2006 Subaru Outback
Key Replacement - Save vs Dealer in San Diego

2006 Subaru Outback Transponder Key Replacement - Fast, Affordable & Professional

I got a call from a driver parked near the brake shop off Eden Gardens in Solana Beach. He had already been through it once. Someone he found through a cheap Google ad showed up, charged him a solid amount, and handed him a key that would turn the ignition but the car would crank and stall every single time. Classic sign that the transponder was never enrolled properly. He was skeptical by the time he reached me, which is completely fair given what he had just paid for nothing.

He asked straight out how he could verify I was legitimate. I gave him my BSIS license number on the phone and told him to look it up on the state website while we were talking. He did. That took about thirty seconds and then the tone of the conversation changed.

When I got there I could see what the previous locksmith had done. The key blade was cut correctly, so the car unlocked and turned over, but the chip had never been linked to the vehicle security system. The immobilizer was cutting fuel and spark right after the engine fired. I connected my programmer, pulled up the 2006 Outback profile, and ran the enrollment sequence for the transponder. Took the car through a full start cycle to confirm it was holding. Then I had him try it himself a few times so he could see it was not going to stall on him.

He asked what the dealer would have charged to sort the same mess out. I told him he would have been looking at a tow, a wait, and a bill that would have made this whole situation hurt even more. What I charged him was exactly what I quoted on the phone, before I even saw the car.

BSIS Licensed

LCO#6792

CA Bureau of Security & Investigative Services

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National Automotive Service Task Force

Fully Insured

Liability & vehicle damage coverage

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