2004 Acura TL
Key Replacement - Save vs Dealer in Ventura County

2004 Acura TL Transponder Key Replacement - Fast, Affordable & Professional

I was parked near the marina at Ventura Harbor on a Thursday afternoon when the call came in. A woman had snapped her only key off in the door lock of her 2004 TL.

Not the ignition, the door. She had the bow of the key in her hand and the blade was still sitting in the lock cylinder. She had found me by searching on her phone from the parking lot.

I drove straight there. The broken blade came out clean with a extractor, which was the part she was most anxious about watching. Once that was done I had a look at the remaining key bow and confirmed the cut pattern, then decoded the lock to cross-reference the depth and spacing before cutting a new key on site.

The part most people do not expect is the programming step. You can cut a perfect key for a 2004 TL and it will turn the ignition just fine, but the engine will not stay running unless the transponder chip in the key head is recognized by the immobilizer. That part requires the right diagnostic equipment connected to the OBD port. I handled both steps in the lot, engine running and verified, before she walked back to whatever she had going on by the water.

She had been bracing for a tow to the dealer on top of the key cost. She did not need either.

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