Car key replacement in San Diego, cut and programmed at your vehicle

A duplicate cut and programmed from a key you already hold is usually a short visit. Originating a key when every key is gone takes longer, because the key has to be produced for that specific vehicle and then paired to it.

Some vehicles also enforce a built-in security delay before they will accept a new key — the car simply refuses to co-operate for a set period. That is the car's design, not the locksmith. We tell you on the phone if yours is one of them.

We come to the car. The cutting machine, the blanks and the programming equipment are in the van, which is the whole point of a mobile automotive locksmith — a car with no key cannot drive anywhere.

A transponder key has a small chip in the plastic head. When you turn it, the car's immobiliser reads that chip and only then allows the engine to run. Cut the blade without programming the chip and the key will turn the lock and the engine will start and die.

That is why a hardware-store copy of a transponder key so often disappoints. The metal is right; the chip is not paired.

Often, yes. For many vehicles the original key cuts are held against the vehicle identification number, and we can produce a key to that code and then program it. Where a code is not available we decode the lock on the vehicle instead.

Either way we verify ownership first: photo identification plus the registration, title or an insurance card in your name for that plate.

It is the same job done in a different place. Dealer work normally means an appointment and, with no key at all, getting the car there. We do the cutting and the programming where the car is standing.

There are vehicles where the manufacturer keeps key issuing to itself. When yours is one of those we say so on the phone rather than driving out and shrugging.

If you are down to one working key, yes — and the reason is time, not sentiment. Duplicating a key you hold is a short, ordinary job. Producing one from nothing, at night, on the day you needed to be somewhere, is not.

Keep the spare somewhere that is not the same coat pocket as the original.

A copy of a worn key is a worn key. Where the code is available we cut a fresh key to the original specification instead, so the new one works the way the first one did rather than inheriting twenty thousand miles of rounding.

Sometimes. Some aftermarket blanks and fobs pair perfectly; others are the wrong chip family or a shell with nothing useful inside, and no amount of programming will fix that. Tell us what you bought when you call and we will tell you honestly whether it is worth trying.