Losing your only car key feels like a disaster because the dealership makes it one: tow the car in, wait days for a key to ship, pay for the tow, the key, the programming and the labour. A mobile locksmith does the whole thing at your kerb, usually in one visit. Here is the order to do things in.
1. Stop and check the obvious places
- Coat and jacket pockets from the last two days, not just today
- The ignition, the cup holder, the door pocket — look through the window
- Yesterday's shopping bags, the gym locker, the kids' backpacks
- Call the last two places you were; keys get handed in constantly
2. Find your VIN and proof of ownership
The VIN is on the driver's-side dash (visible through the windscreen) and on the registration. We cut the key from the VIN, so photograph it before you call. Also find registration, title or insurance showing your name — Washington law requires us to confirm ownership before making a key.
3. Call a mobile locksmith, not the dealer
Tell us the year, make, model and whether the car had a push-start button or a turn key. That tells us which blank and which programming route we need. We quote a firm price in writing before we head out.
4. What happens at the car
- We open the car if it is locked (usually 2–10 minutes, no damage)
- We cut the blade on the machine in the van — laser-cut or edge-cut depending on the model
- We program the transponder chip or fob so the immobiliser accepts it
- On many makes we can erase the lost key from the car's memory so it can never start it
- We test lock, unlock, start and — on fobs — every button before we leave
5. Make a spare the same day
The single most useful thing you can do after a lost key is have a second one cut while the van is already there. Adding a spare during the same visit is far quicker than a separate call-out later, and it means this never happens again.
Which cars can you do on the spot?
Thirty makes — Ford, Chevy, GMC, Ram, Toyota, Honda, Subaru, Nissan, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, VW, BMW, Mercedes and more. See the car keys page for the full list and the model tables. A small number of the newest European models need a dealer-only key; we tell you on the phone if yours is one of them rather than finding out at the kerb.
Questions we get on this call
Do I have to be with the car?
Yes. The key is cut from the VIN but programmed to the car, through the diagnostic port. We cannot make a working key for a car we are not standing next to — anyone who says they can mail you one is selling a blade that will not start it.
Can you make a key if the car is in a garage or impound?
Anywhere we can park nearby and plug into the car. Impound lots usually require you to be there with ID; call the lot first so they let us in.
What about a stolen key rather than a lost one?
Say so on the phone. We prioritise deleting the old key from the car's memory so the stolen one is useless, and we will suggest a rekey of the house locks if the key ring had house keys and an address on it.
How long does the whole visit take?
Most cars: thirty to sixty minutes from arrival, including the ten-minute security wait some makes impose during programming. European makes and the newest push-start systems can take longer; we tell you on the phone.
Common in Spokane
Keys lost at the river beaches in summer, in the snow at the Mount Spokane lots in winter, and year-round in the aisles of the big stores along Division and Sullivan. The pattern is the same everywhere: the call takes two minutes, the van takes twenty, and you drive away with a key.
