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Car keys · Transponders, fobs, push-to-start, broken keys
Lost or Broken Car Key? New Keys and Fobs Made at Your Car
No tow to the dealer, no day off work. We come to your driveway in Rancho San Diego or the shop lot on Fletcher Parkway, cut the key, program the chip, and you drive away. Call with the year, make and model for a quote.
(619) 837-7178All keys lost
Every key gone: dropped in the surf, left on a bus, in the pocket of a jacket that went to the thrift store. The car is sitting in the driveway and it isn't going anywhere.
We make a key from nothing. Depending on the car, that means reading the lock, pulling the key code from the VIN, or both, then cutting the blade and programming the transponder chip at the car so the immobilizer accepts it. For most makes it's done in one visit. Have your ID and the registration or title ready; for an all-keys-lost job we need to see that the car is yours before a key gets cut, no exceptions.
If the car has a push-to-start system, the process is the same but the "key" is a fob; we program a new one and, if you want, erase the lost one from the car's memory so it can't be used if it turns up in the wrong hands.
Spares before you need them
A second key made while you still have the first is the cheapest key you'll ever buy. An all-keys-lost call costs more because we have to start from the car instead of from a working key, and it usually comes at a bad time. If you have one key for a commuter car, a work truck or a teenager's first car, call us when it's convenient and get a spare cut and programmed in your driveway. Ten minutes now beats a morning off the 8 later.
Two spares worth thinking about: one for the household with two drivers and one car, and one for the work truck that a crew shares, because the crew member who has the only key is always the one who called in sick. We can make several at once and the per-key cost drops after the first.
Fobs, transponders and push-to-start
Almost every car built since the late 1990s has a chip in the key that talks to the immobilizer. A key cut at a hardware store will turn the lock and not start the car. We cut and program:
- Transponder keys, the plain key with a chip in the plastic head.
- Remote-head keys, the key with lock and unlock buttons built in.
- Key fobs and smart keys for push-to-start cars, including proximity fobs you never take out of your pocket.
- Replacement remotes when the buttons died but the key still works, and shell swaps when the case cracked.
Where we can't help, we say so up front. A few newer European models and some of the latest model years lock their key data to the dealer's systems, and the dealer is the only route. If that's your car we'll tell you on the phone, not after a trip charge.
Before you pay for a new fob, one cheap check: a fob that only works when you hold it against the start button usually just needs a battery, and a fob that works from three feet away and not from thirty has a weak one. We carry the batteries and we'll swap it for the cost of the battery rather than sell you a fob you don't need.
Broken key or worn ignition
A key snaps off in the door or the ignition more often on older cars, where the blade has worn thin over fifteen years of turning. We extract the broken piece without damaging the cylinder, then cut a fresh key. If the ignition itself is worn, sticking, or turning without starting, we repair or replace the ignition cylinder and key it to match your door key, so you don't end up carrying two.
Door cylinders that won't turn because the key is worn, not the lock, usually just need a key cut to the factory code instead of copied from the worn original. That's a small job that fixes a lot of "my key barely works anymore" complaints.
Us or the dealer?
Honest version. The dealer needs the car at the dealership, which means a tow if you have no key, and often a day or two on the schedule. We come to the car, usually the same day, and for most makes the price is lower because we're not paying for a showroom. The key you get is the same OEM or OEM-grade key, programmed to the same standard.
When the dealer is the better call: a few of the newest high-end and European models, some cars under a warranty that requires dealer keys, and any case where we'd have to order a part and the dealer has it in stock. We'll tell you which one you are on the phone.
Makes we see most
The commuter cars and work trucks of East County. Toyota and Honda sedans and SUVs, Ford and Chevy pickups and work vans on Fletcher Parkway and around Gillespie Field, Nissan, Hyundai and Kia family cars, Dodge and Ram, Jeep, Subaru, and the older Chrysler, GM and Ford models that still fill the driveways of Granite Hills and Bostonia with mechanical keys and early transponders. If your make isn't on the list, call anyway; the list is who we see, not who we can help.
Prefer Spanish or Arabic? The same phone number has an option for each, and the Español and العربية pages cover car keys in plain terms.
What you'll hear on the phone
Basic key $65 · transponder $125–$225 · fob / push-to-start $175–$325
The range depends on the make and the year, which is why we ask for both when you call. The quote you get on the phone includes the trip and the programming, and it's on the pricing page in full. Coverage is the whole valley; see the service area for the edges.
Quick answers
Do you need my original key to make a new one?
No. With every key gone we read the lock or pull the key code from the VIN, cut a blade, and program the chip at the car. If you still have one working key, bring it: a spare made from a working key is quicker and cheaper than starting from nothing, which is the whole argument for making the spare now.
Can you erase a lost key so it no longer starts the car?
On most makes, yes. When we program the new key we can clear the car's memory of the old ones, so a key that turns up in the wrong hands opens nothing. We'll tell you on the phone if your make is one of the few where only the dealer can do that.
How long does it take?
Usually well under an hour at the car, including the paperwork check. A few makes build in a security delay before they accept a new key, and on those we sit through it with you. We tell you the expected time when you give us the year, make and model.
Key is inside the locked car? That's a lockout, and it's cheaper and faster: car lockout.