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I can't seem to find any pics on the internet. May be a dumb question but can someone confirm that 4th Gen OEM Keys were GM black rubber coated for the ignition (square) and classic metal for the door/trunk (oval) ? Or were they both rubber coated ? Thanks.
My 2001 car was purchased new and I received two rubber exterior ignition keys (with the chips) and two bare door/trunk keys. All have the GM logo plus the two big black fobs. If 1998 was different I don't know.
related question, i bought my 98 off small dealer and came with 1 ignition key and one old bronze looking door key. what does it take to get the ignition key copied for a spare set?
my door keys are the metal oval, but they are part of a complete door/hatch lock set from "wolfsecurityhardware" on ebay, since when I bought the car the PO didn't have door keys and when I went to the chevy dealership and had a key cut by the VIN it didn't work, so I spent 50 bucks and about and hours time and replaced all 3 lock cylinders so if I ever had issues with the keyless entry I could still get in the car.
I had a '97, and a 2001, both purchased new from the dealer, and my current 2002 purchased slightly used. They all came with the 2 square, rubber coated ignition keys with resistor and the oval uncoated GM door and hatch keys. Plus the 2 key fobs.
So I don't know. The '97 also came with an emergency 1/2 door key in a plastic credit card type holder that you were to keep in your wallet in case you locked the keys in the car. That was a nice touch.
Dealers should have a box to check the resistance in the keys. Just need to make sure they get the key in receptacle as secure as possible. I've had a few jump code numbers on me when I just wiggled it.
^ When these cars were sold, it was common for the dealers to make the credit card keys and to make rubber headed copies of the door keys for their customers. (I remember wishing I had gone to another dealer who would have given me the rubber door keys and then realized that I could just get my own for $1.49. Things were less expensive back then...)
The cars didn't come from the factory this way, but its an easy/cheap thing for the dealer to do in order to show that they care about us. (ie: Foreplay to get people in to their service departments where they... proceed to *** rape their customers.)
If you have the ignition key, all you need is an ohmmeter or a multimeter to read the resistance between the terminals of the black chip on the key shaft. You can look up the key number on the chart below using the resistance you read (plus or minus 10%)
Key numbers, resistance values, and standard resistor combinations that can be used for bypass.
If you don't have a working ignition key then you'll have to go to the dealer with your VIN (and probably some proof of ownership) and have them look it up for you.
I can't seem to find any pics on the internet. May be a dumb question but can someone confirm that 4th Gen OEM Keys were GM black rubber coated for the ignition (square) and classic metal for the door/trunk (oval) ? Or were they both rubber coated ? Thanks.
My OEM's are Ignition Square Rubber coated, door & hatch round bare metal key (no rubber)
My '99 and '00 cars I bought brand new, at different dealers (one Chevy, one Pontiac) and both came with two sets of keys - ALL rubber/plastic (whatever it is) coated, including both door keys. My '98, which I bought from the original owner when it was nearly new, also came with a full set of black coated keys. Same with my '02. I've owned four of these cars and none of them came with a bare metal door key.
So I guess it was common for the dealers in my area to upgrade these keys on new F-bodies? All four of them came from different dealers originally, but all local to my area. I was the first or second owner of each one.
My '99 and '00 cars I bought brand new, at different dealers (one Chevy, one Pontiac) and both came with two sets of keys - ALL rubber/plastic (whatever it is) coated, including both door keys. My '98, which I bought from the original owner when it was nearly new, also came with a full set of black coated keys. Same with my '02. I've owned four of these cars and none of them came with a bare metal door key.
So I guess it was common for the dealers in my area to upgrade these keys on new F-bodies? All four of them came from different dealers originally, but all local to my area. I was the first or second owner of each one.
Now you've got me wondering...I'll have to seek out my 2nd set of keys to see if the same...as common (daily) use set, vs 2nd set.
So I guess it was common for the dealers in my area to upgrade these keys on new F-bodies? All four of them came from different dealers originally, but all local to my area. I was the first or second owner of each one.
They have plastic covers that match the moulded rubber. You can even get square covers for the older (pre-VATS) ignition keys:
The dealers would put the plastic covers on the door keys so they would match the VATS ignition keys. (But under the cover, they are still the same bare metal keys - just as they have been since the 60's.) I recall the key I got from my dealer (they only covered one of them for me!) slid down the shaft of the key and off the head, although the picture above seems to go on the other way.
06-16-2014, 10:25 AM
Question on 4th Gen OEM Keys 
