When no working key remains, there is nothing to copy or use for a normal add-key procedure. The replacement has to be identified, cut when required and enrolled to the vehicle's immobilizer.
Send year, make, model, ignition type, VIN if available, exact location and whether any key or fob remains—even if it no longer starts the engine.
A spare-key job can add another credential while the vehicle already recognizes a valid one. An all-keys-lost job starts without that reference. The correct blank or fob must be identified from vehicle data, the mechanical portion must be decoded when applicable, and the immobilizer must accept a new credential through the supported security procedure.
The vehicle and key family are identified before dispatch. Platforms that require dealer-only or unavailable security access are declined before travel.
Where the vehicle uses a blade, the cut is derived through an authorized method and checked in the lock without forcing a worn cylinder.
The supported security procedure teaches the vehicle the replacement transponder or proximity fob. Battery voltage is stabilized when the platform requires it.
Engine start, door locks, remote buttons, passive entry and emergency blade are tested as applicable. The job is not complete because one button flashed.
Some late-model and manufacturer-controlled platforms require security credentials, subscriptions, ordered components or dealer access that are not available for a specific mobile job. The correct response is to identify that limit before dispatch, not after charging for a visit.
The gap between a routine all-keys-lost job and an expensive one is usually decided in the hour before anybody turns up.
A tow is what the dealership route needs, not this one. The work happens where the car is standing, whether that is a driveway, a work lot or the third level of a parking structure. Paying to move the vehicle first adds cost and changes nothing about the job.
Drilling a cylinder is a last resort on a small number of seized locks, not a normal step in replacing a key. Once it is drilled, a straightforward key job turns into a cylinder replacement, and on many vehicles the immobilizer work still has to happen afterwards anyway.
A driveway, the third level of a parking structure, a tow yard, a work lot behind a locked gate and the shoulder of I-94 are five different jobs to reach. Access, not distance, is what most often changes the call-out, and it is far cheaper to establish that on the phone than on arrival.
Registration or title plus photo ID is required before a key is made, without exception. If the registration is in the glovebox, say so when you call — the vehicle can be opened first and the document retrieved, then checked before any key work begins.
None of this is complicated, but having it sorted shortens the visit and removes the two things that most often stall a job halfway through.
It is on the plate at the base of the windshield on the driver's side, and on the door jamb sticker. It is also on your registration and insurance card. The cutting code comes from it, so having it in advance means the correct blank travels in the van rather than being fetched afterwards.
Including the one that stopped working, the one with a snapped blade and the fob with a dead battery. A key that will not start the engine can still carry information worth having, and on some platforms an old fob can be re-enrolled instead of replaced.
The expensive part of this job is the immobilizer procedure, and it happens once whether one key is enrolled or two. Adding a second key while the equipment is already connected costs a fraction of coming back for it later. Most people who have just lost every key say yes.
The vehicle stays where it is, but the work needs the doors accessible and, on some platforms, the ignition undisturbed for a set period. A tight parallel spot on a busy street is workable; it is just slower than a driveway.
On many platforms the all-keys-lost procedure replaces the vehicle's accepted-key list as part of the work, and the old keys stop working on their own. On others the replacement is simply added alongside them, and everything previously taught still starts the car. Which applies to your vehicle is confirmed for the exact platform — and where it is not automatic, clearing the list is a decision worth making while somebody is already connected to the car.
The replacement is added alongside what the vehicle already knows. You drive away, and so could anybody who finds the set you lost — in a parking lot, at a restaurant, wherever it actually went. Mechanical blades are a separate matter again: an old blade can still open a door unless the cylinder is rekeyed.
The stored list is wiped and rebuilt with only the keys physically present. Every other key ever made for the vehicle stops working permanently, including the missing set and anything a previous owner kept.
This matters most when the keys went missing somewhere they could be picked up, and doubly so if anything in the car — mail, a registration, a garage remote — points back to your address. There is more detail in the used-car key guide, which covers the same stored-list mechanism from the other direction.
Cold does not stop the work, but it changes a few practical things worth knowing before you call in January rather than July.
Immobilizer enrollment needs stable voltage, and a battery that has been sitting at −10°F for a week may not hold it. That is a known step rather than a surprise — voltage is supported during the procedure when the platform requires it.
A cylinder full of ice will not accept a freshly cut blade, and forcing it snaps the key. It is thawed properly first, which adds minutes and avoids turning a key job into an extraction job.
No signal from the sky is needed for any part of this. Level P3 downtown is the same job as a driveway in Greenfield, provided the vehicle can be reached on foot.
Ownership verification runs against the vehicle in front of us. Clearing the plate and the windshield VIN before arrival takes thirty seconds and saves doing it with cold hands afterwards.
