Key Codes Leave Car Owners Locked Out

Several AAA chapters are pushing legislation to create a secure database that would put key codes in the hands of owners or professionals such as locksmiths. In Maryland, a bill was introduced last month to require automakers and dealers to develop a system so car owners would have access to such information around the clock. A similar bill is pending in California.

Roger Stephens , who lives in Park City, Utah, had a particularly tough problem with his used 1998 Mercedes ML 320. When his key inexplicably stopped working, he tried to order another from the dealer. But he was told he needed a whole new computer. Mercedes ordered the parts at $2,508.08. Labor cost more than $1,000. His car was tied up at the dealership for eight weeks while the computer was shipped from Germany.

Donna Boland , spokesman for Mercedes -Benz USA , said that owners have an opportunity to have up to eight code replacements and that that is sufficient for most. "We don't have a lot of complaints on this matter," she said. Mercedes now has computers programmed to offer owners enough codes to cut new keys 24 times.

Toyota Motor Corp . gives new owners detailed information in its manuals, something Smith said she didn't know. And since last fall, Toyota has begun to replace car computers without charge when necessary.

William Kwong , spokesman for Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc ., said there isn't much of a problem unless all the keys are lost. Otherwise, he said, a dealer can make one for about $80. "The best thing is not to lose both keys," he said.

Ditlow isn't sure the technology is all it's cracked up to be, especially since entrepreneurial thieves have figured out ways to take the cars by removing the computers and dropping in "new" ones or loading the cars on flatbed trucks and driving away. He thinks consumers are having their pockets picked as well as their keys replaced when they are dependent on dealers to cut and program keys.

Al Binder , editor of Ward's Automotive Yearbook, said only about 10 percent of vehicles had the advanced-key systems five years ago. Now, about half the new models made in the United States have them, and they are standard on almost all luxury cars.

The National Automotive Service Task Force -- a group of locksmiths, some automakers and independent repair shops -- has been studying how to make the codes available yet still maintain security. The group is leaning toward letting certain locksmiths have access to a database of the codes.

Timothy McMullen , legislative manager for the Associated Locksmiths of America , said 90 percent of locksmiths can't handle the problem for late-model, high-end cars because dealers and manufacturers don't give out code information. But Dwight Brooks, a locksmith in Capitol Heights, said he has a $4,500 machine that allows him to cut and program many of the keys, though it may require taking apart the ignition to fix the problem.

Law enforcement and insurance officials oppose the bill in Maryland.

"We are totally against putting it [key codes] in a centralized database and making it available to any hacker," said W. Ray Presley , executive director of the Maryland Vehicle Theft Prevention Council , a state agency. "Your key code and my key code will be in there whether we want it to be or not."

In the meantime, owners can hope their encounters with getting a replacement key end as pleasantly as Smith's.

Once she moved to Washington, Smith took her Highlander to Jim Coleman Toyota in Bethesda, where service manager Wanda Cockrell took care of the $305 bill to cut and program two keys. And she threw in an oil and fluid change.