Turn-key Nissans and push-button Nissans
Every Nissan starts one of two ways: you turn a key, or you press a button while the key rides somewhere inside the car. Which one yours does tells us most of what the new key has to be.
Many turn-key Nissans use a chip key: a metal blade for the locks and the ignition, and a chip in the head. That chip is a transponder: it answers the immobilizer, the anti-theft system that will not let the engine run for a key it has never learned. If your key also has lock and unlock buttons, that is the third part, the remote.
Push-button models use the Nissan Intelligent Key, a smart key or proximity key that the car senses when it is close. Most of these fobs hide a slim emergency blade that opens the driver's door.
Why many Nissans ask for a security code
On many Nissan models, the car wants a security code before it will learn a new key. That code is part of the programming itself and is handled with the equipment we bring.
Think of it as a second lock on the car's memory, and one reason a working Nissan key takes more than a freshly cut blade.
Nissan key replacement: what to tell us on the phone
Begin with the year and model from the registration, and whether you start the car with a key or a button. Then the location: a street address, the name of the lot, or a cross street and a landmark if the car is on a back road near Kuna or Middleton. Last, whether any key still works.
With those details, we explain what your Nissan needs and what it will cost. Have your photo ID handy, with the title or the registration; nothing is opened or made until we have seen them.
Worth trying before you call
- Another key. If a second key starts the engine, the car's side is working and only the first key needs attention.
- The fob battery. A dash warning that no key is found, or a door that ignores the handle button, often points to a weak coin cell. A Nissan key fob that has truly failed is a different story, and that page explains how to tell.
At the car, and the limits worth knowing
We drive the service vehicle to the Nissan, whether it sits in a Nampa driveway, a parking lot or a work yard. The blade is cut on board, the chip or Intelligent Key is programmed to the car, and each key is tried in the locks, then used to start the engine, before we leave. If keys were lost or stolen, on many vehicles the missing ones can be wiped from the car's memory. We don't do house or business locks; the vehicle is the whole job.
Some newer vehicles can't get a key without security access that only the dealer holds; when that applies, we tell you on the phone. Fobs bought online often won't accept programming, so we confirm the part suits the car before promising anything. We also work on many Infiniti models; call with the year and model.
Related pages: a new key when nothing is left to copy, transponder keys and Intelligent Key and other smart keys.