Renault key cards

Mr Locksmith · 18-10-2010 10:56am #1

Hi All
Renault key cards a pain for all renault owners.These cards are married to the car they were programmed to.You can not buy second hand cards off Ebay and then get them reprogrammed into your car.Cannot be done no matter what the ebay seller tells you.

colm_mcm · 18-10-2010 12:19pm

Sick of people asking you to try?

Guy:Incognito · 18-10-2010 12:32pm

How are they a pain for owners?

All ours are grand. The only issue arises if you break or lose them, same as with pretty much any car key nowadays.

DublinDilbert · 18-10-2010 12:51pm

Stekelly wrote: »

How are they a pain for owners?

All ours are grand. The only issue arises if you break or lose them, same as with pretty much any car key nowadays.

I think its the sheer size of the card leads to them getting broken. People end up putting them in their back pocket and after a few years of sitting on them they eventually split.

seamus · 18-10-2010 1:01pm

Yeah, not really much bother with them here. Don't keep it in my back pocket so I can't see the card splitting any time soon.

I guess if you lose both of them you need to get a new control unit in the car and two new keys? Or can new keys from Renault be programmed to the car?

When we got ours the wife casually remarked that, "Those keys are deadly. They even come with a little coin that you can use in your shopping trolley".
"Eh, love, that's the battery". :eek:

bryaner · 18-10-2010 1:05pm

Stekelly wrote: »

How are they a pain for owners?

All ours are grand. The only issue arises if you break or lose them, same as with pretty much any car key nowadays.

Two mates with Renaults both key cards broke, pure dung imo.

sbsquarepants · 18-10-2010 1:18pm

They're pure s'hite! I've had 2 stop working for no apparent reason, plus 1 lost, through my own negligence I suppose (but I wouldn't have lost it if it was on my keys!) and the actual reader unit packed up, again for no apparent reason. They're way too delicate. That adds up to the best part of a grands worth (say 750 discounting the one i lost) in under 5 years! I've never once had a problem with any key for any other car i've had.

PS: you can change the card reader without changing the keys and vice versa

neilthefunkeone · 18-10-2010 3:45pm

sbsquarepants wrote: »

1 lost, through my own negligence I suppose (but I wouldn't have lost it if it was on my keys!)

But you can attach ur keys..

The ol lad had 3 Renaults with the key cards.. no problems bar the odd dead battery..

useless · 18-10-2010 5:28pm

I rented an Espace last summer. I thought I was being the right clever chap putting the holiday apartment keyring on the car keycard... and then realising that the keycard went into the ignition 'hole-side-down' :rolleyes:
Not my brightest moment:)

sbsquarepants · 19-10-2010 5:32pm

neilthefunkeone wrote: »

But you can attach ur keys..

The ol lad had 3 Renaults with the key cards.. no problems bar the odd dead battery..

The hole in mine is where the card goes into the dash, keyring would block it. You can get a key ring clamp gizmo for the type of card I have which the card clips into, but it doesn't look very sturdy tbh. An evil plan to cause even more lost cards perhaps!

MoodeRator · 19-10-2010 5:39pm

Thankfully the new keys from renault are redesigned. Though the hole for key ring is now moved it becomes irrelevant now that you do not need to insert the key:cool:

Guy:Incognito · 19-10-2010 5:56pm

seamus wrote: »

I guess if you lose both of them you need to get a new control unit in the car and two new keys? Or can new keys from Renault be programmed to the car?

To be fair thats the same with any car nowadays. If you lose a key (for any car) you really should be getting a 2nd one sorted before you lose your only one. Getting a key for a car that is stuck somewhere is a massive pain and in most cases and involves getting the car recovered to a dealer.

MoodeRator wrote: »

Thankfully the new keys from renault are redesigned. Though the hole for key ring is now moved it becomes irrelevant now that you do not need to insert the key:cool:

Yeah much handier now, to the point where if I'm driving the mothers megane then go to the missus Scenic I find actually having to push the button on the key to open the door and then put it in the reader on the Scenic an unessecary annoyance.

cml387 · 19-10-2010 6:05pm

One failed on me. Becasue I'm in the electronics industry I opened it up to see if it could be revived, but no joy.

At work we estimated the cost of the key (circuit board and components + labour in assembly) at between 5 to 10 euro.

And Renault charge how much for a replacement?

austin.keegan · 10-12-2010 11:42am

Does anyone know if there's an alternative to going to Renault when one of these is faulty.
Our one and only Key Card has conked out and we're looking at €300 from Renault to get it replaced,

Any help gratefully received

Iomega Man · 10-12-2010 11:46am

cml387 wrote: »

One failed on me. Becasue I'm in the electronics industry I opened it up to see if it could be revived, but no joy.

At work we estimated the cost of the key (circuit board and components + labour in assembly) at between 5 to 10 euro.

And Renault charge how much for a replacement?

Hi cml387,

Just wondering how you opened it?
I'm in the electronics industry myself but am a bit cagey about opening mine.

Thanks,

IM

austin.keegan · 10-12-2010 12:07pm

It will open the car but when we try to start it, we get problems.
Sometimes it won't stop.
It's giving messages like 'press stop twice'.
We had problems like this last Christmas, and had to get the card reprogrammed.
It's the only card we've got so we're a bit nervous about using it.

lifer_sean · 10-12-2010 12:12pm

Donal at KC Systems, Watergrasshill, Cork, repairs these. Was charging about 70 or 80 euro, don't have a recent price.

www.kcsystems.ie

sbsquarepants · 10-12-2010 12:33pm

Check out autokey.ie, they repair the cards for €80 or supply a new one for €180, much cheaper than renault. I think for a replacement though you need to have an existing card for them to copy.
Are you sure it's your card though, sounds similar to a problem i was having, which turned out to be the reader, which is just a plug in device, a mechanic swapped mine on the side of the road in less than a minute, no programing required (which renault told me there was!)

austin.keegan · 10-12-2010 1:46pm

Thanks for your responses.
How would I know if it was just the Reader, and not the Card itself?

knuth · 10-12-2010 3:29pm

austin.keegan wrote: »

It will open the car but when we try to start it, we get problems.
Sometimes it won't stop.
It's giving messages like 'press stop twice'.
We had problems like this last Christmas, and had to get the card reprogrammed.
It's the only card we've got so we're a bit nervous about using it.

Given the cost and hassle of having to endure being stuck on the side of the road and waiting for a pickup truck etc you'd be better off purchasing a NEW second key.

Think of the peace of mind you will acquire :pac:

Ardennes1944 · 10-12-2010 3:38pm

can autokey.ie do anything for you if your in cork like me?

sbsquarepants · 10-12-2010 4:13pm

Not sure about the answer to either of those questions, sorry!
It was renault told me i needed a new reader and then i just found out by chance that they didn't need to fit it, they spun me a yarn about it having to be matched to the car and so on, but no such thing, i watched the guy change it...... plug out old one, plug in new one, simple as that. He charged me €100, i think renault wanted €280 or something like that!

starfish12 · 15-08-2011 4:57pm

I've lost my spare key, but the car is under warranty - will I void it by not going to renault for the spare? Auto key are quoting my 70 quid less than renault, but not worth voiding the warranty for €70!

Renault key cards

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