How to replace lost Mercedes key fob
If you haven’t driven your Mercedes Benz in a while chances, are you may have misplaced the key fob. Searching for a lost car key can be frustrating and overwhelming for most. We recommend checking a few places first before buying a Mercedes key replacement.
First, let’s check under the hood, we know, it’s a strange place to look but often times if you’ve been working on the car, it could have been placed around the engine bay or hood latch. If the vehicle has been searched inside and out, maybe the key could have fallen out of your pockets outside while doing yard work. Having a metal detector handy or borrowing one if needed to search around your home in the grass and the flower beds to see if it’s laying there. Retracing your steps as best as possible is your best luck at finding where they may have been put.
If memory is not serving you well and you’ve thrown in the towel of looking for the lost key, having mercedes-keyreplacement.com replace it for you will be your cheapest way of getting a new fob made for your Benz. All we need from you is the EIS or Electronic Ignition Switch, which can be removed easily by following our step-by-step instructions on the removal process for the EIS.
At a cost starting at only $225, why have the frustration of towing it to a dealership only to wait for them to get a key from Germany a week later! Keep your money in the USA because all our work is done right here in Ohio. We provide OEM Mercedes logo keys, the same as the dealer would! We also provide a warranty if the key stops working, just send us the key back and we will ship you a new one. Some restrictions apply.
When you ship us your electronic switch, we immediately start the process of collecting the data from the ignition. With Mercedes, this process can take up to 8 hours to process. Once we are successful in pulling the information, we can transfer it to a file and write it into a key so that it locks, unlocks, opens the trunk, but most important, it starts your car. Within 24 hours we will have your new fobik key and original EIS mailed back so you can start the process of reinstalling it. After that, it’s a simple as inserting your new key into the switch, turning it over and starting it. Making you mobile again.
Why go anywhere else to replace a lost Mercedes key fob, when you can go directly to your mailbox! With our direct mailbox service, you never have to leave home. Making it a convenient and affordable option if your keys are lost. Just like Amazon.com but for car key replacements.
FYI we do however request proof of ownership for any of our services. Due to security, we require ID and title work in order to process any lost key replacement requests.
History of the Mercedes key
Mercedes started getting serious about theft just before it hit a historic peak in 1991, to stay ahead of the curve they introduced the first steering wheel lock in 1989 that was built into the column to allow the owner to remove the key and lock the wheel without using an external device to do it in the Mercedes 300CE model. Before switching over to an electronic steering lock or ESL starting in 1998 this increased the difficulty of bypassing it. The ESL works alongside with the EIS or electronic ignition switch to communicate to each other under the FBS umbrella.
Going thru the timeline of how the Mercedes key evolved over the years into what it is now is intriguing. As with all automobiles, some of the first required a hand crank to start them, later on requiring a mechanical key to drive. Starting in the year 1996, Mercedes moved over to chipped keys that worked alongside with their immobilizer system they called Das 1 and Das 2, you can tell when they did the change when they switched over to high security keys from double edged cut keys. Very quickly, starting in 1998 they changed the remote up with the remote flip key from the stand alone key, making it easier to not lose by having everything attached together. The remote flip keys were used in there most common models including the C-Class from 1997-2000 to the SLK-Class from 1998-2004 as well as the Sprinter van from 2006 all the way up to 2018. It worked well for them, although making it more complicated for getting a Mercedes key replacement due to the EEPROM work needed to extract the data to create a new key. Dats 3 was also introduced at the same time. For most Mercedes Benz vehicles, the year 2004 was when they started making remote fobik keys with infrared communication. This was also when FBS3 was first put into Mercedes vehicles. The tip of the key sends information to the electronic ignition switch to verify it is the correct fob to the vehicle, once verified it can rotate and start the vehicle. The key will not start until its programmed, however. Starting around 2012, keyless go, a new way that starts the car was released. Acting as a proximity, there is no need to ever hold your keys ever again as there are sensors all around the vehicle that know if you have your key in your pocket or not, allowing you to unlock it with only your hands on the door latch or pressing the hood latch button it can open. Equipped with a push to start button, there is no need to insert any kind of device into the dashboard or around the steering column as it detects the keyless go fob in your pocket wirelessly. However, in 2014 they switched to the das4 system which included the FBS4 system, unfortunately there is no tool on the market that can produce a working key fob for these vehicles. Only the dealership is the gate keeper to those keys.