2008 Chrysler 300
Key Replacement - Save vs Dealer in San Diego

2008 Chrysler 300 Smart Key Replacement - Fast, Affordable & Professional

Out in Crest, just past the quieter end of El Cajon where the roads start getting hilly and the neighbors actually wave at each other, I got a call from a guy who had been fighting his 2008 Chrysler 300 for the better part of two weeks.

His FOBIK would go into the column slot, but the car was increasingly stubborn about starting. Some mornings it would fire right up. Other mornings he'd be sitting there cycling the key in and out, waiting, trying again. He had already bought a replacement FOBIK online thinking that was the fix. It was not paired, so it did nothing, but he didn't know that yet.

When I got there he showed me the worn slot on the column receiver. You could see it with a light. The contacts inside had been polished smooth by a FOBIK that had been pushed in and pulled out a little sideways over years of use. The module itself was reading fine electronically. Nothing wrong with the immobilizer. Nothing wrong with the original key's programming. The physical interface between the two had just worn down to the point where contact was unreliable.

I cleaned and adjusted the receiver contacts, then paired the fob he had bought online so it wasn't a wasted purchase. Showed him the before and after on the contacts so he understood what had been happening. He had been a week away from scheduling a dealer appointment for a module replacement.

The dealer route would have meant towing the car in, waiting for a service slot, and paying for parts that were not actually broken. He got it handled in his driveway instead.

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