New Boxster Owner + Another Key Question

Hello everyone,

Just got my '02 Seal grey Boxster with black interior last week with 33K miles (54K km) on it.

It's in excellent condition and I got a sweeet deal. I have only two concerns with it. The first was a lack of Cruise control and the second was the lack of the remote key. I dont care much for the cruise control anymore but it was pretty uncomfortable for me to drive 7 hours from Boston where I picked up the car. (Yes, I bought it on eBay). I was aware of both of these things from before though.

The key is what I'm concerned about right now. I have the valet key and the LED key that came with the car. The dealer here is charging me close to $400 CAD for a new key which is a no go. I've seen posts on this forum with regards to getting replacement/new remote keys made. However, I couldn't find info on what exactly is done to the key when it is "programmed".

What I was thinking to do was to get a remote FOB off of ebay, get the metal part of the key from the valet key and put them together. I could get the remote programmed at the dealer (This should work okay as per the PPBB link that I found on this forum). However, I wanted to know what was inside these keys first. I opened up the LED key and apart from the battery and bulb, there was a little cylindrical thing on the side. Kinda looks like a little capsule. What is this thing? Is the same inside the valet and the remote keys? Is this the thing that gets programmed? It doesnt look like its connected to anything so it'd lead me to believe that it is some kind of RFID thing??

Any insight on this would be appreciated.

Thanks all!

P.S: I havent had a chance to take any pics of the car but have the dealer photo which I've attached.

It sounds like the individual you purchased from might not have been the original owner since they didn't have all the keys. From your description it also sounds like you've got a valet key and one of the remote keys, is that right?

BTW - The $400 CDN sounds about right for a replacement key from the dealer - who'll need to be involved at some point no matter what in order to mate the key to the car with the PST2.

The transponder coil reads the transponder code out of the transponder.

The signal converter obtains the transponder code from the signals sent by the transponder, and then sends this code on to the alarm system control module. With the help of the Porsche System Tester II, the transponder of the key inserted in the ignition can be adapted to one of the four memory locations for transponders. The first time the transponder is adapted, its Secret Key is programmed. The Secret Key of the transponder can no longer be overwritten, i.e. a programmed and adapted transponder is permanently assigned to one vehicle.

The dealer has to call Porsche North America to get a special code to enter into the PST2 to program the key. The key can only be programmed once and the car can have maximum of 4 keys (at any one time).

So, the bottom line is... any key can only be programmed once and only a dealer can do it.

Regarding the Trasnponder

Loren said:

The transponder coil reads the transponder code out of the transponder.

The signal converter obtains the transponder code from the signals sent by the transponder, and then sends this code on to the alarm system control module. With the help of the Porsche System Tester II, the transponder of the key inserted in the ignition can be adapted to one of the four memory locations for transponders. The first time the transponder is adapted, its Secret Key is programmed. The Secret Key of the transponder can no longer be overwritten, i.e. a programmed and adapted transponder is permanently assigned to one vehicle.

The dealer has to call Porsche North America to get a special code to enter into the PST2 to program the key. The key can only be programmed once and the car can have maximum of 4 keys (at any one time).

So, the bottom line is... any key can only be programmed once and only a dealer can do it.

Click to expand...

Hi Loren, Thank you for the response. Given the information above, would it possible to take the transponder coil from one key (say, the valet key which I dont really need) and insert it into a remote key I purchase off of ebay? Would this work? The transponder coil would have the codes from my car. The only other thing is that I dont know what else is in the remote key besides the transponder coil. Is it a standard RF Transmitter that reads codes from this very coil to lock/unlock the car via the remote? I know I'm asking a lot and any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I doubt it. The whole idea of this scheme is to keep people from stealing your car with a fake key.

Sunset Imports in Oregon sells new keys for under $100 (US) and your local dealer should not charge you over $100 to program it. I know people that have spent $150... and I know of people that have spent $400.

I understand that only 97-98 models can be cloned (just need one working key).

http://www.vinlocksmiths.com/Docs/SettingItStraight/SettingItStraightVol1.pdf#search='boxster%20transponder%20key%20cloning'