2003 BMW X5
Key Replacement - Save vs Dealer in San Diego

2003 BMW X5 Remote Head Key Replacement - Fast, Affordable & Professional

I got a call from a guy in Santaluz who had one working key left on his 2003 BMW X5 and wanted a spare before something went wrong. He had already called the dealer. The quote came back high enough that he figured maybe this was just the cost of owning a BMW at this age, and he sat on it for a few weeks.

Then a friend told him to call me instead.

I drove out to Rancho Bernardo and met him in front of his place. He handed me the original key and I spent a few minutes going over the fob, the blade condition, and what the vehicle's immobilizer was showing before I touched anything. Everything looked clean. The original key was still authorizing correctly. Good starting point.

I decoded the blade from the door lock to match the cut precisely, then got the new key blank prepared. The programming side on these runs through the OBD port and talks directly to the immobilizer module. It takes a few steps and the module has to recognize the new slot before it will authorize a start. That part always makes owners a little quiet while they wait. Once the new key turned over the engine, he visibly relaxed.

The whole job was done at his vehicle, no tow, no waiting on parts to arrive from somewhere. He paid a fraction of what the dealer quoted and still had both keys in hand before lunch.

He asked me at the end why the dealer price was so much higher. Honest answer: part of it is overhead, part of it is how the parts ordering system works at a franchise dealership. It has nothing to do with the difficulty of the job itself.

BSIS Licensed

LCO#6792

CA Bureau of Security & Investigative Services

NASTF Certified

National Automotive Service Task Force

Fully Insured

Liability & vehicle damage coverage

Google Guaranteed

Verified & backed by Google