Chip Car Keys Explained

Not That New Anymore

To some of our older readers, the concept of opening locked cars with electronic keys may still seem like a novel or relatively recent concept, but it’s really not. Any car key made for a vehicle that was manufactured post 1999 is likely to be made with an electronic transponder in it. It’s worth noting early on that electronic transponder keys are just another fancier name for the colloquial chip keys. These keys haven’t advanced much since their inception with most of them still performing the same basic function of unlocking and locking the car at hand. Occasionally on higher end models you will see options to incorporate boot access as well. For more automation, people tend to lean towards cell phone applications, so we’ll focus on the most common chip keys which are used simply to open and close car door locking mechanisms.

The Positive Points

There are many positives to having electronic keys instead of regular car keys which is probably why they have become increasingly popular over the last decade. Being able to automatically open your car is useful if your arms are full of stuff and you just want to load it into your car quickly. The convenience of easy unlocking also comes in handy when you want to turn off your accidental car alarm noise as quickly as possible. The main thing automated keys add to our lives is convenience, and nobody can ever get enough of that.

How They Work

The concept of an electronic car key is fairly simple, though to actually get your car key made we’d still recommend going to an automotive locksmith. As a concept, all an automated car key does is give off radio frequencies when pressed, that when matched with the car’s radio signal will prompt the vehicle to unlock. Do note that there are cars that will not start if the key is giving off the wrong signal (e.g. it has been damaged). This is to ensure the safety of the driver and also helps to reduce the risk of theft because each key has a unique frequency that is tailored to its specific car integration system.

Security Comes First

With high value items such as your car, it’s important to ensure their absolute security. If you can up the security measures on a vehicle AND add extra convenience to your life, why wouldn’t you? The chip key system has definitely been around for long enough to be considered a tried and true method for car security. If you haven’t already got one, perhaps consider asking our local automotive locksmith to get one installed.