Smart Car Key Replacement
What can you do if you’ve lost your car keys? Go for car key replacement, obviously. Let’s clarify how this service works and what you should know to quickly and effortlessly get a replacement Smart key quickly and effortlessly. Sure Lock Key is here to help whether you need a new key or information!
Keys For Smart
We don’t pay much attention to the role our car keys play in our lives until we lose or break them. Next time with your hands full of packages, appreciate that you can open your car just by pushing the button. Smart keys, like any other car keys, should be stored and used carefully to serve you as long as possible. If you’re the owner of a Smart key fob or a Smart Smart key, you first of all need to avoid humidity and electrical impulses. These are threats that can easily damage your key and make it work incorrectly. Also, you need to store your key separately from sharp or hard objects that can cause mechanical damage. But no matter what key you use, you can get it replaced or fixed quite easily. For example, Sure Lock Key serves all the Smart models, including Smart Fortwo, Smart Forfour, Smart Roadster, etc.
The question “How to get a replacement car key?” has two answers. You can visit your car dealership or call a locksmith. If you don’t know what way would be more effective and easier for you, then you should take into consideration a few facts. First of all, there are some situations where you can’t go to your car dealer to get a new key. In case you have lost or broken your last key, you won’t be able to go anywhere. Also, you can’t use this method if your car dealer ceased the business in your country or location. over, this method may take a long time, so it isn’t a fast solution. Calling a locksmith is a way to get a new key made quickly and on the spot as sure as the previous one. Modern locksmiths have appropriate tools and knowledge to provide you with not only regular Smart key replacement but also with more rare services such as Smart car key battery replacement and Smart key fob reprogramming.
Emergency Services
Emergency locksmiths services are a part of our safety and comfort. Only imagine a situation where you need to wait near your car in some new place till morning to get a new key made. It is a horrible experience and no one deserves it. That’s why Sure Lock Key is always ready to help regardless of your locksmith issue, regardless of the time of day, and location.
Smart fortwo key battery
If your car’s battery is dead, there are two ways to start your car:1. You can push it2. You can attach jumper cables to another car’s battery
If you do not know if your ForTwo‘s battery is dead or not, you can read this guide How to test your ForTwo‘s battery, step by step
Push your ForTwo to start it
Two or more people are needed to start your ForTwo with a dead battery. This method only works in manual transmission cars.
One person will push the car while you will sit in the driver’s seat.
- Turn the ignition key to start your car.
- Put your car in second gear and fully press the clutch pedal.
- The car must be pushed as fast as possible.
- When its speed increases, let go of the clutch pedal quickly. The car will stop abruptly and then it will look like it is about to start.
- While the car moves abruptly, you have to press the clutch pedal again and help the engine by pressing the accelerator. This will help the engine start.
- When it starts, you should keep it on for a few minutes because like this, the battery will be charged again.
If after a few minutes you turn the car off but it does not start again, that means that your battery is dead, and you should replace it with a new one.
How to start a ForTwo with jumper cables
To start your car like this, you have to use specific jumper cables for batteries, with crocodile battery clips like the ones you can see in the following picture. Then, you need to follow these steps:
- The other car should be close to the car with a dead battery but they cannot touch and both should be turned off. If your car has an automatic transmission, check that the gear shifter is in P (Park).
- Attach one end of the red jumper cable clamp to the positive terminal on the dead battery, and then attach the other cable clamp to the positive terminal on the working battery. Both cars will be connected through this cable which goes from one positive terminal to another positive terminal of each battery. Take into account that while you connect them, the positive end of the cable and the negative one must never touch each other.
- Attach the black jumper cable clamp to the negative (-) terminal of the working car’s battery and attach the other end to any solid, metallic piece of the car with the dead battery, away from the battery (it may be the engine or the chassis). Like this, both cars will be completely connected.
- Start the car with the working battery like you normally would and leave the engine running for a few minutes without accelerating.
- Start the car with the dead battery like you normally would and leave the car engine at idle speed.
- If the car with the dead battery has a bad idling or seems to stop, you may accelerate it slightly (1500-2000 RPM).
- When you hear that the engine of the car with the dead battery has a normal idle speed, you should first disconnect the black cable (-), and then the red cable
- Keep the car at idle speed for a few minutes and then move it forward with a normal speed to check that it will not turn off. This process will charge the battery again (as long as both the battery and the alternator are in good conditions).
If after a few tries the dead battery does not charge, you should check the charging system to see if the alternator or the battery are damaged.
The best deadbolt-replacement Smart lock
This compact, versatile, and quiet Smart lock’s top feature is a fast (though sometimes faulty) fingerprint reader, and its rubber number keys will please most anyone.
Buying Options
Compatibility: Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant
The Ultraloq U-Bolt Pro Wi-Fi is a versatile Smart lock with precision hardware and a pleasing low-profile design. This model has Wi-Fi built in, so it doesn’t require a plug-in Bluetooth bridge like our previous pick, the Ultraloq U-Bolt Pro. You can unlock the U-Bolt Pro Wi-Fi six different ways, including with a numerical code, using an app, through a physical keyway, and—the pièce de résistance—via fingerprint.
