1998 Acura RL
Key Replacement - Save vs Dealer in Ventura County

1998 Acura RL Replacement - Fast, Affordable & Professional

In Santa Barbara, out at El Capitan State Beach, a 1998 Acura RL owner flagged me down because he was running his whole life off one worn master key.

The black plastic head was splitting along the seam and the Megamos ID13 chip was rattling loose inside. He figured this meant a flatbed to the dealer and a week without his car. You could see him mentally rearranging his entire schedule while we stood in the parking area.

This RL uses Acura's Type 1 immobilizer. The receiver coil wraps the ignition cylinder, and the immobilizer control unit sits under the dash near the steering column. When the coil reads the ID13 chip and the code checks out, the ICU talks to the PCM through a serial handshake and the starter cut relay closes. When it doesn't check out, the engine cranks but won't fire, or sometimes won't crank at all. Looks like a dead starter to most people.

I cut a fresh BHD106-PT blank to his existing key, cloned the working ID13 signal, and test-started repeatedly with both keys, pulling each one out, reinserting, verifying cold starts. He kept turning the cracked original over in his hand, then finally tossed it in the center console like he was done tempting fate.

The dealer was still an option. He didn't need it.

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