Keys
Car keys in simple terminology
Cars keys start off the same as ordinary house keys, a set of teeth that slide right into the barrel if cut correctly, but these keys and locks can be easily compromised in this day and age- in order for car manufacturers to make their vehicles harder for thieves to break into, they have to add another form of security. This is where 'transponder' chips come into existence. These are little tiny chips that hold a small amount of unique data for each car. These chips communicate with your vehicle's immobiliser. If your chip was missing, or if it somehow failed and stopped responding to the vehicle's immobiliser, then your car will be in an 'immoblised' state. Turning the key at this point will just make your car refuse to start.
Transponder
Transmitter + Responder = Transponder
Remote Key
Sends out unique signal through electrical waves
What happens if I lose all my keys?
This is where things get tricky! Now that you know how car keys work, you can understand why having a second key makes sense. Losing your key, especially when you're out with friends or family, is going to be troublesome. A locksmith will have to come out to you if you are stuck without the ability to move the vehicle. Not only will they have to pick the lock on your car and identify the unique teeth, but they will also require special equipment to cut the key whilst you're there, extract the data from your vehicle, write it to the key, and then program a remote key fob (if your car has remote locking) to finalize the key replacement. As you may have figured, cloning an already existing key will be both quicker and cheaper.
What cars are supported?
Fortunately, almost every car can be cloned. Most automotive locksmiths will be able to provide a key cutting and programming service for all common cars, but a select few may not be supported. In our case, this would be 99% of all cars currently on UK roads. Since keys are a requirement, the dealer will always be available to program a new key for your car using their own manufacturer provided equipment and software if we fail to provide you the service you require, however you are going to pay a higher premium for their service.
Pricing
Car key offers:
*Excluding other fees if applicable
Our pricing for a full car key service starts at only £60 and increase thereon depending on the vehicle and type of service required.
All services are mobile unless otherwise stated
