Question about speedpass thingy

[Rallispec]

I was talking to one of the service guys at the nissan dealership this morning and he noticed that i keep a speedpass thing on my keychain (link) I also have my car key on the keychain, which uses the same RFID technology.

he warned me that the speedpass can cause interference and can actually erase the memory in my key or receiver in the car--- and if that happens, it would cost nearly 200 dollars to get a new key and get it reprogrammed for my car.

now i've been using my speedpass for a year now, havent had any problems with it. So has anyone else ever heard about this-- is it actually possible at all, or was the service guy just misinformed.

here is all i could find on the speedpass site. : http://www.speedpass.com/faqs/category.jsp?categoryId=4

 

[isekii]

why would it cost 200 bucks to reprogram your key ?
it's something that you can possibly do yourself if you had the instructions.

tell him to stop trying to rip you off.

 

[Rallispec]

Originally posted by: isekii
why would it cost 200 bucks to reprogram your key ?
it's something that you can possibly do yourself if you had the instructions.

tell him to stop trying to rip you off.

how would you reprogram a new key?

and he wasnt trying to rip me off--- sounded more like he was warning me, so that he didnt have to rip me off in the future. Just wasnt sure if he was right or not.

 

[chin311]

never heard of that , i had a speedpass for about a year, used it once...i dont even think it still works.

 

[loup garou]

I seriously doubt it could permanantly damage your key. BTW, is it an aftermarket alarm system using RFID or what? More info (I find RFID very interesting)?

 

[dman]

Sounds fishy to me. I'd think it's not likely true. More likely for gamma radiation from space to do it.

ICBW.

Your link has some more info: Text

Can car keys using RFID cause interference with Speedpass?

Your Speedpass uses a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system to operate. With a growing number of RFID devices in use today ? such as a car key linked to an automotive theft deterrent system ? signal-crossing interference is possible. To help avoid interference, make sure two RFID devices are not touching each other. Should you encounter any unusual problem, simply separate the RFID devices from one another. Get more info.

So, if it stops working, you move the speedpass away from keys and try again. Reprogramming shouldn't be necessary... but who knows.

 

[Rallispec]

Originally posted by: werk
I seriously doubt it could permanantly damage your key. BTW, is it an aftermarket alarm system using RFID or what? More info (I find RFID very interesting)?

hmm.. i dont know the technical specifications of how it works---- but i do know that my key has a small encoded microchip / radio transmitter in it-- so that only my key can start my car. And no matter what, the car will not start without that key. Its a safety feature that prevents it from being stolen.

 

[Kevin]

Anything is possible. It will probably happen on a very bad day, just do you can't get your car started...

 

[isekii]

Originally posted by: Rallispec

Originally posted by: isekii
why would it cost 200 bucks to reprogram your key ?
it's something that you can possibly do yourself if you had the instructions.

tell him to stop trying to rip you off.

how would you reprogram a new key?

and he wasnt trying to rip me off--- sounded more like he was warning me, so that he didnt have to rip me off in the future. Just wasnt sure if he was right or not.

Most reprogramming, the dealerships around my area does for free.
They key is the thing they charge for.
If the program on the key got erased, all they would need to do is reprogram your key. There are instructions on the internet that tell you how to program your keys. ( atleast for honda )
I honestly don't think it's too difficult.