Mercedes-Benz key replacement in Irwindale

What do Mercedes-Benz owners in Irwindale usually need?

Irwindale is an unusual place to be locked out of a Mercedes. Fewer than 2,000 people live here, in a few small enclaves of modest single-family homes clustered near the Civic Center along Arrow Highway. Almost everything else is gravel quarry, warehouse or manufacturing plant. That shapes where a Mercedes ends up stranded: more often at a work lot, a trailhead lot or a transit stop than in a home driveway.

The situations we plan for here line up with those places, and the setting often hints at what is wrong:

• Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area parking lots: a lockout, or a 'key not detected' message after a few hours away from the car, often tied to a tired fob battery or a worn SmartKey.
• Irwindale A Line park-and-ride: a replacement or spare key when the only key has gone missing somewhere between the car and the platform, with the car left sitting.
• Live Oak Avenue and Arrow Highway work lots: a key that will not turn in the ignition, or a car that will not wake up before a shift.
• Driveways in the Civic Center enclave: a lost key at home, or an older Mercedes whose chrome-style key has cracked or whose buttons have worn through.
• Anywhere in town: a spare made while you still have a working key, which is far easier than starting from nothing.

How does mobile Mercedes-Benz key service work at the curb?

Our storefront is at 10740 Wilshire Blvd in Westwood, and the mobile work comes out of vans. Irwindale is about 32 miles from that base, so we are upfront that this is a drive, and we will talk through timing on the phone when you call rather than quote you a number we cannot stand behind. The same company that answers the phone sends the van; there is no dispatch middleman passing your call along. A typical Mercedes call goes like this:

1. You call (213) 577-1366 and tell us the model, the year, where the car is, whether you have any key at all, and whether the car starts with a key turned in the dash or with a push button.
2. We work out which key system the car uses. For most cars the year and model settle it. For late-production cars where Mercedes changed systems, we confirm by VIN instead of guessing.
3. We tell you plainly whether the job can be finished at the curb or whether it is dealer-only, before a van is committed.
4. At the car, we verify ownership, which means ID and registration that match the vehicle.
5. We check whether the problem is the key, the electronic ignition, or the steering lock, because on some Mercedes those look identical from the driver's seat.
6. We cut or program the key with professional Mercedes-specific tools, then test every function: locking, unlocking, starting, and the emergency blade where there is one.
7. We go over what you now have, what a second key would involve, and anything about the car that is likely to come up again.

What do the Mercedes-Benz key eras mean in plain terms?

Every Mercedes in the data we work from uses an electronic SmartKey, not a conventional transponder key. That matters because there is no simple chip to clone the way there is on some other brands. The key and the car talk to each other, and which system they use depends on the year.

From the late 1990s through roughly 2014, Mercedes used what is called the DAS3/FBS3 system. This is the familiar infrared 'Chrome key' or black SmartKey that slides into the electronic ignition, known as the EIS or EZS, and twists. The key and car exchange rolling codes over infrared.

Then Mercedes moved to FBS4, model by model, on its own schedule. The facelifted W212 E-Class changed from April 2013 production, and the CLA and GLA (models 117 and 156) from November 2014. Newer platforms came with FBS4 from launch: the 2014 S-Class (W222), the 2015 C-Class (W205), the 2016 GLC (X253) and the 2017 E-Class (W213). FBS4 cars generally pair with standard push-button start, and their keys are coded to the VIN at the factory.

The ML and GLE (W166) is the one that needs care. Most stayed FBS3 through the end of production in 2019, but a Mercedes service bulletin lists model 166 from July 2013 production among vehicles that can be FBS4. So on a late ML or GLE we do not assume. We confirm by VIN.

Which Mercedes can we program, and which are dealer-only?

This is the line that decides almost everything about your options, so here it is without softening.

• FBS3 cars, roughly 2000 to 2014, plus most GLE/W166 cars through 2019 once the VIN confirms FBS3: fully serviceable by a specialist locksmith. Professional tools read the EIS/EZS over infrared or through the OBD port, work out the key password online, and generate new keys. That includes all keys lost.
• Some chassis also need a steering-lock emulator, an ESL/ELV emulator, during an all-keys-lost job. That applies to the W204 C-Class, the W207, and pre-facelift W212 E-Class cars.
• FBS4 cars, approximately 2015 onward and earlier on some models: effectively dealer-only for added or replacement keys. Keys are ordered pre-coded to the VIN through Mercedes with proof of ownership. Mercedes' own service bulletin requires the car to be registered as present in its Xentry Diagnostics system before a key can be enabled or disabled.
• Limited specialist capability on FBS4 is emerging, but it is not something you should plan around, and we will not promise it.

What if you have lost every Mercedes-Benz key?

On an FBS3 car, all keys lost is a job we do. There is no existing key to copy, so the work is done through the car's own electronics: we connect to the EIS/EZS, calculate the key password online, and generate a new key. On the chassis that need it, we also fit the steering-lock emulator so the job can be completed. It takes longer and costs more than adding a key to a car that still has one, and we will explain why before we start.

