i have my 95 max and both keys i have are home depot copies. ive heard that you can order them from the dealer? do i take them the car or what? i have the two fobs but i want the real keys.

edit: 95

 

Whats so important about real ones? You can buy nissan or nismo blanks and then take them to home depot and get them cut.

 

If your Home Depot keys are fairly worn, I wouldn't bother making a copy onto your new key (when you get it). Here's a cool but semi-expensive way to go.

Purchase an OEM blank (with NISSAN embossed on the black plastic) from your local Nissan Dealer. ~$12

Go to a good reputable locksmith and bring him the blank(s), your registration and Driver's License (he should ask for proof to ensure it's your car), and ask for an ORIGINAL key to be made. Based on your VIN#, year, make and model, he can look your Max up in a database and make the key from scratch. He doesn't even need your Home Depot keys as a go-by! No more worn keys, your new keys will be just like the day it was sold back in 1996. The cost for the locksmith is ~$25 (for two keys). Just some food for thought.

 

thanks wiz and thats exactly why i want originals, previous owner made copies of the copies he had so im sure the cut isnt the same anymore and mine are real worn already.

 

we dont cut new keys at HD. and to copy a copy of who know how many copies would be bad because all the angles(cuts) are way off

 

Hmmmm wonder if a locksmith can cut me an original key with an immobilizer chip in it. Doubt it. Am I stuck paying top dollar for one of those for my 99?

 

Locksmiths can make copies of the keys with chips in it. I believe I paid 45 for mine

 

I don't see why not. A definitive answer is just a phone call away..

For us 99'ers, we'll unfortunately have to let the dealer program it after it gets cut by the locksmith. Talk about an expensive key....

 

I wonder what the actual programming entails and what kind of charge is involved. Might look into that right now as theres nothing else to do on my only day off which just happens to be stormy with tornado watches. God this sucks.

 

It costs 1 hours labor to reprogram a key. The single original key that I bought my car with lost its signal a few nights ago when I was at the movies and I had to get the car towed to Nissan and was forced to cough up $110 to reprogram it. Talk about crappy luck.

 

Not all home depot's or ACE hardware stores can make them perfectly to fit the ignitions of all cars.

I have problems with my copied key.

You can take your car down to a Nissan dealership, and get one ordered, it will cost $20.-$40. dependng on where you live. Also, you have to have the owner of the car with you, if you dont, then they might not even talk to you, lol.

 

just a side note so us maxima owners know. i called courtesy nissan and they dont carry a key code for the 95 max anymore cuz its too old. they only go 10 yrs back. how lame. so the only way to get an original key not a copy is to take out your cylinder and have a locksmith make you a key from that, which is $37.50 by the way + $15 for an OEM nissan key at courtesy.

unless some1 knows how to get their key code or requested it in the past and still has it..

 

True. Hence why I made the suggestions I did above.

Not true at all. Hence why I made the suggestions I did above. Trust me, I'm speaking from experience. Start calling different locksmiths....

 

lol i need to go over to cali! ive called like 10 diff ones today and they all say the same thing. that they need the key code from nissan. i wish it was that easy....

 

Hmmmmm.....that sucks. I could give you the number of the locksmith I used, but it probably won't do you any good.

 

the dealer can look up ur vin and cut them there to just costs more but u save a trip

 

they cant. when the dealer asks you for a vin they look up the key code. and they only go back ten years.

Wiz i was thinking that it might have worked for you because urs is a 99 so only 9 yrs old so it would still be in the system. if ur still sure itll work ill send u my vin and registration and copy of my licence and ill send you the $$$. is our ignition switch hard to take off?

 

I did this for my 98 that I just recently bought, not my 99. The previous owner only gave me one heavily worn key, so I took matters into my own hands.

I went to Nissan first and they told me that I just missed the "10 year window", so I went to a locksmith down the street. The locksmith looked at my key (but didn't take it from me) and just by looking at it he was able to write down some 6 or 7 digit code, go to his database book, then go to his cutting machine, pressed a few buttons, and the machine did the rest of the magic on my blank key!

You're misunderstanding. I never ever had to give the locksmith my ignition switch. It couldn't have been easier!

