Mercedes-Benz Key Replacement in Milwaukee

Mercedes-Benz keys for the C-Class, E-Class, and Sprinter

Mercedes-Benz key replacement in Milwaukee covers most models built through the 2014 model year: the C-Class and E-Class, the ML and GL, the S-Class, the CLK, SLK, and CLS, and Sprinter vans. Keys for 2015 and newer Mercedes-Benz models come from the dealer, and for the years in between we check the VIN before the visit. For everything up to that line, we make the key at the car.

The SmartKey and the ignition switch

From the late 1990s, Mercedes has used a key it calls the SmartKey. Instead of a blade, its tip goes into the ignition switch, called the EIS, and turns there like a key. The EIS keeps the list of keys the car accepts, with room for up to eight keys, and talks to the engine computer and the steering lock before the engine is allowed to start. A metal emergency blade slides out of the SmartKey for the driver's door.

Some Mercedes models built through 2014 came with Keyless Go, where the key stays in your pocket and a start button sits in the EIS slot instead of the key. Keyless Go keys are made the same way, with their own electronics, and we bring the type your car was built with.

How a Mercedes key is made

A Mercedes key for a car built through 2014 works differently from most cars: the key is written before it goes into the car. We read data from the EIS, calculate the car's key password with our programming tool, and write a key file made for your car into a new SmartKey. Then the key goes into the EIS, the car accepts it, and we test the start, the doors, and the remote. With a working key, most of the visit is the reading and the calculation.

Through 2014, and the models that changed early

In 2015, Mercedes-Benz moved to a newer key system, and keys for those cars are made and coded by the dealer. A few models switched earlier, during the 2013 and 2014 production years, including the updated E-Class and some ML and GL models. That is why we ask for the VIN of any 2013 or 2014 car before the visit: it tells us which system your car has, and we say so before you pay for anything.

Sprinter vans

The Sprinter of 2007 and later, sold as a Dodge, a Freightliner, and a Mercedes-Benz, uses the same SmartKey and EIS. Sprinters carry crews, tools, and deliveries all over the Milwaukee area, and a van with one key is one lost key away from a missed day. We make Sprinter keys through the 2014 model year, and for a company van a letter or email from the company and the driver's photo ID are enough (fleet keys).

When the key will not turn

On some C-Class and E-Class models of the late 2000s and early 2010s, a key that will not turn in the EIS points to a fault in the electronic steering lock or in the EIS itself rather than in the key. A new key does not fix that, so we test the key and the switch before we make anything new, and we tell you what we find.

A spare Mercedes key or all keys lost

With a working key, a spare Mercedes key starts at $249 (spare car key). With no key left, we open the car first (car lockout). On many models, the EIS then comes out of the dash for reading, and the password calculation for a car with no key takes longer, so plan for a longer visit and a higher price, which we confirm before we start (lost car keys). A lost key's position can be switched off in the EIS, so that key no longer starts the car.

For other European makes, see BMW keys, Audi keys, and Volkswagen keys. Every make is on car keys by make.