When I bought my 2001 Porsche 911, the seller only provided me with one key with the vehicle. It’s not comforting knowing that you only have one key for your 996. If you lose this only key, you’ll be dealing with the inconvenience of being stranded, but also getting your car to the dealership where you’re forced to pay whatever they want to charge you for getting you a new key on the spot.
To avoid having to ever be in such a situation where you can’t get into your car and have no other choice but to fork over whatever Porsche wants you to skewer you for, consider getting a spare key. I wanted to share my experience with getting a replacement key to help others who are in the same predicament as me.
Options for Getting a Replacement Key for the 996
When I first starting looking into getting a replacement key, I just thought it was going to be as easy as some of the other cars that I’ve had in the past. But Porsche makes it very difficult to get keys made yourself.
For example on my mid-2000 Toyota 4Runner, I was able to buy an aftermarket key with the transponder for about $15. I was then able to get a locksmith to cut the key for another $15. And then I could program the transponder myself (using a series of controls sitting inside the vehicle with the transponder key to be programmed in the ignition.)
Unfortunately, you just can’t do something as simple (nor as cheap) with your Porsche 911. First, the parts for either aftermarket or genuine Porsche keys are not cheap nor are they readily available for purchase. The second thing is that each key comes with a specific tag with a pin code that is used to program that specific key to the VIN of the car. The third thing is that programming the car requires a Porsche software to be able to program the key, which not many people have.
Porsche Dealership
It might be more feasible to have your local Porsche Dealership do it instead, especially if you are okay with forking up a lot of money to do so. I’ll warn you right up front, but the Porsche Tax is real. Call any Porsche Dealership to see how much it would cost to get a key made and you might just go into shock. You can expect to spend about $1000+ to get a new replacement key. I’ve called several Porsche Dealerships in Southern California and showed what they all quoted me below.
| Porsche Dealerships | Transmitter | Key Blade | Transmitter Programming & Key Cutting | Total Cost for Parts, Programming, & Key Cutting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Porsche Dealership – Ontario | $610 | $238 | $299 | $1,147 |
| Porsche Dealership – Riverside | $494 | $191 | $299 | $984 |
| Porsche Dealership – Newport Beach | $543 | $210 | $360 | $1,113 |
| Porsche Dealership – Irvine | $750 (Transmitter & Key) | See left | $450 | $1,200 |
The Porsche Dealerships all had their own way of pricing out the replacement key. The price of the transmitter (remote portion of the key), the key blade, and the programming/cutting costs all varied. At the end though, the total cost of it all ended up ranging from $1,000 to $1,200 all said and done. All of them mentioned that in order to do it, they would need you to prove ownership of the vehicle, and need the key and the car there to program it. Some even offered a second key, which you would pay the price of the part for, but the programming could be done for two keys for the same price quoted above.
Permalock Hack
At this point, I just couldn’t fathom spending more than $1,000 just to get a new replacement key. So, I looked at other options. One option that some 996 owners on various forums have suggested is the “Permalock” hack. This would only apply if you already have a key, but want to make additional key(s).
What you do is take the transponder “pill” that is inside of your existing key, and secure it to the inside of your ignition key ring trim. This basically bypasses your car’s anti-theft system by always having the transponder at the ignition barrel. The downside is that anyone who is able to break into your car and turn the ignition, can start your vehicle and take off with it. The reason why people do this is because they can make as many spare keys as they want for cheap since they don’t need to program a new transponder for every key (the only thing that doesn’t work will be the buttons on the remote part of the key.)
Local Locksmith
The final option and the option that I ultimately went with, is to go with a local locksmith who has the ability to program Porsche keys. Depending on where you live, you’ll have to look around your area to see who can make a replacement Porsche key for you. In my area in Southern California, there was one place called Top Tech Locksmith located in Walnut who could do it.
They offered 3 options, which depending on how much you were willing to pay would leave you with a spare key that could start and drive your car but have no working remote buttons, or an aftermarket key or genuine Porsche key that would work fully. To me, I wanted a key with working buttons and didn’t care whether it was a Genuine Porsche key or aftermarket, so I went with the middle option. It still costed me $550, but that’s still about half the price of what I was quoted by all the Porsche Dealerships.
| Locksmith | Key, key cutting, transmitter programming, but no working remote buttons | Key, key cutting, transmitter programming, with working remote buttons (aftermarket key) | Key, key cutting, transmitter programming, with working remote buttons (genuine Porsche key) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top Tech Locksmith – Walnut | $300 | $550 | $950 |
The key cutting and programming didn’t take long at all; Kirk from Top Tech Locksmith was able to do it all in less than 30 minutes. I walked out with this replacement aftermarket key, which although does feel slightly lower quality than my original Porsche key, was definitely worth getting considering my other options that would cost me a lot more money.
I hope these options that I’ve laid out have helped you with your decision as I know it can be disappointing to find out how much and how difficult it is to get a replacement key for your Porsche 911 996. At least there are some options out there and you just need to pick your poison. I am happy with my slightly less expensive replacement key and can rest easy knowing that I have the extra one in case anything happens to my original.