We found the feel and function of the lock’s number buttons to be superior to pecking numbers on the glass touchscreen of many keypad models. That said, the fingerprint ID remains our preferred way to unlock it (even if that feature is sometimes finicky). No matter which method you use to trigger the U-Bolt Pro Wi-Fi, it responds quickly. It also has a comparatively quiet mechanism, and from an aesthetic perspective we like that it’s small and unobtrusive. We encountered a few issues during setup and recently have experienced battery drain issues that the company has confirmed (see Flaws but not dealbreakers), but none of those hiccups prevent us from recommending it.
If you can’t find this model, and if you don’t mind having to use Ultraloq’s plug-in Bridge to connect your Smart lock to your Wi-Fi network, the original Ultraloq U-Bolt Pro is a perfectly great substitute and is less expensive, too (see Other good Smart locks).
A Wi-Fi deadbolt replacement for Apple HomeKit
This easy-to-install, sharp-looking Schlage model works flawlessly and is the first lock to support Apple Home Key.
Buying Options
Compatibility: Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Google Assistant
If you want a keypad Smart lock that works with Apple HomeKit, The Schlage Encode Plus Smart Wi-Fi Deadbolt is an updated version of our previous also-great pick, the Schlage Encode Smart Wi-Fi Deadbolt. Beyond modest cosmetic updates, this revamped model gives you the ability to unlock it by holding your iPhone or Apple Watch nearby, through Apple’s Home Key feature. Of the many locks we’ve tested, the Encode Plus is one of the easiest Smart locks to install and one of the simplest models to use. We tend to prefer the tactile feel of keypads like the Encode Plus’s keypad over that of a glass touchscreen, and that feature makes this lock less fussy to use, so it’s a good choice for rental properties—especially as it’s an extra-tough commercial-grade lock and has a built-in alarm. If this model is backordered, our previous choice, the Schlage Encode Smart Wi-Fi Deadbolt, remains a good option, though it lacks Apple Home Key support.
A versatile yet low-cost option
For anyone who wants to keep an existing keyway, the Wyze Lock is fast and quiet. It also has a built-in sensor to detect when your door is ajar and comes with a tiny plug-in Wi-Fi adapter.
Buying Options
Compatibility: Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant
If you are a renter and not allowed to change your locks, or if you simply don’t want to change yours for any reason, the Wyze Lock is a low-cost yet full-featured model that connects easily to an existing deadbolt. The hardware installs quickly, and in our testing it consistently worked well and was whisper-quiet. The package includes a tiny puck-like plug-in Wi-Fi adapter to enable remote access and smartphone notifications. The Wyze Lock offers some impressive features, such as a built-in door sensor that alerts you via a chime and a smartphone notification when someone has left the door open or ajar. Wyze also sells the Wyze Lock Keypad, a small brick with number buttons that connects wirelessly to the Wyze Lock so you can trigger the lock without relying on an app or geolocation. In our tests the keypad has worked flawlessly, so we recommend it as an upgrade.
Without the addition of the keypad, the Wyze Lock requires that you use an app to unlock it—which for everyday use isn’t much more convenient than using a key—or you have to enable geofencing, a system that uses your phone’s location to determine where you are and then lock or unlock the door automatically. Geofencing may work fine for some owners, but we worry about the innate security risk of accidental triggers. Additionally, some owners of the Wyze Lock report that auto-unlocking doesn’t work consistently, sometimes forcing them to rely on the app instead.
What Are the Security Requirements for Vehicle Smart Key System?
Even though Smart keys are convenient, you don’t want them to be unsafe. If a vehicle picks up on the low frequency transmissions of a Smart key when a driver is too far from their car, another person can get into the car and even start and drive it, claims How Stuff Works Electronics. This can happen at fueling stations, for example. To avoid theft of vehicles, many carmakers have set the maximum frequency field for several of their Smart key systems at 10 cm.
A Smart key does not send the same frequency signal over and over. This prevents theft and makes the system safer from tech-savvy thieves. Open Road Auto Group explains that Smart keys put out a different encrypted signal every time a door is unlocked or a trunk is remotely opened.
Does a Smart Key Have Battery Backup?
Smart keys are battery-operated, meaning the battery can become depleted. If this happens, there should be another way to lock and unlock the doors and start the vehicle. To this end, a key blade is usually provided with the Smart key.
Emergency starting can also be achieved by inductive coupling, which is putting the key in the slot or holding it near a special area in the cockpit, where an inductive coil that can transfer energy is hidden. This allows for inductive charging, even if a battery is dead.
Are There Any Special Cases That a Smart Key Can Handle?
Smart keys are designed with special cases in mind. Let’s say you forgot your Smart key in the trunk. If you did, you can open your trunk and find the key without worrying about the keys getting locked inside. If there is more than one Smart key in the car, the car will still operate normally. Also, if the Smart key gets lost during a ride, you can still drive your vehicle as long as the key is inside of the vehicle. If the Smart key battery is low but not dead, it will also still operate.
Many systems will inform the driver that the battery is low. But the way a driver is informed varies, depending on the system.
Information and research in this article verified by ASE-certified Master Technician Duane Sayaloune of YourMechanic.com. For any feedback or correction requests please contact us at research@caranddriver.com.