“The fob has become a critical part of the security of the car,” he said. The average price for an Audi key fob replacement, including programming, is $500, we were told.

Just know that most customer-programmable key fobs will require two current working keys in order to program the new one. RELATED: How to replace your key fob | Your key fob may have hidden features ...

Information about programming many manufacturers' key fobs is available on the Internet, although no one site acts as a central clearinghouse for all car models.

When your Honda key fob runs out of battery, you can take it to a dealership, but it's pricey. It's much cheaper and not too difficult to do it yourself.

The functionality can be added via 3rd party modules or through manipulating the car’s programming with some prepackaged software, but [Igor] wanted to give it a go himself.

And that’s just for the fob. Add another $50 to $100 to get replacement fobs programmed to work with your car and to have a new mechanical backup key made.