On an FBS4 car, the honest answer is different. A lost key means a VIN-coded order through Mercedes, with proof of ownership, and a multi-day wait. We can help you work out what documents to bring, and if the car is stuck somewhere inconvenient, such as a transit lot, we can talk through getting it moved. But we will not tell you we can make the key that day when the system does not allow it. Budget for the wait.

If you are not sure which side your car falls on, call us with the year and model. If it is one of the late-production cars where the system is uncertain, we confirm by VIN. It is better to know before anyone is dispatched. For the broader picture of how we handle a missing key, see our page on lost car key replacement in Irwindale.

Is it the key, or is it the ignition?

A Mercedes that will not start is not always a key problem, and replacing a key that was never the issue wastes money. These are the failures that come up most often on these cars:

• A failed or worn EIS/EZS electronic ignition: the key is not recognized, or it goes in and will not turn.
• Electronic steering lock (ESL/ELV) motor failure on the W204 C-Class and on the W207 and pre-facelift W212 E-Class. The dash wakes up, but the key will not turn, which looks exactly like a bad key.
• SmartKeys that wear out and stop syncing after years of daily use.
• Dead fob batteries. The remote buttons go first, then Keyless-Go cars start reporting 'key not detected.'
• Cracked Chrome-key shells, worn buttons and broken emergency blades.
• FBS4 cars where the key is lost, which brings in the VIN-coded dealer order described above.

What affects the cost of a Mercedes-Benz key in Irwindale?

We do not quote numbers on a web page, because a Mercedes key job has too many variables for a figure to mean anything. What moves the cost is specific:

• The key system: FBS3 work we can do ourselves, while FBS4 goes through Mercedes, and the cost structure is different.
• Whether you still have a working key. Adding a key to a car that has one is a lighter job than all keys lost.
• Whether the chassis needs a steering-lock emulator for the job.
• The type of key itself: a full SmartKey, a shell and battery repair, or a fob that only needs a new battery.
• Whether the problem is actually the ignition or steering lock, which changes what has to be repaired.
• Distance and time of day. Irwindale is a drive from our Westwood base, and a late-night call is different from a daytime one.
• How many keys you want made while we are there. Making a spare during the same visit is usually the more economical route compared with a second trip later.

Dealer or locksmith: how do you choose?

For FBS4 cars the dealer is simply the route. We say so rather than pretend otherwise, and we would rather tell you in one phone call than waste your afternoon. If your car is an FBS4 model and the key is lost, order through Mercedes with your proof of ownership.

For FBS3 cars the choice is real. A specialist locksmith can come to the car, which matters if it is parked at the Santa Fe Dam lots or the A Line park-and-ride and you would prefer not to have it towed. We make the key where the car is, and we do not need a multi-day order. The dealer can also do the work, and some owners prefer that, especially when the car is already going in for service.

Either way, ask for the BSIS license. California requires locksmith companies to hold a BSIS LCO license, and any locksmith should be willing to give you the number. Our own license number is being added to this site, so call the number below or use our contact page if you want to ask about it directly.

Mercedes-Benz key service around Irwindale

Irwindale covers ZIP codes 91706 and 91702. The residential part is small: the Civic Center enclave around Arrow Highway and Irwindale Avenue, with early-to-mid 20th-century single-family homes. Most of our other Irwindale work in general is commercial or industrial, along the Arrow Highway corridor, the Irwindale Avenue corridor and the Live Oak Avenue industrial district, plus the Santa Fe Dam area to the north.

For a Mercedes, the places that matter are the ones where people leave cars for hours: the Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area lots, the Irwindale A Line station park-and-ride, and the lots near plants such as Huy Fong Foods and along Live Oak Avenue. Some owners pass through on the I-605/I-210 interchange and have trouble near City Hall or the Civic Center; we can reach those spots too.

The climate is hot inland-valley summers, and quarry operations put dust in the air that can work into exterior padlocks and gate hardware. Santa Ana winds also rake the open San Gabriel River corridor from time to time. That is mostly a commercial hardware concern, and we do that work too. See our Irwindale locksmith page for the full range.

If your problem is a Mercedes lockout rather than a key, our Irwindale car lockout service covers that. For a broken or dead remote, there is a page on key fob replacement in Irwindale, and for all makes, our car key replacement in Irwindale page covers the general process.

Why call Wilshire Lock & Key for a Mercedes?

We have been in business since 1987 and serve 140 cities across Los Angeles and Ventura counties. We run a real storefront at 10740 Wilshire Blvd in Westwood alongside the mobile vans, and we are one company, so the person who answers the phone is part of the same operation that sends the technician. David, the owner and lead technician, oversees the work.

Mercedes keys reward honesty more than speed. The system your car uses decides what is possible, and we would rather say 'that is a dealer job' than take a call we cannot finish. For more on how we handle the brand, see our Mercedes-Benz key page and our overview of car keys. Our phone is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, year-round, at (213) 577-1366.

Mercedes-Benz models in our key guide

• All Mercedes-Benz keys
• C-Class
• E-Class
• GLA
• GLC (incl. GLK)
• GLE (incl. ML/M-Class)
• S-Class