Very long story, if you want skip to the last paragraph.
Yesterday was the first day i drove Montero since i brought it home, simply because i lost both keys
Both dealers in town wanted at least $150 to get me another key, cut and program it. Wouldn't be too bad if i didn't have to tow my truck 20 miles there, all for 1 (one) key
So I decided to buy keys from ebay $15 not bad for a pair of keys, figured dealership can cut them by my VIN. I couldnt make ANY copies because i had no keys at all. As you know stealerships dont want to help you unless you pay A LOT, both were saying they wont cut keys unless bought from them. One dealer (Ricart) even said that they are afraid that my aftermarket ebay (cheap chinese
) WOULD BREAK THEIR MACHINE.
Part 1 (Blank Key Problem) - Mitsubishi North, finally agreed to cut my ebay keys and they did it for free
. I got home super excited to find out it didnt work. Somebody probably replaced all the locks if key cut from VIN didnt match - what to do? I took out rear swing door lock since it's least used lock and wanted to see how bad dealer's key is. To my surprise it was perfect key profile, all pins lined up perfectly, except too high and didnt hide in lock cylinder. That made me believe that key was cut either place on the machine wrong/misaligned or bad keys. Ordered another set, took the new keys and lock to Mitsu North again and showed them my concern. Unfortunately only at this point they informed me that their key machine is all automated with no possibility of adjustment or chance of human error/intervention AND they are waiting on new key cartridge because they believe the old one is bad. So no more keys cutting unless i want same results
. Other dealer (Ricart) on the phone said that they will cut ebay key, until i showed up and they basically accused me of lie
because techs are not allowed to do that. Ricart =
Part 2 (Blank Key Solution) - fed up with waiting and hoping on dealers and others to help me for a reasonable price i went to ACE hardware. Bought set of small files and wooden handle for $13.14. Went home and traced dealer's cut key to old credit card(CC) and filed (CC) to resemble a key profile. Vice gripped CC to new blank key and got to filing it away. After about an hour of somewhat careful filing key started to look like dealer's key. Every few movements of the file i inserted the key into the lock cylinder to see how pins align. Got one side to line up perfectly, flipped the key and did the same thing on the other side. IT WAS MAGICAL when the lock finally start moving in both directions
Key wasn't perfect but it turned the ignition over and dashboard came alive
Part 3 (Programming) - Since Montero has a chip you have to program it otherwise it wont start. It uses N61 chip, so i made sure i bought the right keys from "
this ebay listing". To program I bought/used SBB v46.02 from
"this ebay listing" which was super easy and fast by following "
this YouTube DIY" - It's back on the road
Overall I spent $139.32 and can make as many keys as I want for my cars or my friends'
