BMW Key Replacement & Programming | Mobile BMW Locksmith

Most BMW keys fall into three types. Older cars use a slot key, a small fob that pushes into a slot by the steering wheel. Many cars use a remote key with a folding or fixed blade. Newer models with comfort access use a proximity key, and a few use the larger display key with a small screen.

Knowing which you have lets us quote accurately before we travel. A photo, or the registration, is enough. One thing worth knowing about slot keys: many recharge their battery while sitting in the slot, so when one dies, a new battery usually won't bring it back.

A lost BMW key is replaced in three steps, including on FEM and BDC cars where no key is left at all. First, the module is read to prepare the new key. Then the emergency blade is cut to the locks. Finally, everything is tested: locking, starting and, where fitted, comfort access. Where the system allows, the missing key is deleted at the same visit. A BMW spare key, made while one key still works, follows a shorter version of the same process. Both are explained in full on our Lost Car Keys and Spare Car Keys pages.

BMW key replacement is priced from the registration before we set off, and nothing is paid until the key works. We cover all the popular models, with separate pages for the 1 Series, 3 Series, 5 Series, X1, X3 and X5.