Subaru key replacement after the trail, the lake or the river
A key dropped on a trail or a fob soaked at a boat ramp can end an outing early. We drive out to the car anywhere in Canyon and Ada counties, Nampa included, from lots at Lake Lowell to the Boise River Greenbelt or Celebration Park, wherever the service vehicle can get to it. With no street address, give us the road and the nearest cross street or landmark.
If the fob went in the water, take the battery out and let everything dry at room temperature, with no heat and no button pressing. The chip often survives even when the remote doesn't; the wet key fob guide covers the rest.
Which Subaru key is on your ring?
Inside every car key are as many as three working parts: the blade fits the locks, the chip (a transponder) proves to the car that the key is its own, and the remote locks or unlocks the doors with a button press. Each time you start, the immobilizer, the part of the car that blocks the engine unless it recognizes a key, checks that chip, so a copy of the blade alone opens the doors and goes no further.
On most Subarus from the 2000s on, the chip rides in a plain plastic key head. On many models the lock and unlock buttons sit in that same head, so one key handles all three jobs. Then there is the Subaru smart key, the fob that goes with push-button start on many newer Outback, Forester, Crosstrek and Ascent models. Some people call it a proximity key, since the car detects it close by, and most carry a small backup blade tucked inside.
What we ask when you call
- The year and model, since the key can change from one model year to the next, plus whether the engine starts with a key or a button.
- Where the car is, from a Meridian driveway to a trailhead lot.
- Whether a working key is still in hand, and how many keys you'd like after the visit.
Once we know that, the price is explained on the call. At the car, the first thing we ask for is a picture ID, along with the title or registration, and the key comes after that check.
Before you pick up the phone
Try your other key first: if it starts the car, the problem is in the key you were using, not in the Subaru. If the smart key won't respond at all, slide out its emergency blade to open the driver's door. A flashing security light with a silent engine means the car isn't reading the chip; our security light answer covers what to check.
At the car, and when it's a dealer job
On site, we cut the blade first, then pair the chip, or the whole smart key, with your Subaru. Each key then has to unlock the doors and fire up the engine before the service vehicle pulls away. Car keys are the only thing we work on, so everything on board is there for this job.
A few of the newest models need security access only a dealer can open, and when that's true of yours, you hear it on the call before any visit is booked. Fobs bought online get a compatibility check first; many can't be programmed, and we make no promises on them.
More on each job: a replacement Subaru key fob, transponder chip keys, smart keys for button-start cars and a key when none are left.