As for assisting you, I'm not quit sure it will work, but we can discuss it via PM if you like.

 

Wow! There is only a 10 year window?

I seem to have gotten a key.

I actually had a nightmare happen to me the other week.

So I bought the car, it had one heavily worn key. I went to a gas station to get gas, and as I take my key out of the ignition it snapped in half. I ended up leaving my car at the gas station pump, with all the windows rolled down and the sunroof open while I went home to attempt to super glue my key. That didn't work so I have it towed to my house.

The tow truck driver says he has to jam my key into the ignition to unlock the steering, I told him not to do that because the steering wasn't locked yet and not to turn the wheel more than 25 to 30 degrees in either direction, which he shouldnt have had to do as it was a straight shot right up the tow truck.

Well, he locks the steering. Drops it off at my house, and cant get it any closer than 6 feet from the curb with the way the steering is locked. So he says to try putting both peices of the key into the ignition and that he can remove the stub with a magnet and he has done it tons of times before.

Well he does it, the steering still wont unlock, and then I took his magnet to the main part of my key that wasn't in the ignition and we discover that car keys are not magnetic! wooow! Sooo sure enough he takes off, and now part of my only key is stuck in the ignition, and my car is in the MIDDLE of the street with all the windows rolled down and the sunroof open.

Wonderful.

Anyway, it all worked out, I stole (more like borrowed) some construction cones and coned off my car, the next morning a locksmith got the key out, and believe it or not, I went to a dealership, told them my key code and they made me 2 original keys based off the code. And my car is more than 10 years old, it is a 1997.

 

but howd u get ur key code?

 

Luckilly it was just written on my owners manual.

 

for 99s, a good locksmith can make you a dupe immobilizer key from their stock, no need to go to the dealer, it's generally cheaper, and the same or less time spent.

 

I have a similar problem with a 99 I went to purchase. The owner lost the keys to it. Car was being worked on and the intake manifold was off the car and basically the car wasn't running. He told me car was surging and backfiring before it died. I suspect bad coils. He was willing to sell it to me for $1500. But he didn't want to deal with getting me new keys. I believe my only option was for me to get the car towed to a dealer and have the owner present so they could cut me a new key and program it. But since the car wasn't in running condition would they bother doing this? I wanted to do the repair work myself, but I have no way of firing up the car to test it while I'm repairing it. I'm kind of stuck between a rock and a hard spot. Any suggestions.

 

Yeah, run away as fast as you can. Seriously, find another Max, there's plenty out there.

 

Yeah that's what I was thinking. But I live in PR. Not to many Maxes out here. I have a 98 SE 5spd slightly modified. I imported it from NJ I'm the original owner. This was a 99 SE spd imported from Texas. Interior was in much better shape than mine and everything was stock, owner said it has 80,000 miles on it.

 

dude you can find a running max that need some attention and love for less or same price. i once found a 6th gen with salvage title for 6g's some front end damage but my mom didnt let me buy it.. :-(

 

If you want to start the car without the key I think you could simply remove the steering column cover, detach the ignition switch from the cylinder and start it with a screw driver in the switch. Of course, since it's a 99, it might have an immobilizer switch. Not sure how to get around that.

 

Yes you can do that but the steering wheel will still be locked.

 

my thread got JACKED!! lol and i have the original owners manual..... ima go see if they wrote anything in it.

 

also i checked my and my neighbors manual. it has the key code in the lil book that says warranty information. it should be on the last page in like a printed sticker with the original owners name and car info! yey!!!!!!!!

 

That was easy.

Great to hear the good news.

 

I own a 96 I30 and recently bought a 96 i30t with a solid metal key that has a cool looking Infiniti logo on it. I'm huessing this is the factory key, but I would like to get one made for my DD. Does anyone know if Nissan/Infiniti still sell these metal blanks? (sorry if you consider this a thread jack, more like a thread enhancement)

 

Several times I've walked into dealers and had them do fresh cuts for my cars.
on nissan/subaru though they used aftermarket blanks.

 

the solid metal key your talking about is a nismo key replica as it should say nismo on it if it an original( i think, feel free to correct.). You can buy these on ebay. idk if you can get at the dealer but theyd probably want a JACKED UP price for it.