Lots of great info on the site about replacement keys, but some of it is totally outdated and I wish I had just found one thread with some of this information instead of 20 or 30 different ones. So here goes, I have a new-to-me MY 2008 Range Rover HSE 4.4. It came with only one key that was beat up and did not even look original. Before I go any farther, my great advice is for your go to a dealer to get a replacement key IF you can do that. I would have been happy, delighted even, to stop by a dealer and order a Land Rover key, but my closest Land Rover Dealer is 2 hours from where I live, so I thought I would exhaust all other options before that because driving hours to get a new key is a bit much.
In the end, I was able to order a OEM factory replacement key+fob that Land Rover cut to my VIN, online, delivered to me in less than a week that I was able to program with the GAP IID Tool.
Here’s how that went; The GAP IID Tool is great, I highly recommend it (if you own an L322 you should own a GAP Tool), but as far as key programming there are some caveats to keep in mind. The 2007, 2008, 2009 Range Rover full size uses a different key than the Sport and the LR3, even though the fobs look the same from the outside. I purchased my GAP Tool from Lucky8 with a key fob, that the buyer needs to get cut and program. As mentioned in other threads, that fob is a knock off one you see online everywhere with the thin blade, but the thicker blades are out there also. As far as I can tell, the 2007, 2008, 2009 Range Rover full size came with the thicker key blade. I called Lucky8 and mentioned this blade looks too thin and they assured me it would work. I took this fob to several locksmiths near me and they all had the exact same comments- we can’t cut it, but even if we could it’s the wrong size, there’s not enough material for an accurate cut, it will blow out the side. So then I started calling local locksmiths that mentioned on their web site that they could cut and program laser cut keys for Range Rovers. I’m sure where you live, you have great auto locksmiths that can cut and program a replacement key, but where I live they all said the same thing as soon as I mentioned Range Rover, sorry no, sorry, no, sorry no. I found one guy that yes, he could do it, but then he called the next day and said sorry, no. I then noticed key places online that cut laser keys from photos, hmmm. I contacted them and again get the same line when I mentioned Range Rover, sorry no, sorry, no, sorry no. I know there are auto locksmiths out there that can easily clone the chips and cut key blades, I just didn’t go that route because no one around here would do it.
Strangely, Ace Hardware (with 5,800 locations worldwide) claims on their web site that they cut laser keys and program keys for a 2008 Range Rover. I found the key dude at a nearby Ace and asked if he could cut a blade for me for a Range Rover, sorry no. Your web site says you can? He told me he can only sell me a fob that comes with a program for cutting, but then he could cut and program the new fob from the brochure (which had a wide blade, but looked like the unbranded fobs online). Sure, fine, no problem, sign me up. He gives me a ticket to pay up front for $114 and he’ll order the key fob. The cashier is having a problem and has to call the key dude to see what’s wrong and he digs around and tells me oh, sorry, the company that sells us the fob and program says the fobs are now obsolete, so we can’t cut your key, sorry. I presume it’s the company’s license agreement is what’s obsolete rather than whatever fob they were using.
I then found a key cutter on fleabay, in China, that said they would cut a laser key with the wide blade from a photo of my existing key blade for a Range Rover which would come in the familiar, knock off, but empty fob shell. Sounded slightly sketchy, but I remained undeterred. They only only charged $9 which included the blade, the empty fob and shipping to the US, what could possibly go wrong?
Meanwhile, I actually found a Land Rover parts place online that sold the official OEM factory original key fob from Land Rover, which is cut to my VIN, not some weird copy, which was what I wanted all along. All I needed to do was program it once it arrived. It was $299 and promptly arrived in my mail box within ONE WEEK, hurray!
My Chinese cut blade arrived in about 10 days. It didn’t exactly match my existing blade, so I was having doubts. I popped open the fob and installed it in my cheap fob from Lucky8 to see how that would go. I compared the Chinese blade to my brand new OEM factory cut blade I just received and those looked almost the same, where as my existing key blade almost looked like a different cut, presumably my existing key is a not-so-great copy. The $9 Chinese cut blade fit perfectly, so that’s not a bad price if you just need a blade cut. It saved me a lot of time also.
Th GAP Tool says in the user manual you cannot use CHEAP keys, and they will NOT work. They seem to be very clear about this. What’s a cheap key? No one says, all I know is what I see, and that’s an OEM factory key cut for your VIN from Land Rover and everything else. Why would Lucky8 sell a cheap key with a tool that says don’t use cheap keys? It must work for someone, all I can tell you is that the cheap key did not work for me, you might have better luck, I don’t know.
To program a new key to your full size 2007, 2008 or 2009 Range Rover you need to reprogram the keys (including the original) with the tool and then as another immediate operation (not part of the GAP tool) set the lock/unlock feature of the fob. All this info is in the GAP IID Tool manual.
You need the following:
1. OEM key(s), only a NEW key will work on the 2007, 2008, 2009 RRs
2. All keys present for programming
3. One existing, functional fob must be present to program the new key(s)
4. A CTEK battery trickle charger is not a bad idea, the GAP user manual even recommends it, I found I needed it because if you have never done this before, it will not seem obvious and it took my multiple tries until I was able complete the lock/unlock portion. The GAP tool prompted me to start the vehicle each time to initialize the ECU, which I was not expecting originally, because I didn’t see that mentioned anywhere.
The GAP tool gives you prompts for the programming, it goes quickly once you get everything ready. The first key is the original, then the other keys follow. My existing key and my new factory key programmed within a few seconds every time, the third key was the cheap key and it failed at each attempt. After a dozen attempts I was satisfied the cheap key it would never program to my Range Rover.
