Acura RDX Key Replacement in San Diego

An RDX smart key is $259 wherever the SUV is parked, close to half the roughly $520 an Acura dealer charges. A 2007 to 2012 RDX grooved key is $169.

The RDX arrived for 2007 with a turbo four, switched to a V6 for 2013 and went back to a turbo four with the 2019 redesign. For keys, the split falls at 2013: grooved blade before, push-button after.

Both kinds get cut and programmed beside the RDX, tested before you pay, and backed by a twelve-month warranty. If a replacement fob you bought online is waiting in a drawer, key fob programming explains what we check before pairing it.

Acura RDX keys by model year

Find your year, and the row shows the key it takes, what the dealer charges and what we charge at the car.

Prices as of 2026-09-30. Every price includes the drive to you anywhere in San Diego County. There is no trip fee and no after-hours rate inside our open hours. All keys lost adds $60.
Model years	Typical dealer	Value Car Keys	You keep
2007 to 2012: High-security laser-cut keyFirst generation, turbocharged. The key is a buttonless grooved blade holding a 46 chip; the remote hangs beside it as its own unit. The blade comes off our code machine and its chip is programmed beside the SUV, all for $169.	~~$320~~	$169	$151
2013 to 2018: Smart key for push-to-startSecond generation, V6. Push-button start, and a slim emergency key slides out of the smart fob. That key is cut, and the fob is paired to the immobilizer and the locks in one sitting.	~~$520~~	$259	$261
2019 to 2025: Smart key for push-to-start (Memory-seat trims use numbered driver fobs)Third generation, turbo four, including the A-Spec. Its fob is a newer style than the 2013 to 2018 SUV's, so your VIN decides the part before any quote. An RDX past the 2025 model year is looked up the same way.	~~$520~~	$259	$261

The new key next to the original.

Lost every RDX key?

For an RDX whose keys are all gone, we work the key code out from the VIN, mill the blade or emergency key on board and enroll the replacement in the immobilizer at the curb, once your paperwork matches your ID. A 2007 to 2012 RDX comes to $229 and a 2013 or newer RDX to $319, $60 over the spare figure in each case.

Getting a keyless RDX to the dealer usually means $125 to $200 in towing before the roughly $520 key bill even begins. We skip that step, and we remove the lost key from the RDX's memory before we go, so it can no longer open or start the SUV.

Acura RDX key questions

Does my 2012 RDX need a smart key?

No. The 2007 to 2012 RDX uses a grooved metal key you turn in the ignition, $169 at the SUV against about $320 at the dealer. Smart keys began with the 2013 RDX. If your dash shows a start button where a keyhole would be, you have a 2013 or newer model, and that fob is $259.

I lost the key to my 2008 RDX but still have the remote. What do I need?

Just the key, at the no-key price of $229. On the first-generation RDX the remote is usually a separate piece, so it does not need replacing. We cut a new grooved key by code from the VIN, program its chip to the immobilizer and confirm your remote still locks and unlocks the SUV before we pack up.

Why does an RDX smart key cost $90 more than the older grooved key?

Because the smart key is a different part doing more work. The fob carries the proximity antenna, the remote buttons and the immobilizer chip, and it is programmed to the push-button system and the door locks in one sitting. The 2007 to 2012 key is a grooved blade with a chip. Either price covers the cutting, the programming and our trip out.

Is the RDX fob you bring the same as the one from the dealer?

It is either an Acura part or an OEM-grade equivalent carrying the chip Acura specifies for your year, and it is programmed with the procedure the service department uses. It locks, unlocks and starts the SUV the same way, and our twelve-month warranty takes in the fob, its buttons and our programming. The difference shows on the bill: $259 at the SUV against about $520.

Other Acura models

Text us your Acura RDX year and trim

Call or text (619) 340-1518 with the car's year, make and model. If a dealer already quoted you, send that quote over for our answer on the same key.

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