Lost Seadoo Key – How To Get A New One

Losing the key to your Sea-Doo is not a fun adventure. Sometimes people would forget where they put their key, or a friend loses it… whatever the reason you need a new key. 

So what can you do to get a new key? 

Just like your car, your Sea-Doo watercraft has a code built into the key so that only your keys will start the jet ski. This means you’ll need to get new keys programmed to the jet ski.

Can I Give You My VIN And You Get Me A New Key?

In order to get a new key made to your watercraft, you must take the entire machine to your local dealer.

Your VIN has nothing to do with the key. Your registration numbers have nothing to do with the key. Your customer records have nothing to do with the key.

The whole jet ski needs to be at the dealership if you want a new key.

You also can’t walk in with another key that works, we need the whole jet ski at the dealership.

How Sea-Doo Keys Work

The Sea-Doo key is made up of two parts, a magnet, and a ROM chip.

The magnet is what signals the jet ski to power on and read the ROM chip. The ROM chip contains a certain amount of digits. This combination of digits can make up a million different combinations of numbers. The number that is stored on the chip never changes.

When a dealership programs the key to the watercraft what they’re actually doing is telling the watercraft that it’s okay to let these certain digits start this watercraft.

It also tells the watercraft what kind of key it should be, whether it’s a “normal” or “learning” key. So really the important stuff is stored on the watercraft. You usually have about 8 spots or allow to store 8 keys to one watercraft. If the key is removed the magnet is not there to keep the magnetic switch closed so the watercraft shuts off.

As you can see above from how a key works, you can’t simply duplicate a key like you would a car. One key has a completely different string of numbers than the next key and they can’t be changed because they’re hard-coded into the key.

How Much Is A New Sea-Doo Key?

A new Sea-Doo key will cost about $70 for the key plus $0 to $100 to program the key.

Every jet ski dealership is different, some don’t charge to program the key if you buy the key from them. Some dealers charge a “few bucks” and some charge a lot more than a “few bucks” to program the key.

It’s best to call your local dealer and ask them how much it’s going to cost. 

Also if you have a 2015 and up Sea-Doo Watercraft you have a new style key. So make sure you get the right key programmed to your machine. This key works much the same as the old one, but the new style is easier to put on. These two keys cannot be swapped.

Can You Bypass a Sea-Doo Key?

No, you can not bypass any Sea-Doo with a DESS key. There is no magic button or a way to hotwire and if you try you might do more damage than good. The key data is stored in more than one location and if certain things don’t match up the watercraft becomes a dud.

They do this to cut down on theft and a stolen Sea-Doo does get reported to BRP and it does go in an index that dealers check.

You can not start a Sea-Doo unless you have the key that is programmed to it!

Can I Program My Learning Key as Fast?

If you lost your fast or normal key and still have the learning key you can take the watercraft to the dealership and ask them to make your learning key fast.

To make the learning key a fast key you’ll still need to take it to the dealership to get it programmed.

If you’re going to take it to the dealership you might as well get a new key programmed, it’s always smart to have a spare.

Do You Have Two Sea-Doos?

If you have 2 Sea-Doos you can program them alike.

Make sure to ask your dealership when you buy them to make all the keys alike. This way if you lose a key you have the others from the other watercraft that can start your machine.

Sea-Doo Spark Replacement Key

If you have a Sea-Doo Spark and it does not have iBR then you just need the basic Spark Key (Amazon Link Ad) to get going.

Only certain models of Sparks got the DESS key, which is the one you program. The other Sparks just use a magnetic safety lanyard and any of those Spark style keys will start the jet ski.

And no – don’t try to make your own key. Only use Keys made for your watercraft! These things are meant to save lives. 

Yamaha, Kawasaki, and Other Replacement Keys

If you have a Yamaha, Kawasaki, Polaris, Tiger Shark, or other watercraft then you can buy a universal jet ski lanyard (Amazon Link Ad).

These universal lanyards have many different clips and hooks that work for your machine. These are not keys and instead are safety lanyards.

Kawasaki does have keys that need to be programmed that are located in the glove box. Some models of Kawasaki’s need to be taken to the dealership to be programmed.

Some Yamaha’s will have a code or fob that will keep a machine from starting. Kawasaki will also have a device that will keep a jet ski from starting, along with the safety lanyard. You can only get these things at dealerships.