The folks at GAP seem pretty confident about the tool reprogramming the 2007, 2008, 2009 OEM keys. I felt a little apprehensive when I watched the ECU being initialized each time for the key programming, but I feel like they really have this down. It works, it’s all good. I have a new OEM key fob and blade cut my VIN and I did not have to drive 2 hours to a dealer.
In the end, I was able to order a OEM factory replacement key+fob that Land Rover cut to my VIN, online, delivered to me in less than a week that I was able to program with the GAP IID Tool.
Here’s how that went; The GAP IID Tool is great, I highly recommend it (if you own an L322 you should own a GAP Tool), but as far as key programming there are some caveats to keep in mind. The 2007, 2008, 2009 Range Rover full size uses a different key than the Sport and the LR3, even though the fobs look the same from the outside. I purchased my GAP Tool from Lucky8 with a key fob, that the buyer needs to get cut and program. As mentioned in other threads, that fob is a knock off one you see online everywhere with the thin blade, but the thicker blades are out there also. As far as I can tell, the 2007, 2008, 2009 Range Rover full size came with the thicker key blade. I called Lucky8 and mentioned this blade looks too thin and they assured me it would work. I took this fob to several locksmiths near me and they all had the exact same comments- we can’t cut it, but even if we could it’s the wrong size, there’s not enough material for an accurate cut, it will blow out the side. So then I started calling local locksmiths that mentioned on their web site that they could cut and program laser cut keys for Range Rovers. I’m sure where you live, you have great auto locksmiths that can cut and program a replacement key, but where I live they all said the same thing as soon as I mentioned Range Rover, sorry no, sorry, no, sorry no. I found one guy that yes, he could do it, but then he called the next day and said sorry, no. I then noticed key places online that cut laser keys from photos, hmmm. I contacted them and again get the same line when I mentioned Range Rover, sorry no, sorry, no, sorry no. I know there are auto locksmiths out there that can easily clone the chips and cut key blades, I just didn’t go that route because no one around here would do it.
Strangely, Ace Hardware (with 5,800 locations worldwide) claims on their web site that they cut laser keys and program keys for a 2008 Range Rover. I found the key dude at a nearby Ace and asked if he could cut a blade for me for a Range Rover, sorry no. Your web site says you can? He told me he can only sell me a fob that comes with a program for cutting, but then he could cut and program the new fob from the brochure (which had a wide blade, but looked like the unbranded fobs online). Sure, fine, no problem, sign me up. He gives me a ticket to pay up front for $114 and he’ll order the key fob. The cashier is having a problem and has to call the key dude to see what’s wrong and he digs around and tells me oh, sorry, the company that sells us the fob and program says the fobs are now obsolete, so we can’t cut your key, sorry. I presume it’s the company’s license agreement is what’s obsolete rather than whatever fob they were using.
I then found a key cutter on fleabay, in China, that said they would cut a laser key with the wide blade from a photo of my existing key blade for a Range Rover which would come in the familiar, knock off, but empty fob shell. Sounded slightly sketchy, but I remained undeterred. They only only charged $9 which included the blade, the empty fob and shipping to the US, what could possibly go wrong?
Meanwhile, I actually found a Land Rover parts place online that sold the official OEM factory original key fob from Land Rover, which is cut to my VIN, not some weird copy, which was what I wanted all along. All I needed to do was program it once it arrived. It was $299 and promptly arrived in my mail box within ONE WEEK, hurray!
My Chinese cut blade arrived in about 10 days. It didn’t exactly match my existing blade, so I was having doubts. I popped open the fob and installed it in my cheap fob from Lucky8 to see how that would go. I compared the Chinese blade to my brand new OEM factory cut blade I just received and those looked almost the same, where as my existing key blade almost looked like a different cut, presumably my existing key is a not-so-great copy. The $9 Chinese cut blade fit perfectly, so that’s not a bad price if you just need a blade cut. It saved me a lot of time also.
Th GAP Tool says in the user manual you cannot use CHEAP keys, and they will NOT work. They seem to be very clear about this. What’s a cheap key? No one says, all I know is what I see, and that’s an OEM factory key cut for your VIN from Land Rover and everything else. Why would Lucky8 sell a cheap key with a tool that says don’t use cheap keys? It must work for someone, all I can tell you is that the cheap key did not work for me, you might have better luck, I don’t know.
To program a new key to your full size 2007, 2008 or 2009 Range Rover you need to reprogram the keys (including the original) with the tool and then as another immediate operation (not part of the GAP tool) set the lock/unlock feature of the fob. All this info is in the GAP IID Tool manual.
You need the following:
1. OEM key(s), only a NEW key will work on the 2007, 2008, 2009 RRs
2. All keys present for programming
3. One existing, functional fob must be present to program the new key(s)
4. A CTEK battery trickle charger is not a bad idea, the GAP user manual even recommends it, I found I needed it because if you have never done this before, it will not seem obvious and it took my multiple tries until I was able complete the lock/unlock portion. The GAP tool prompted me to start the vehicle each time to initialize the ECU, which I was not expecting originally, because I didn’t see that mentioned anywhere.
The GAP tool gives you prompts for the programming, it goes quickly once you get everything ready. The first key is the original, then the other keys follow. My existing key and my new factory key programmed within a few seconds every time, the third key was the cheap key and it failed at each attempt. After a dozen attempts I was satisfied the cheap key it would never program to my Range Rover.
The folks at GAP seem pretty confident about the tool reprogramming the 2007, 2008, 2009 OEM keys. I felt a little apprehensive when I watched the ECU being initialized each time for the key programming, but I feel like they really have this down. It works, it’s all good. I have a new OEM key fob and blade cut my VIN and I did not have to drive 2 hours to a dealer.
