2002 Hyundai Elantra
Key Replacement - Save vs Dealer in Ventura County

2002 Hyundai Elantra Remote Head Key Replacement - Fast, Affordable & Professional

A guy had been parking his 2002 Elantra on Main Street in Downtown Ventura for years without a single issue. Then he got a replacement key made somewhere else, and about two weeks later his car started acting strange at random times.

It would start fine in the morning. By the time he was done with lunch, it would crank and immediately die. Not every time. Maybe one out of four tries. He was convinced there was a fuel issue or a bad relay somewhere in the car. He had already talked to a mechanic about it before someone told him to look at the key first.

He found me and described what was happening. That pattern, starts then cuts out after a second or two, points directly at the immobilizer rejecting the key after the initial crank. The car lets the engine fire, then the security system catches something it does not like and pulls the fuel signal. It is not a mechanical problem. It is the car doing exactly what it is supposed to do when it does not fully trust the key.

I read the key that had been cut for him. The transponder chip inside was not the right match for his car. Close enough to pass the first check the immobilizer runs, not close enough to pass the follow-up. That two-second window before the stall is exactly where that second check happens.

I programmed a new remote head key with the correct chip for his vehicle, verified it on site, and watched him start it four times before he drove away. The job was done in his parking spot. Cost him a fraction of what the dealer quoted when he called them during the week he thought it was a fuel issue.

The original locksmith was not cutting corners on purpose. They just used a chip that was close but not right for this specific application. That two-second stall is the car telling you the difference matters.

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