This is the job where the same words — “I lost all my keys” — cover everything from a twenty-minute procedure to most of an afternoon.
A basic transponder blade, a remote head key, a proximity smart key and a European encrypted fob are four different parts at four different costs, before any labor.
Some vehicles accept a new credential in minutes. Others impose timed security windows, require online authorization, or sit behind a manufacturer gateway that makes the job considerably longer.
With no key to copy, a blade has to be derived from vehicle data and cut to code. Some platforms make that routine; on others it is the slowest part of the visit.
The immobilizer procedure happens once. A second key enrolled during the same session is incremental; a second visit later is not.
A Tuesday afternoon in Wauwatosa and 3am on a Sunday in a downtown structure are not the same call-out, and the service call reflects that.
All-keys-lost spans the widest range of anything on this site, from a common domestic transponder to a European smart key with a timed security procedure. The starting figure covers the straightforward version of this job. Where the vehicle, the security platform, the hour or the condition of the parts push it beyond that, you are told the full number — work, service call and all — before anyone drives out, and it does not move afterwards.
Year, make, model and where you're standing. You'll have a firm number back before anyone starts driving.
With nothing left to copy, the cutting code comes from the VIN and the immobilizer has to be taught a key it has never seen — and how that is done depends entirely on the make.
Every make group has its own page covering the immobilizer system, what the job involves and where the awkward exceptions sit. Not listed? Send the year, make and model — see full vehicle coverage.
Often, yes. The key can be identified from the vehicle, cut when required and enrolled to the immobilizer. Exact support depends on the year, model and security platform.
For supported mobile procedures, no. The cutting and programming equipment comes to the parked vehicle. Unsupported platforms may require a dealer or specialist route.
Tell us before arrival. Ownership can often be checked from other records first and the registration confirmed after lawful entry, but a key is not made without a documented connection to the vehicle.
That depends on the programming routine. Many all-keys-lost procedures replace the accepted-key list, but this must be confirmed for the exact platform. Mechanical blades may still open a lock unless the cylinder is rekeyed.
It varies by system, security waiting time, mechanical key work and vehicle condition. You receive a realistic job window after compatibility is checked.
In almost every case, yes. The expensive part of an all-keys-lost job is the immobilizer procedure, and it happens once whether one key is enrolled or two. Adding a second key while the equipment is already connected costs a fraction of booking a separate visit later.
Yes. Nothing in the procedure needs an open sky or a signal from outside. A vehicle on the third level of a downtown structure is the same job as one on a driveway, as long as it can be reached on foot.
Some comprehensive policies include key cover and some roadside programs include it as a benefit. It is worth checking, though people often find the deductible exceeds the cost of the job. Either way the price is quoted before anyone drives out, so the decision can be made with the number in hand.
No, but it changes the timing. Immobilizer enrollment needs stable battery voltage, which a very cold battery may not hold on its own, so voltage is supported during the procedure where the platform requires it. Frozen lock cylinders are thawed properly rather than forced, since forcing one snaps a freshly cut blade.
Two is the sensible answer for most drivers, and it is the number a franchised dealer would normally supply with a new car. Having ended up at zero once is the strongest argument for not running on one again.
Because the same sentence covers very different jobs. A common domestic transponder on a Tuesday afternoon and a European smart key with a timed security procedure at 3am are not comparable in parts, equipment time or call-out. The starting figure is the straightforward end; you get the exact total once the vehicle and key type are known, before anyone drives out.
It covers getting a fully equipped van and a technician to wherever your vehicle is standing, which varies with distance, the hour and the day. Keeping it separate means the work price stays honest and you can see what you are paying for. It is always quoted alongside the job, never added afterwards.
Yes. Availability around the clock is a real cost, and the service call reflects the hour and the day. You hear the full figure before anyone starts driving, so an unsociable hour is never a surprise on arrival.
Keys shut inside the car or trunk. Opened without prying the frame or marking the paint.
See details →One or every key lost. Compatibility checked before a replacement is cut and programmed on site.
See details →No working key remains. We confirm compatibility, decode the key and program the replacement at the vehicle.
See details →Push-to-start fobs and remotes paired to the vehicle and range tested.
See details →Proximity key identification, pairing and emergency-blade checks for supported vehicles.
See details →Made while your current key still works. The cheapest version of this problem.
See details →Snapped in the ignition or door. Out without drilling in most cases.
See details →Key won't turn, sticks, or spins freely. Cylinders repaired or replaced.
See details →Every job we do, with starting prices and a breakdown by vehicle make.
See pricing →Prices shown are starting figures for the straightforward version of each job. A service call from $29 applies, depending on the day, the time and the distance. Vehicle, key type, security platform and the condition of the parts all move the final number, so the full total — work and service call together — is confirmed once your vehicle is identified and before anyone drives out. See terms of service.