According to the United States Department of Transportation, the average age of passenger cars and light trucks in operation in the United States in 2014 was 11.4 years. Another way of stating the same fact is that half of all cars and light trucks in operation were manufactured before 2005 and half of the vehicles on the road were manufactured after 2005. Therefore approximately 50 percent of locksmith calls for automotive lock work will involve cars made during the last 11 years.
Keys containing VATS electronic security were first used on the 1986 Chevrolet Corvette followed by 1996 Ford Mustangs which were the first to offer transponder security in a domestic vehicle. By 2005 the combination of a mechanical key blade plus added transponder security mounted in the keybow was commonplace on many foreign and domestic vehicles. This trend continues upward right to the present time.
Automotive keys with transponders add another step to the duplication process. Keyline USA has developed several products to simplify transponder key duplication. In many cases transponder electronics can be cloned, or copied, from the owner’s operating key and the information can be electronically installed on a new transponder-equipped duplicate key.
Keyline USA has the 884 Decryptor Ultegra and the 884 Decryptor Mini machines which are designed for automotive transponder cloning. The 884 Decryptor Ultegra is a standalone machine while the 884 Decryptor Mini must be connected to an android smartphone or tablet and requires an internet connection. A Keyline USA App can be downloaded from the Google Play Store to operate the 884 Decryptor Mini.
Different types of transponders have been used by automotive manufacturers depending on the model and year. 884 Decryptors can clone Texas fixed code, Texas Crypto, Philips fixed code, first generation Philips Crypto, second generation Philips Crypto and Megamos fixed code transponders. Check with a Keyline USA locksmith dealer for exact models and years which can be cloned. Keyline USA offers a special TK100 transponder which is used in conjunction with Keyline USA snap-in heads and horseshoe blade sections.
A Keyline USA Micro series of transponders has just been announced. Small dimension Micro series are designed to quickly and easily clone a wide range of automotive, motorbike and truck keys.
New Micro series chips are GK100 and GKM. A free software update is available for owners of 884 Decryptors for cloning the GK100 chip. GK100 chips can be used to clone Texas fixed (4C), Texas Crypto (4D) and Philips Crypto (ID46) transponders. GKM chips are used for cloning Megamos Fixed and Megamos Crypto (ID48) transponders. It is necessary to purchase a TKM.Xtreme Kit in order to clone GKM chips. GKM and GK100 chips are batteryless, rewritable and must be used exclusively with Keyline 884 cloning machines.
A new generation of Keyline USA pod keys have also been introduced. The new universal transponder holder allows the use of original or compatible glass and carbon transponder chips. The transponder holder snaps into a square opening in the key head.
