Honda non programmed key

[Grey Ghost I]

When I towed my Ranger, I had a key cut but not programmed. I used it to unlock the steering wheel while I was towing. I want to know if that can be done with my CR-V. Have any of you tried it? If so, does it work? I appreciate any help as it would eliminate all the CR-V battery problems and would be a simple and cheap solution. Worked in the Ranger more than ten years.

[bdickson]

Yes, we have dummy keys that unlock the CR-V and will actually crank the engine but it will not start. Ask a Honda dealer to cut you a "practice key". They are simple metal blanks that the technicians use for training on the key cutting machine before they are allowed to cut $125 chipped keys. I think they cost us about $30 each.

[mhudson]

I have a dummy key we use in the CRV. It will unlock and crank but not start. I hold the real key against the dummy one when starting for the 3 minute run. After the motor starts and runs about 10 seconds or so you can remove the chipped key and the motor will continue to run. I then shut it off in drive to unlock the steering but it will not restart. If we stop somewhere I don't worry about locking the Honda as no one can start it and take off in the CRV.