Mine has high security key blade, a special type of blade that is cut down the center of the key rather than the edges. I do not think a local key cutter could make a copy of this type of key---at least not on the type of key grinder found in hardware stores.

 

I do miss the old style keys, but I try to roll with industry as best I can. So, I have, for the most part, adapted to my EX key. Fortunately, we only have one car with a "smart key". I can't imagine carrying more than one of those in my pocket. Maybe that is when guys buy a "man purse".

At work we have "key cards" that get us in any door we are authorized to open. It is the size and shape of a credit card. I keep it in my wallet and get my butt near the reader and, voila, the door unlocks. Too bad cars don't work that way.

 

Yeah, Keys have gotten huge.
I remember a 1990's Geo Metro (work car) that had a ridiculously huge key.

My speculation is more and more in the future, cars will have keyless entry. We may reach a day when standard keys are nearly non-existent.

 

I'm sure it will be through our phones.

 

When I rent a car nowadays I feel like I am walking around with the gas station bathroom key in my pocket.

 

Ref to your prior comment about the LX key being the size of an ice cream sandwich. Here in TN, ice cream sandwiches measure about 5"x3"x1" ... the upper Ohio valley ice cream sandwiches makers must be short changing their customers.

 

"Oh, dear!"



Given my opinions about oversize "smart" keys, none of you should be surprised that I have nothing to do with cell phones... nor will I ever own one. I already have a perfectly good phone which serves me well.







I'll be right down...

 

Uh, ever head the word troglodyte? BTW, I'll buy you a dozen ice cream sandwiches if you bring a way to transport them back to the upper Ohio Valley, a present from the Tennessee Valley.

 

I've got just the right vehicle... now let me see... where did I leave those keys?

 

Yes, but I am more of a Luddite.

 

What? That has a KEY? I thought the technology level of the time was a crank (nothing personal). Now Al Capone and co. preferred Henways.

 

Getting back to the key...

The problem with car manufacturers is that no one has impressed them with the necessity of making their key/fob really tiny. They just want to go merrily along making big clumsy keys that cost little to manufacture and then charge a couple hundred bucks to replace.

If any manufacturer is listening.... make a car with a key no bigger than a dime, and yours will be the next car I buy.


PS: I'm in the market for another new car this fall.

 

Then you'd moan, groan, gripe, and moan about the dime sized key was so little that it was too easily lost or your ham like fingers couldn't turn it.

Ain't nothing in this world made by man is perfect ... live with it.

 

As someone whose phone recently needed to go in for repair I will rue that day! Phones are versatile, but I don't want my entire life dependent on one. I'll keep separate phones,TV remotes, car keys, and toasters, thankyouverymuch.

 

Keys WERE perfectly perfect up until fairly recently. You put the right one in the lock and it unlocked the car. The same one started the car as well. It didn't need special batteries. It could be duplicated for a buck at several places within a mile or two of where you live.


I welcome changes that are for the better. New car keys made a good situation worse, FAR more expensive, unhandy, heavy, and unnecessarily large.

The first car manufacturer that dials back this insane "key progress" is going to see a sudden increase in car sales.

 

Accompanied by a sudden increase in car theft. Progress also means the bad guys have learned to break into and steal cars with simple keys. Now we have auto immobilizers and anti-theft devices built into keys. There is no going back once the bad guys overwhelm a defensive mechanism, that is part of progress.

For example there is no way that a pick set can overcome today's car keys, but with the help of a computer the thieves have a chance.

 

I think everyone understands that locks are generally more cumbersome for their owners than discouraging to thieves.

 

If a pro wants your car, he/she will steal it, so fast it will make the head spin.

Anything that will slow down or discourage an armature, it is worth it. Remote key entry and push button start helps. Personally I like the unintended consequences of my choosing a manual transmission (the thief of opportunity probably doesn't know how to shift). And does that same dummy know to put that unfamiliar clutch pedal all the way to the floor?

 

I thought I had lost one of my keys about a month ago. .$300.00 $400.00 $500.00 or even more is a complete ripoff for a car key. Honda should be ashamed to charge that much. A good new laptop is less. How much does it cost Honda? Maybe $10.00 max! Give the dealership $80.00 for a hour of labor to program it and you know it takes 10 minutes or less .

 

Dealerships generally do try to rip off as much as the traffic will allow, but more than once I have been given very sizable discounts by countermen in dealer parts departments when they see that I am a veteran. I never expect this sort of thing, but feel nice for weeks after every time it happens.