Walmart Now Carrying Transponder Keys
At a recent trip to Walmart I happened to stop by the automotive department and noticed that they are now carrying transponder keys. They didn’t appear to have a huge selection but I definitely saw Ford and Nissan keys which seemed to be priced at about $50 dollars. The keys they are using are clonable which means they will use a scanner to read the chip value of the original key, swap the keys and then write that value to the new key. A very simple procedure and much easier than using a scan tool.
This is a step in the right direction for retailers, especially since transponder keys have been on the market for over 10 years and it’s still such a pain to have them duplicated. Hopefully more companys will follow suit and it will continue to get easier to have transponder keys made. Not that I don’t recommend showing some love to your local Locksmith (I do) but not all Locksmith’s have this capability. If you are in need of a new key you might want to check this out since it’s much cheaper than going to the dealer, as I’m sure many of you already know!
May 10th, 2009 at 7:44 am
Does anyone what the word “FOB” as in key fob stand for? I know what it does and I know what it is and how it operates but what does F O B stands for? Please email me the answer at {edit}
May 10th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
Hi SJ,
In this context (key fob), I don’t think FOB actually stands for anything. It’s just another word for remote.
I have removed your email from your comment to prevent you from being spammed.
If anyone would like to add to this discussion I will allow it here in the comments, or you may start a topic in the forum if you like.
Mike
June 7th, 2009 at 8:27 am
A fob is a medallion or ornament attached to a key ring or pocket watch to assist in their handling or identifying ownership of the key or watch. There is no auto industry name or acronym given to FOB. It is easier then saying automotive keyless entry remote.
July 11th, 2011 at 7:17 pm
I have a neighbor you has a chip key.What he did was pull off the plastic around the ignition key taped the chip key to the antenna wires with electric tape put the plastic back and he now uses regular keys in his ignition. Why pay 50 to 250 dollars for a key???when you have no place you can move the antenna wires which read the key chip to another area where it will fit.Know one knows and the chip is always there…