2010 Honda Element
Key Replacement - Save vs Dealer in Ventura County

2010 Honda Element Remote Head Key Replacement - Fast, Affordable & Professional

Up near Serra Cross Park in Ventura, I pulled up to a guy who was sitting on his Element's tailgate eating a sandwich and waiting. He'd already been to the dealer that morning. They gave him a number that made him put his sandwich down, and he started calling around before he even left the lot.

He had one working key left, and it was working badly. The lock button took three or four presses from any distance, the unlock was inconsistent, and he was nervous about relying on it. He hadn't lost the key. It just wasn't right anymore.

I popped the fob case first. The CR1616 inside still had the original factory sticker on it, meaning it had never been changed. Ten-year-old battery. That alone was half the story. I swapped it, reseated the contact clip which had a slight outward bow, and cleaned the board contacts with a dry brush.

Then I walked it. Lock from across the parking lot, unlock, all four buttons, walked back to the car, three clean starts. Range came back to where it should be, and every button was responding on the first press.

He didn't need a new key cut or any programming. He needed the battery and a clean contact. I told him what I found, what I did, and why I tested it the way I did rather than just handing it back.

That five minutes of testing at the end is the part that confirms the fix held. It's the same process whether the job is a simple service call or a full replacement. He left paying a fraction of what the dealer wanted for a whole new key, and the original key was fine the whole time.

BSIS Licensed

LCO#6792

CA Bureau of Security & Investigative Services

NASTF Certified

National Automotive Service Task Force

Fully Insured

Liability & vehicle damage coverage

Google Guaranteed

Verified & backed by Google