In alt.home.repair, on Sun, 23 Jul 2017 11:33:30 -0400, Frank "frank
wrote:

On 7/22/2017 10:09 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Saturday, July 22, 2017 at 8:49:10 PM UTC-4, micky wrote:
How many of you carry a 2nd copy of your car keys and fob, when you're
in town?

When you go out of town?



Before I had a fob, I carried a second car key for 10 or 20 years, but I
stopped a while ago. I have a spare housekey and carkey buried in my
yard somewhere, but I've never trusted magnetic keyholders for cars. I
thought either it would fall off or someone would find it, since there
are so few good places to put it. So I carried the dupe in my pocket.

Hide a spare key in the vehicle. Have a third key made without the
transponder. It can still be done for many vehicles, but you might
have to ask around. Make the hole in the key a little bigger, remove a
license plate and hang the key from the screw before you reattach the
plate. On which side of the plate you place the key should be fairly
obvious.

Now, if you lose your keys, or lock them inside, all you need is a
screwdriver or anything that can be used as a screwdriver. Since the
third key has no transponder, it can't be used to start the car, just
to open it. Now retrieve your spare key and you are good to go.

Someone suggested you hide the spare key with the transponder in the
driving compartment and can get keys made without the transponder that
will then work.

When I bought a new Subaru last year, I told the sales lady that I
always carry a spare key in my wallet. The Subaru spare key is called
something like a chauffeurs key as it will not open glove compartment
and is not a remote. The key fob was bulbous and I told her I might cut
it off but she told me it would not work because of the built in device.

Better than ruining a duplicate key just to make it thinner, you should
make a copy of it on a non-chip-key blank They are flat, not bulbous
and cost no more than a duplicate house key and can be made almost
anywhere.

Then you make a good point that you could enter the car, turn the
ignition to Run, use the button to unlock the trunk (on those cars that
have that, as mine does) and get a real chip key out of the trunk,
where you have hidden it. Perhaps if car theft is a verrrry serious risk
in an 8 oz can of waterless handcleaner

Not only could you do that but I could do that. It seems like a good
idea.

You can also make copies of most keys out of plastic, or that are part
of a credit-card size piece of plastic, so they fit in a wallet better.

The only time you should ruin a chip key is if you wish to hide it above
the ignition key slot so that a remote starter will start the car. But
you can just as easily place a complete key there. Then fwiw no one
will need a chip key. My owners manual, 2004 Sebring, says that I
can't use a remote starter, but I suspect they are wrong.