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Acura TLX Key Replacement in San Diego

A TLX smart key costs $259 in your parking spot, roughly half the $520 an Acura service desk tends to quote. That price covers every TLX from the 2015 launch onward.

The TLX replaced both the TL and the TSX for 2015, and it has started with a button from its first model year. What varies is the fob itself and, on memory-seat cars, which driver number it carries.

Your VIN picks the fob, its tucked-away metal key is cut to your door, and programming follows the Honda-family procedure the Acura service lane also uses. An older TL or TSX in the same garage is covered on the Acura key page.

Acura TLX 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 yearsTypical dealerValue Car KeysYou keep
2015 to 2020: Smart key for push-to-start (Memory-seat cars take a numbered fob, Driver 1 or Driver 2)First generation, four-cylinder or V6, refreshed for 2018. The smart fob carries an emergency metal key that we cut by code, and a single programming session teaches the car both the chip and the keyless entry. $520 $259 $261
2021 to 2025: Smart key for push-to-start (Type S included)Second generation. Its fob does not interchange with the first-generation car's, so the part is confirmed from your VIN before quoting. A TLX built after 2025 goes through the same check. $520 $259 $261
The new key next to the original.

Lost every TLX key?

With every TLX fob gone, the sedan can still be keyed in place. After your paperwork and ID line up, we decode the VIN into a key code, cut the emergency key and enroll a fresh fob in the immobilizer and the entry system. That job is $319, which is $259 plus the $60 no-key charge.

At the dealer the same job begins with a flatbed, $125 to $200, and a numbered fob the parts department lacks can stretch the wait to three days. Before we pack up, the missing fob is dropped from the TLX's list of known keys, so it no longer unlocks or starts the car.

Acura TLX key questions

What does a second TLX fob cost if one still works?

$259 where the car sits, for any 2015 or newer TLX, with the emergency key cut and the new fob programmed next to your existing one. An Acura dealer usually lands near $520 for that fob plus programming. If you wait until nothing is left, the same TLX job is $319, so buying the spare early is the smallest bill you will see.

My TLX still starts, but the fob buttons barely work. What should I replace?

The battery, before anything else. A TLX that still starts with the fob aboard has a healthy chip and good programming, and weak button range typically points to a tired cell. We name the right cell on the phone. If a fresh one leaves the buttons dead, we check the fob beside the car and replace it for $259 only if it has failed.

My only TLX fob is locked inside the car. Is that a key job or a lockout?

A lockout, and it costs less: $79 to $129 to open the sedan without damage to the paint, the door or its seals. Once you are back in, the fob you already own still works, so no new key is needed. If the fob turns out to be damaged, its replacement is quoted separately at $259, and we would rather you keep the one you have.

Which driver number is my remaining TLX fob?

Unlock the car with it and watch the seat. On a memory-seat TLX the seat glides to the position saved for that fob's number, so the lost fob is the other one. Tell us which setting came up, and we bring the matching part at the $259 smart key price, cut and paired beside the sedan.

Can you program a TLX fob I ordered from a marketplace?

Yes, when it is new, unused and the correct part for your generation. A fob that another TLX has already learned usually cannot be moved to yours, so text us its part number before paying for it. Programming a fob you supplied costs $79 to $119; the warranty on that job covers our programming rather than the fob.

Other Acura models

Text us your Acura TLX 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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