Mercedes-Benz Key Types, Identified from the Real Photos
Vietiki Design Team
Five Mercedes-Benz Key Bodies, Identified from the Real Photos
Search for help identifying a Mercedes-Benz key and you'll find plenty of dealership articles explaining it for battery-replacement purposes — but none of them tell you what to actually do about the key itself, only what's inside it. This covers the other half: how to identify your key by its actual shape, and which cover fits it.
"SmartKey®" and "Chrome SmartKey®" are Mercedes' own terms, used consistently across independent dealership service departments. "Teardrop" is our own shape name, not an official Mercedes term.
The Key Bodies We Cut Covers For
Chrome SmartKey® (4-Button)
Elongated, rounded metal body with a matte black textured panel covering most of the front face. Four buttons around the central star — lock, unlock, a red panic triangle, and a trunk icon — plus a fold-out silver blade key at the base.
Matches our Chrome SmartKey 4-Button cover.
Teardrop
Elongated rounded body with chrome side rails framing a glossy piano-black face. Star centered, lock and unlock below it.
Matches our Teardrop cover.
AMG Teardrop
Same Teardrop body, but the fourth button slot is replaced with an "AMG" wordmark at the base — lock, star, and unlock stacked above it.
Also matches our Teardrop cover.
Ignition Insert / Push Start-Keyless Go
A distinctive flared, wing-like chrome "shoulder" section at the top that narrows into a black lower body, with four buttons (lock, unlock, star, trunk) and a small rounded notch at the very base.
We cut two covers for this body depending on how your key mounts in the car: the Ignition Insert cover for keys that physically slide into a dashboard ignition switch, and the Push Start / Keyless Go cover for the same body on push-button-start cars.
Contemporary 3-Button
Rounded pebble-shaped metal body, three buttons (lock, star, trunk). Comes in two sizes — Normal (82mm × 41mm) and Mini (70mm × 35mm) — both with the same 3-button layout, just scaled differently.
Matches our Contemporary 3-Button cover.
Contemporary 2-Button
The 2-button version of the same Contemporary family — lock and unlock flanking the star, no separate trunk button.
Matches our Contemporary 2-Button cover.
Compare your actual key to the photos above before ordering. If nothing here looks like an exact match, send us a photo and we'll confirm the right cover.
Once You Know Your Key, Choose the Material
| Material | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Alcantara | Matte, high-grip microfiber matching AMG and sport-trim interiors. |
| Leather | Top-grain leather that develops a patina with handling rather than wearing out. |
| Goatskin | A softer, more textured leather alternative with a wider color range. |
| Carbon | A rigid 2-piece snap shell for maximum drop protection, with an open front so Keyless-Go and push-start signals pass through unaffected. |
Shop the Full Mercedes-Benz Collection
All key bodies, four materials, one place to compare side by side.
Shop Mercedes-Benz Key Covers →