Car Keys
On-site key cutting services
You depend on your car, and that makes its smallest part, the key, one of its most important. A key is what turns a parked car into transport. Lose it and the vehicle is just a heavy object in a parking space, as anyone who has been stuck without one can tell you. We hope you never find out for yourself.
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There is more to car keys than most drivers realise. Losing a key or locking it in the car are the obvious ways to get stranded, but as key technology has grown more sophisticated, so has the list of things that can go wrong. The most common problems we see are described below.
If any of them happens to you, do not panic. Simply The Best Locksmith is built for exactly this. Whether the key broke off in the ignition or vanished somewhere between the shop and the car, our technicians make sure you are back behind the wheel of a working vehicle with as little fuss as possible. Car key emergencies are handled same day, and we cut and program keys on site, at your location, so you can get where you were going. For any automotive locksmith need, call Simply The Best Locksmith: what matters to you matters to us.
Lost Car Keys
The classic key disaster needs no introduction. It happens to careful people and careless people alike, and it happens anywhere. With luck you lose them at home or at work. Without it, you are standing on a city sidewalk watching them vanish down a storm drain, or at a trailhead with the keys somewhere along five miles of path. Depending on where and when it happens, getting a replacement quickly can be a matter of safety as well as convenience.
That is where we come in. Simply The Best Locksmith sends a technician to wherever you are, fast, to cut and program a new key on the spot. Dial (484) 237-1233 and we will come to you, anywhere in the Lehigh Valley, and get you back on the road.
Broken Car Key
A key feels indestructible, but it wears like any other part of the car. Keys snap in door locks, in ignitions and anywhere else they meet too much force. Older keys are especially prone to it: years of twisting in the ignition create weak points in the metal, and one day the key gives way.
If your key breaks, call Simply The Best Locksmith before you try anything else. Our technicians carry the tools, and have the know-how, to remove the fragment from an ignition without harming the delicate mechanism behind it. With the broken piece out, we cut a fresh key right there and you carry on with your day.
Stuck in Ignition
A key that will not come out of the ignition is another frequent call. Do not keep pulling; that is how people end up holding half a key. Call us instead. We free the key safely and, just as important, work out whether the key or the ignition cylinder caused the problem.
A worn key is a simple fix. A worn ignition is also something we fix, because ignition repair is part of what our automotive technicians do. Either way, one call solves it, which is why we should be the first number you dial when a key jams.
Car Key is Worn Out
Everyday use wears keys down. If you notice yours getting harder to turn, or the teeth looking rounded, you have been given a warning most people do not get. Act on it before the key snaps in the ignition or the door. Call us and have a crisp new key made while the old one still works.
A technician can cut you a brand new key in minutes, so you can stop wondering whether this is the day it leaves you stranded. Do not put it off; a fresh key in your pocket is a small thing that prevents a big problem.
Damaged Key Technology
Unless you drive something with a plain all-metal key, which is rare now, your key contains more electronics than you might think. Chips, programming and radio circuits are all in there. The common types are:
- Remote head key
- Smart key/proximity key
- Transponder key
- VATS key
All of those components can fail or take damage, and they tend to do it at the worst moment. If one of these keys starts acting up, call Simply The Best Locksmith straight away. Our diagnostic and programming equipment deals with the electronics precisely and quickly: VATS keys replaced, transponders and remotes reprogrammed, and more. Small key, big problem, one phone call.
Know your key
Not sure which kind of key you carry? The notes below describe the main types and what replacing each one involves. If it is still unclear, call and describe the key; we will know.
Basic Metal Key (no Transponder)
A plain metal key, solid from the tip to the bow, has no electronics inside. The tricky case is a key with a black plastic head: it might be a plain key or it might hide a transponder chip, and there is no way to tell by looking. As a rule of thumb, vehicles built after 1998 use transponder keys, with Kia, Hyundai and Scion among the exceptions. Copying a plain metal key is quick work when you have one to copy. If every key is gone, we can still help: with the right tools and techniques we work out the exact cut code and produce a new key that matches the lock.
VATS key
Short for Vehicle Anti-Theft System, VATS was an early security feature from GM. The key carries a small resistor pellet, one of 15 possible values, and the car checks that value when the key turns. Right cut, wrong pellet, and the engine stays off. If you drive an older GM product and your key has a black bubble near the bow, this is what you have. Losing one is not a disaster: we have the equipment to identify which of the 15 values your car expects, and we keep all of them in stock. Leave the complexity to us and get on with your day.
Transponder Key
Since 1998, cars such as the Acura line have used a transponder chip as a second layer of theft protection. The chip usually sits inside the plastic head, and the key does not need buttons to have one. When the key is in the ignition, the chip transmits a long code to a sensor by the lock. Like a fingerprint, the code belongs to that key alone and must be registered in the car’s computer when the key is made. A damaged or unprogrammed chip means the engine may crank, or seem to catch for a second, and then refuse to run. A flashing security light on the dash is the car telling you it does not recognise the key. We carry the tools and the training to program these keys so the car accepts them. Call (484) 237-1233 if your transponder key has stopped doing its job.
Remote Head Keys
Exactly what the name suggests: the remote control is built into the head of the key, while a conventional metal blade still goes into the ignition. This design replaced the old separate fob for most manufacturers. We program remote head keys to the vehicle’s computer so the blade starts the engine and every button does what it should. If you need one, call (484) 237-1233 and a technician will be there in a hurry.
Smart Key/Proximity Key
A proximity key can stay in your pocket all day. The doors unlock when you reach for the handle and the engine starts at the push of a button, as long as the key is nearby. The convenience is real. So is the cost when one is lost, and these keys have more parts that can fail. Our equipment programs proximity keys to the car so that both the keyless functions and the emergency blade work as designed.
(484) 237-1233