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Originally Posted by Chris Lamle I remember a clause in a vehicle leasing contract which said that a replacement 'red key' for an Alfa Romeo was £2K. 
Other manufacturers prices for keys were in the several hundred pound level.
Scandalous really. |
I have heard (whether true or not I don't know) that the reason for that is that the immobiliser tends to be built directly into the engine management computer nowadays. If you lose the master key, they therefore have to replace the entire engine management system (and the keys), which isn't a cheap job.
Or at least, that's what I was told by a Mazda dealer when I asked a few years back.
On the original topic of the thread, I don't think the transponders in the keys wear out over time - they may well fail due to water damage, ESD, vibration etc, but they certainly don't "wear out", as such, and I really wouldn't replace all your keys as a preventative measure. There's no guarantee the replacement keys wouldn't die in the first week of ownership for the same reason!