1997 Acura CL
Key Replacement - Save vs Dealer in Ventura County

1997 Acura CL Remote Replacement - Fast, Affordable & Professional

Got a call from a guy over in Poinsettia. His 1997 Acura CL wouldn't start, and he'd already done the rounds. Two shops had quoted him for transponder programming and chip key cutting. One even mentioned diagnostic time to "communicate with the immobilizer."

I asked him the year before I even loaded up the van.

The 1997 CL doesn't have an immobilizer. It's a plain mechanical key, full stop. The transponder system came in on a later model year. His car was sitting in his driveway getting quoted for technology it was never built with.

What he actually had was a worn ignition situation. The key had been used for nearly three decades, and the blade was ground down enough that the wafers inside the cylinder weren't catching cleanly. It would slide in, but turning past accessories was a coin flip.

I pulled the key code, cut a fresh blade to spec right there in the driveway, and dressed the cylinder so it would engage properly. He turned the key. Started on the first try.

He sat there for a moment, just turning the ignition on and off a few times, like he was double-checking the universe. Then he looked at me and said nothing, which said everything.

Two shops were about to charge him for a service his car has never needed. He paid a fraction of what either of them quoted.

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