2014 Subaru WRX
Key Replacement - Save vs Dealer in Ventura County

2014 Subaru WRX Transponder Key Replacement - Fast, Affordable & Professional

I got a text from a guy out at a trailhead pullout west of Camarillo. He'd been mountain biking and came back to his 2014 WRX with nothing in his pocket. The key was gone, somewhere on the trail, and it wasn't coming back.

No dealer close enough to matter. No tow truck that could do anything useful even if he called one. He had cell service just long enough to send me a pin and a message that said "please tell me you can come here."

I loaded everything for the WRX and drove out to him. When I pulled up he was sitting on his tailgate in full kit, helmet still on, looking at his car like it had personally wronged him.

The job on an all-keys-lost WRX has a step most people don't know about: there's a mandatory wait period built into the immobilizer reset sequence before you can enroll a new key. You can't skip it, can't trick it, can't hurry it. So I connected my equipment, started the process, and we just stood there in the dirt talking about the trail while the timer ran. He asked if something was wrong. I told him no, this is just how the system works. He seemed both relieved and annoyed at the same time, which is a reasonable response.

After the wait, I cut the replacement key from the blank I had on the truck, enrolled it through the diagnostic port, and handed it to him. He turned the key. The WRX started.

He mentioned the dealer quote he'd gotten once before for a spare key. I told him what I charged. He laughed a little and said he wished he'd called me that first time too.

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