Key
 

Hey I only got 1 set of key when i brought my used rx8. I went to walmart trying to get a copy but they cant do it cuz they say it got chips in it. Now i want another set of key but i read in the manual that you need something like "key code number plate" well i dont have that............. So how am i going to get another set of key? And how much is it going to cost to get a key +remote?

what i had to do with my acura was go to the dealership and prove i was the owner. you have to have a picture ID and they can give you the key code. after that, pretty much any lockshop should be able to make you a key.

If you do a search you'll find how to buy a key online (ebay, websites, etc) and reprogram them yourself.

You will need to go to the dealer to add a key to a RX-8 you only have one key for.

The RX-8 uses a transponder key. The key has a small microchip in it, that when the key is inserted into the ignition switch, a radio frequency burst is sent to the key. The key then transmits back a pre-coded 5 digit code. If the code is not one already programed, the PCM does not allow the car to stat.

To learn a new code/transponder key, is very easy if you have two already coded keys. You simply turn the 1st key on (not started- just on) for 5 seconds, remove it, turn the second key on for 5 seconds, remove it, turn the new key in and turn it on for 5 seconds. The system will learn the new key.

But if you don't have two keys, it will not learn a new key without the dealer computer interface (to prevent valet's or mechanic's from learning new keys while they have only one).

Somebody still has your other key...don't get too attached to your car...

How hard would it be, and would it work, to get a Mazda flip key and get it cut and programmed for my RX-8?

I see them on ebay all the time.....
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2005-...spagenameZWDVW

If you were never given that key code, it's really gonna cost you from a dealer. Just prepare for an easy $200 from the dealer. And yes, the dealer is the only place you'll be able to get another now.

OK WTF 200$ wow

Track it down
 

I'd try to track down the lineage of the car if I were you to see if you can find the second original, might save you a couple hundred bucks for the price of a few phone calls. Call the place you bought it and see if they don't have it, if they have record of who the previous owner was (This should be on file) and try to track it and the 3 digit code plate down to save yourself some bucks.

To kinda go along with this... I contacted the previous owner on my car to find out if he had the/a second key that he forget to give me. I also asked in the voicemail I left if he would let me know where he bought the car from. I do not really think I am going to find the key, but worth the try.

Is there anyway to figure out who the previous owners were if the guy I bought it off of has no clue?

Previous owners
 

There should be a list of all previous owners on the title. If not, you should be able to back-track through the transfer of ownership paperwork that had to be filled out each tim the car title was transferred.

This must be different with different states... Because I have owned ~16 cars in Indiana and know there is no paperwork for title or transfer of ownership with all of the previous owners on it. Maybe the BMV would be able to look it up, but with all the HIPAA stuff I highly doubt they would give me the information.

How many other states to not really provide that information?

Hmm....
 

I have only purchased cars in Tennessee and I've only owned 4 cars in the 17 years I have been driving, but I am under the impression, and have always been required to physically sign the title upon transfer here, there has always been a list of names on the physical car title of everyone who has owned the car from the original purchaser showing the chain of custody of the vehicle on the back of the car title itself on cars I have purchased.

Even going one step at a time, the dealership that you bought it from has to have records of where they got the vehicle from at the very least, I'd start with them.

ditto what they guys said above about visiting the dealer... but, what i'm curious about is why would u buy a used car with only 1 key without checking w/ the dealer first about changing the locks?

Why would I really check... I bought from a private seller who does not know where I live. If he "forgot" to give me the key I am sure he will tell me when he calls me back. I pay for insurance so that if my car gets stolen it is covered. So if someone actually does have the other key and takes the time to track me/my car down, then more than likely he would have found a way to get the car no matter what.

Call me gullible/too trusting/stupid, it really wont bother me, but I have TONS better things to worry about then if someone in another state (that has no clue I even have the car since I just bought it) has a key to my car. Sorry, but for the $1,000 + dollars the dealership would probably charge to change every lock on the car and reprogram the system, I will take my chances and buy more mods to put on the car.

Odds are he lost the key, or it's in an unknown drawer somewhere, or a friend who drove the car once forgot to give it back. Nothing nefarious. Or maybe it will be "Oops - it was in my other pants. Stop by and I'll give it to you."

But if he's like me, he won't have a clue. By the time I get rid of a car, I have no idea where the original keys are. They're kind of like socks in a drier. I believe the key I use on my Accord is a copy of the spare that I had made just after I bought the car. I do know what happened to the original copy (lost in a stolen briefcase) but I have no recollection at all about what happened to the two actual originals.

If he does not have the second key, call a dealer to see what they'd charge. Rosenthal Mazda lists the retractable key and remote at $180 - don't know if that's what all dealers charge. They'd charge for cutting and programming. Weigh that against the odds of misplacing your one.

I live in terror against the time I lose my key. Having a spare at home is OK, but odds are I'll lose it on a trip 500 miles from home, on a Sunday when all the dealers and locksmiths are closed. I cannot believe I'm saving enough insurance money to cover the anxiety.

Ken

The dealer cut a copy for $30, and programmed it for $60.

Hey, sorry to resurrect this old thread, but I'm in the same boat. The previous owner claims that he was only given 1 key by the owner before him, who he claims lost the spare.

Is my only option really to go to a dealer?

Maybe buying the key online and bringing it to them will be a little cheaper?

https://www.ikeyless.com/vehicles/ma...6/product82947
https://www.ikeyless.com/vehicles/ma...6/product82948

or any other good keys?

Thanks!

go to the dealer.....and have them program it....prob be cheaper to buy the key itself somewhere else but I'm not sure!

I only have one key too. I think i'm going to get one made, and then bring it to the dealer to get programmed. I think that would be cheaper. Hopefully.

What key are you going to buy?

I found a third one at the iKeyLess site that is key only w/ transponder:

https://www.ikeyless.com/vehicles/ma...5/product82943

Looks perfect for an in-the-wallet spare because it should work for everything.