2002 Acura RL
Key Replacement - Save vs Dealer in San Diego

2002 Acura RL Remote Head Key Replacement - Fast, Affordable & Professional

A woman called me from the vet clinic parking lot off the San Pasqual Valley Road corridor, out in the wide-open stretch near the valley floor. August.

Her dog had just finished an appointment and was back in the car, and the windows were cracked but not enough. The 2002 Acura RL remote head key had stopped triggering the locks completely. She could get in manually with the blade, but the remote functions were dead and she was rattled.

She had already called the dealer. Earliest slot was the next afternoon. She called me right after.

I told her to get the dog out and into whatever shade she could find, and that I was about 20 minutes out from Escondido. When I arrived, she had the dog on a leash in a strip of shadow along the clinic wall. That was the right call.

I looked at the key first before plugging anything in. The battery cover on the remote head had a little corrosion creeping around the seam, which usually means moisture got in at some point. I popped the housing and the CR2025 contacts had oxidized badly enough to interrupt the circuit. The remote side was done.

I replaced the remote head key unit, programmed it to the vehicle through the OBD port, cut the blade to match the original, and walked every function before I packed up. Locks, trunk release, all of it. The transponder enrolled cleanly on the first attempt, which is typical for these when the immobilizer module is healthy.

From her phone call to her driving away was just under 45 minutes. The dealer would have had her leaving the car overnight. The dog was fine.

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