and You dont go on a Cross Country trip without a "SPARE" tire....

There is NO EXCUSE for Not having a Spare Key . Or an owners manual...This is the 21st century...we have internet service...and with a bit of digging on google..you can find one.....Which would give you your answer.......

They didnt exactly lie to you.....and they didnt fail to tell you anything....
If you lock the car with a RKE remote...it cannot be unlocked with a SKIM key.
BUT.....
If you lock the car with the lock button on the drivers door....Then the skim key can be used to disable the alarm in the lock cylinder of the drivers door.

 

Just as a test try locking it with the plain key when you get out. When you return unlock it with the plain key. I used to have an issue with aftermarket alarms where people would lock the car with the FOB and then unlock with the key. I wonder if that is the same with this scenario.

 

Correctomundo.

I just paid about $175 to get a new chipped key for my '07 Aspen. While there I asked my tech about the situation when I lock my car either with the keyfob or from the interior door lock. When I unlock it WITH THE KEY it will sound the alarm. This is built into the vehicle. If you lock the car with the key from the outside and later unlock the car with the key, the alarm will not go off. To repeat myself, the only way to not have the car alarm not go off when you unlock it with the physical key from the outside door lock is to originally lock the car with the actual physical key from the outside.

And spend the money for a new key.