I'm looking to make a spare key for my '06 G35. I have the intelligent key. I've priced a replacement from the Infiniti dealer. Has anyone ever used an aftermarket key blade with success or maybe there is a compatible Nissan part for less?

I'm thinking of buying an OEM remote and an aftermarket key blade. The dealer wants $70 just for the key blade that slides out of the remote in the event the remote battery dies which seems horrendously overpriced just for a blank key (they also want to charge a fee to cut the blade).

Is the immobilizer chip in the remote or the actual key blade on the intelligent key? Has anyone ever made replacement keys with a locksmith or do I still need to go to the dealer for programming?

 

I've been through this before. It ended with me standing around an immobilized vehicle at a gas station because I had driven off without my only working key set. When I got back to where it was the fob had been run over and the blade alone wouldn't start the car.

It turns out there is no chip in the emergency key blade, it's just for doors and the ignition cylinder. Apparently the vehicles antennae can still read the fob's RF signature even if It is dead. So yes the chip is in the fob and no, there are no substitutes. Very few vehicles require that model of remote so nobody bothered to make any to replace them.

It is technically possible to do this all without help from the dealer but its all a massive scavenger hunt that I wouldn't recommend. You will need to find a fob for sale on the net that has a matching FCC ID and part number. The numbers can be found on the back of the fob under the key blade. A fob that matches those numbers may work and it may not, it's only a 100% sure match if it also shares the same board number. After that you can try and get the dealer to program your mystery key into your car but they won't like that at all, so you will have to lie to them or something. There are two types of software that could do it instead TKO and Hotwire, both would belong to a good locksmith who would need the car and a couple computers to frighten the poor car into accepting the key.

....or pay the dealer around 320 to do it in a half hour.

 

Here's what the board number looks like, my original was a 2/1, the working replacement from the dealer was a 6/1. An incompatable fob I bought was some other damn number, it was from a QX or something.

 

So when the battery goes dead you are supposed to put the key blade into the slot for the keyless ignition switch to start the car. I guess you still have to have the remote close to you so it will recognize the remote fob and deactivate the immobilizer to start the car.

I was going to buy a new OEM remote and buy an aftermarket key blade if that is the case. The dealer wants $70 just for the slide-out key blade but an aftermarket one is only $5-$10 on eBay.