2001 Jeep Cherokee
Key Replacement - Save vs Dealer in Ventura County

2001 Jeep Cherokee Transponder Key Replacement - Fast, Affordable & Professional

Got a call from Springville Park in Camarillo. A guy had one working key left for his 2001 Cherokee and the plastic housing was cracked down the middle, held together with electrical tape. He said he had been driving like that for months but his wife told him if that key finally split apart they were both stuck.

Fair point. The XJ Cherokee with Sentry Key is an all-or-nothing system. If your last transponder key dies, the SKIM module will not let the engine start. Period. Dealer route for an all-keys-lost XJ means a tow, a new SKIM module or a reflash, and a wait that can stretch past a week because these parts are not exactly sitting on shelves in 2025.

I cut a fresh Y160 blade on site and cloned his existing TI DST transponder chip to a new BY160-PT key blank. His cracked key still worked, so I was able to read the chip data clean. Took about 20 minutes total, most of that on the cut itself.

He turned both keys in the ignition, watched the SKIS light blink and go out each time. Then he peeled the electrical tape off the old one and just held it up like evidence.

Now he has a solid spare and his wife has her own key. A fraction of what the dealer wanted, and nobody had to tow anything anywhere.

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