2018 Subaru WRX
Key Replacement - Save vs Dealer in Ventura County

2018 Subaru WRX Smart Key Replacement - Fast, Affordable & Professional

A guy in Leisure Village, Camarillo called me about a WRX that wouldn't respond to its fob at all. He'd already been told by another locksmith that the job was done. Paid them. Drove home. Woke up the next morning and the car wouldn't start.

When I got there, the fob lit up the door locks fine. But the push-button start just sat there ignoring it. That's a specific kind of failure. The remote functions and the start authorization talk to different parts of the system, and what the previous guy apparently did was get the remote functions working without fully completing the immobilizer enrollment. Half a job, full price.

I connected my diagnostic equipment, pulled the fault codes out of the immobilizer, and found exactly what I expected. The prior programming attempt had written partial data and left the module in a confused state. I cleared it, stabilized his battery with my jump pack so nothing could interrupt the sequence again, and ran a clean registration from scratch.

The fob enrolled on the first attempt. Start button worked. I walked every button, confirmed the doors, and had him drive it around the parking lot before I packed up.

He mentioned the dealer had quoted him a multi-day turnaround and a bill that made him wince. He'd gone with the cheaper locksmith first to avoid that, which is completely understandable. But here he was, paying twice. I kept my side of it well below what the dealer wanted, and he was back on the road the same afternoon.

That's the one that sticks with me when someone asks why they should care who they call.

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