Locksmithing 101 | EVERYTHING You Need To Know About The NI04T Transponder Key!

Everything that you need to know about the Nissan Infiniti NI04T transponder key. One of the top 10 transponder keys in the USA today.

We've compiled a PDF and put it together, so click on it, download, and save it. A little interesting fact, a lot of times, as I said in the intro, it's the NI04T transponder key. Often, and I've been guilty of it myself, sometimes I'll call it the NIO4T. Maybe you didn't catch what I did there, but it says 04, not an O4, and that's important when you're trying to look up for information.

THE CHIP

The NI04T uses the Phillips 46 encrypted chip, also known as the ID 46. That might sound familiar to you because we also talked about that chip in the Y164 blog. And the exciting thing about this is that several manufacturers have used this Philips 46 encrypted chip, including Honda, Chrysler, Mitsubishi, and of course, Nissan Infiniti. So the first generation of the Nissan chip was the NI01, or NI02Tto key, a Texas Instruments. And then they later with this key, the NIO4, Mitsubishi and Honda and all that move to the Philips chip, but not the Texas Instruments. And they moved from Texas Instruments to Philips is because it was cheaper.

Something interesting about this, although the chips are the same, each manufacturer has its algorithm. The hardware is the same for simpler terms, but the software coding inside the chip is different. That's why you can't just interchange the chips out of the package.

So long story short, the ID46 used in this NI04T, and many others, you always want to look at it like this 'The same tech but with a different algorithm.'

THE TEST BLADE

Like Ford and Chrysler, Nissan picked a blade that worked, and they went with it, and in this case, the test blade for the NI04T is the DA34 key or X237 as the tailor number. So it's a very popular key, it was used from the start of Nissan coming out with their transponder keys, and from my research, there are even some 2020 vehicles that are still using that key blades. So that's one of the things that you want to get familiar with and understand.

THE SHELL

In terms of transponder shells, I recommend using the JMA TP00-DAT15.P3. The big deal with that is, if you were to miscut the key, you don't want to junk the whole key and start over. You can still get the chip out, and that's just another great reason to be using JMA transponder keys. It is to build, pop that chip out easily.

THE CODE SERIES

The code series is 1222185. This is a 10 cut system, so there are 10 cuts on both sides of the key. Once again, like Ford and Chrysler, Nissan's stuck with this one, so use the same blade. The same blade is using the same code series as well, which is nice.

HOW TO DUPLICATE?

Since Nissan and Infiniti have essentially used this keyblade for a couple of decades, we must know the proper base technique on cutting this key, and we have the confidence in doing it so we don't have to use those chip shells.

So here we are at the machine to duplicate a NI04T key, and I will be using the DA34 test key.

As you can see, anytime a key has these big grooves in here as this one does, I typically like to bring it over to the jaw C or jaw three. However, it doesn't work very well because of the depth of the cuts depending on your machine.  

As you get it on the groove, the cuts obviously must stick up higher than the key, and I find it kind of problematic using jaw 3. So you want to check if you can use it, but for the most part, stick to the jaw 1 or A, depending on your machine manufacturer.

Typically, I'm going to get my tiny spacebar, and I'm going to put it in the furthest one, but this key does not have a shoulder stop alignment, so it's going to be a tip stop alignment. And typically, you'd go ahead and put the key in just like this; however, I do not like to do it this way, and let me tell you why.

That's because when you put it on the machine on the jaw, there's not a lot of material for the jaw to grasp on, which can cause you problems.

So what I will do is use the same bar and hold it at the end; put the key in, and make sure you have everything centered or aligned. Do the same thing to the other side (right).

So by doing this, we're gripping all of this good meat right here and then, you know, we also have a little grip over here. This will prevent the key from flipping out of the jaw while duplicating.

Make sure that everything is tightened down; time to duplicate all the way to the tip.

Once finished, flip the key over, get it nice and tight then duplicate the other side.

And that's everything you need to know about the NI04T. Do you see what I did there? The NI04T. I'd love to know in the comments below what you think. Thank you, and we'll see you next time.