Another New Guy

[beemerphill]

My name is Phill. I live in Bartlesville OK. That is in the NE corner of Oklahoma.

I just picked up my first Mazda, a grey Mazda 5 Sport. The first 300 miles have been just getting used to it. It seems to be a sweet ride. I'll give a full report in about a hundred thousand miles. My Trailblazer with 145,000 on it now has to sit outside on the driveway. Both cars will fit in the garage, but they are too close to each other, and I don't want whiskey dents on a new car.

I just came back from my dealer where I asked about a spare key. Now THAT was sticker shock. $480 for a spare key is a little outside my comfort zone. I am thinking that a little on-line research may be in order. I'll have to see how much the dealer wants to program a key if I buy one on-line.

Before any one asks-the name comes from riding BMW motorcycles for the last 30 some years. I am going to get out of bikes (the spirit is still willing, but the body is protesting like you know what), and enjoy having a windshield and radio. If anyone around my area is looking for a real cherry BMW R1150R, let me know.

 

[vinisterz]

Welcome and congrats!!!

try ebay for the spare keys. I remember buying 3 spare keys for $50 each for my Honda accord and having the dealer program them all for a flat fee of $100. They will have a disclaimer saying, they won't guarantee the keys to work after programming them if the keys are not bought from them.

 

[beemerphill]

I had planned to shop around a bit before paying those kind of prices! Here is a place that has promise.
https://www.ikeyless.com/vehicles/Mazda/MAZDA5/2012/
I think that I will order one, get it cut, then see what my dealer charges to program it.
Wish me luck!

 

[dieseldriver]

Hi Phil,

Welcome and I am a newbie here too. Just picked up the M5GT as well. Congrats! Post some pictures when you get a chance.

I now have over 1500 miles on the odometer and will probably be changing my oil real soon. Probably at around 3,000 -- after that, probably at around 7,500 using extended life stuff.

So far, I am happy to have purchased the car. No initial quality issue(s) to report, and very solidly built. One other plus is that I heard that it uses timing chain rather than belt like my VW's which is one less headache for me.

Good luck with the car and wishing you many happy miles!

Pete aka DieselDriver

 

[manualist]

Congrats and wish you best of luck with the new car. I've also just bought a gray one, and put 1k miles on it in the last 3 weeks. Love it more than any other car I've owned.

 

[Nurburgringer]

LOL "Whiskey dents"

Congrats!
You did get 2 keys right, one with a little tag that has the code?

Funny, my M5 took the warm and dry garage space of a Jeep Grand Cherokee with 158k miles (http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp?listingId=76905053&searchSource=SEARCH_BY_URL&stkTyp=U).

 

[beemerphill]

That is correct. The keys were both the 'flip key" type, they look like little switchblades with a fat handle that holds the remote door lock transmitter. The ones that I ordered have the chip that talks to your immobilizer, but no door lock transmitter. After they are cut, i will have to get the dealer to program them. I have no idea what he will charge, but will let you all know when I get them done.
So far, I am enjoying the Mazda. It seems to be a solid little vehicle that is fun to drive. We only have about 400 miles on it so far.
I liked my Trailblazer, but the last 3 GM vehicles that I had have cost me some serious bucks in unexpected repairs. It is time to give Mazda a chance. I'll let you know in 100,000 miles.

 

[leewan]

Beem check out this thread, it is easy to program the keys----if you have two to start with.

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123695620-Spare-Key-amp-Fob-programming-for-Mazda-5[/URL]

Oh and welcome

 

[beemerphill]

Here is the update.
I ordered two keys from the ikeyless site. They are regular keys with a chip in them, not the remote door opener. They cost a little under $40 for the pair shipped. The local professional locksmith charged $6 to cut them. I have no idea how much the car departments in the big box stores would charge, but I did not want to trust a $20 key to a person with minimall experience cutting them.
The dealer where I purchased the Mazda 5 from charged me $120 to program them. He told me it would take about an hour, but the job was done in about 40 minutes. He had to have both the keys that came with the car to do it. When he was done, all 4 keys worked properly.
I did not want to try doing it myself. Some sites said that I could, and some said that there had been some changes in the 2012 models. There is a professional locksmith in Tulsa who does this kind of programing, but he told me that the software for the 2012s had not yet arrived, and he could not do it for me.
So I kinda whimped out by not trying it myself, but chose to take the safe route, and paid $120 for it.

 

[jaibo239]

The procedure to program the keys from the forum worked on my 2012.