Replacement Car Key Cost Sidcup Bexley

Replacement car key cost in Sidcup & Bexley Kent

See how much you can save with our Replacement Car Key price list updated 06-2020 below

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Replacement remote costs in Bexley Kent

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Prices includes:

• Cost of remote
• Key cut to code
• Remote programmed to your vehicle
• Fully mobile service within the Bexley area

Immobiliser Information and History in the UK

An immobiliser is an electronic security device fitted to a motor vehicle that prevents the engine from starting unless the correct transponder key or remote is present. This prevents the vehicle from being hot wired after entry has been achieved and helps to reduce motor vehicle theft. 

Research shows that the uniform application of immobilisers reduced the rate of car theft by 40% in the UK

Immobilisers have been Compulsory in all new cars sold in the United Kingdom since 1 October 1998, any new vehicles arriving into the UK after the time from a country that immobilisers was not yet Compulsory had to have an Immobiliser fitted before it was aloud in

Early models used a static code in the ignition key or Remote which was recognised by a receiver around the ignition lock this code is checked against the vehicle’s engine control unit ECU for a match. If the code was unrecognised the ECU will not allow fuel to flow and or ignition to take place. 

Later models use rolling codes or advanced cryptography to defeat copying of the code from the key or ECU.

The small electronic circuit inside the key is activated by an electromagnetic field which induces current to flow inside the key body, which in turn broadcasts a unique binary code which is read by the cars ECU. When the ECU determines that the coded key is both current and valid, the ECU activates the fuel-injection sequence.

In some vehicles attempts to use an unauthorised or “non-sequenced” key cause the vehicle to activate a timed no-start condition and in some highly advanced systems, even use satellite or mobile phone communication to alert a security firm that an unauthorised attempt was made to code a key.

Aftermarket immobilisers are available for older cars or vehicles that do not come equipped with factory immobilisers. 

The insurance approval for a self-arming immobiliser is known as Thatcham 2 after the Motor Insurance Repair Research Centre in Thatcham, England. Approved immobilisers must intercept at least two circuits; typically 1. low-voltage ignition circuit 2. fuel pump circuit. 

Some may also intercept the low-current starter motor circuit from the key switch to the Starter motor relay

Some vulnerabilities have been found in the immobilisers designed to protect modern cars from theft. Many vehicle immobilisers use the Megamos-chip, which has been proven to be crackable. The Megamos transponder is one of many different transponders found in today’s immobiliser systems and also comes in many different versions. Hacking of an immobiliser in the real world would be performed on the vehicle, not on the key. It would be faster to program a new key to the vehicle than to try to clone the existing key, especially on modern vehicles.

Some immobiliser systems tend to remember the last key code for so long that they may even accept a non-transponder key even after the original key has been removed from the ignition for a few minutes.

A 2016 study found that the immobiliser lowered the overall rate of car theft by about 40% between 1995-2008 and the benefits in terms of prevented thefts were at least three times higher than the costs of installing the device.

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Cost of Car Key Replacement April-2020 Price list Bexley Kent DA5