Lost car keys what to do. Where and how to restore a car key

The loss of car keys is an unpleasant event that is accompanied by expected troubles. If such a nuisance happened to you, it is better not to panic and not to inform everyone around that you were left without a car key. There are a lot of people with malicious intent around who can find your key and then find your car. Therefore, if you just lost your car key, you are not in such a bad situation.

There is a whole algorithm of actions that needs to be done after losing the key. If a similar situation occurred in your hometown, you can just go home for the second key that you were given at the car dealership. If you took the car with one key, you will have to resort to several stages of solving the problem.

Stage 1: search for the key by all available methods

It must be said that many motorists with whom such an event happened do not even try to properly look for the lost key. Recall your entire route since the last time you got out of your car. Think about the places you were most likely to leave your keys or drop them.

Walk along your route again, looking under all the tables, racks. If you were sitting in a restaurant, ask the waiter to help you look for the key under the tables. There are a few things not to do when you lose your car key:

• do not report it to any means of communication, loudspeakers and other means;
• you should not put up ads with information about the lost key from the Volkswagen car, which is standing near the hotel;
• do not panic and ask everyone you meet for help in finding the key;
• do not rush and do not run along your route in the hope of quickly finding the loss.

The help of a good friend would be appropriate. Often, after such a search, you will be able to find the key, you can forget this unpleasant situation. If the problem has not been resolved, you have not found your loss, you should resort to more decisive action.

Let's say right away that before using the methods described below, make sure that there are no possibilities to find the key at all. Solving such a problem will require decisive and sometimes costly action, so get ready to save your vehicle from the captivity of lack of keys.

Stage 2: we get to the car interior

If you are in another city, or you don’t have a second car key at all, you will have to get to the car interior to eliminate the trouble created by the loss. Here it is important to get inside the car without any destruction, so you can only break windows and break locks as a last resort. Also in the process, the information published by us earlier will come in handy - how to turn off the alarm in a car without a key fob.

There are many ways to get to the salon. In different cars, it will be easier to do this through different doors, and in some cars through the trunk. It is far from always possible to complete this process on your own, but when calling professionals, consider the following points:

• documents for the car must be with you, otherwise the specialist will not open the car;
• you can call specialists in opening locks only from large companies or an official service;
• do not trust the work of opening the lock in your car to the first street specialist you meet;
• it is better to pay more for this procedure, leaving all the details of the car intact.

You can try to open the car yourself only if the glass of one of the doors is slightly ajar. To do this, it is enough to find a wire and make a hook for the door closing lever out of it. Otherwise, it is better to call a specialist who will open the lock and leave it in working condition.

They also know how to disable the alarm and sometimes even help you start your car. But this will already depend on the brand of the car and the protection systems provided in the configuration. After successfully entering the salon, you need to prepare for the production of a duplicate key.

Stage 3: we make a duplicate of the key without the presence of the sample itself

At the third stage, you need to solve the problem of missing a key. This is the final step in dealing with a loss. The costly and problematic production of a duplicate can be dispensed with. The first way is to contact the official dealer with all available documents. Perhaps the dealer will make a key for you according to the serial number and other parameters of the machine.

The second option is to replace the ignition switch and all door larvae. This will also help to avoid theft in case your lost keys are still found by intruders. But on modern foreign cars, the process of replacing the larvae and the ignition switch will not be easy and expensive, so you can resort to the following service:

• find a company that makes car keys;
• find out if this company can make a key for you without a sample;
• remove the lock cylinder or ignition lock and deliver it to the company;
• after a short period of time you will be able to get the key to the car.

For such a procedure, you will also need to present documents for the car. Specialists make a special cast in the ignition switch or lock cylinder and produce an identical key. Problems at this stage may arise if the key in your car was with a chip.

In such a situation, the key made in the workshop will not work - the car simply will not start with another key. You will have to turn exclusively to a professional workshop to official dealers and fix this problem with their help, which will cost the owner of the car a round sum.

You can use this folk wise and simple way to open the door on a car without a key:

Summing up

If you happen to lose the key to your car, don't panic - everything can be fixed. Make every effort to find the key, and if necessary, go home and take a spare car key. This will help restore access to the car, and then it will be possible to correct the situation.

In the absence of a second key, you should make a new one by gaining access to the car interior and removing the ignition switch. Remember that with such appeals, you should always have the documents for the car with you. Better yet, never lose your car keys and always keep them in a safe place. If you have something to add to the advice in the publication from your experience, we are happy to hear from you in the comments.

Car keys can be lost or stolen. If this happened for the first time, the car owner faces a number of questions and problems. It all starts, usually, with a call to the dealership and unpleasant news about the cost of the blank and the time it took to make the key. Depending on how modern and common the car the owner has, this process can take from several days to several months. After learning this, the owner wonders if there is a faster and less expensive way to solve the problem.

Who Restores Car Keys?

In addition to dealerships, car keys are restored by general car services, specialized key restoration companies, and most large workshops that sell and service ordinary door locks. What needs to be done to restore a car key. First of all, you need to contact one of the above places, having the documents for the car with you, so that the receiver makes sure that you are making a key for your car. Next, the receiver will estimate the cost of the work and determine the time frame for its execution. The cost and duration depend on a number of factors. These include: the brand of the car, the complexity of the workpiece and the functions that the key is endowed with. The fastest way to make a key is if the owner has a duplicate - in this case, a copy will be made from it. If there is no duplicate, you will have to make a key according to the lock - there is such a service too.

If you have not lost, but broken the key, it will cost a little more.

You can restore a simple car key quickly and inexpensively. The blank for it is not much different from the blank that is used to make a key from a conventional door lock. Their cost can also vary depending on the complexity of the notch and the number of faces, but in general it can be said that the maximum cost does not exceed 2-3 thousand, and the production time is usually limited to one day. If you have not lost, but broken the key, it will cost a little more, since the master will include an additional fee for removing the fragment from the lock. Technically, making a key in two halves is no more difficult than making a whole original, since restoration is carried out using a machine that has clamps that can be used to grab the two halves, “composing” a single key out of them. The most difficult and costly case is the restoration of the key by the lock. There is such a service, and it can be provided by specialists from the key making workshop, but it will cost more, since you will have to remove the lock from the car. It will also take a lot of time to restore the key to the lock, since fitting the workpiece to the lock is a painstaking and slow process. In this case, you should count on a decent amount of money for work and a period of two to three days. The feasibility of manufacturing a key according to the lock should be determined by economic considerations and the timing of delivery of a new lock core from the dealer. If the car is relatively new and the desired type of lock is still being produced, it is easier to buy a new core with a new key for it. If the delivery of a new lock core takes a month, and will cost more than restoration of the lock, it is worth going to restore the key.

How to restore a chip key

Chip key (or smart key) - an electronic device in the form of a key (and sometimes even unlike a key, but looking like a credit card) that controls.

If you do not have a key with a chip embedded in the case, the car will not start, even if you managed to open the door

The word "chip" is present in the name of such a modern key because a microcircuit (or chip) is mounted in its body, which controls an anti-theft device - an immobilizer. The immobilizer is disabled only if the smart key is within a few meters of the car. The chip key may or may not have the function of a "real" key, depending on the design of the ignition switch. In some cases, to start the ignition, you need to insert the key into the lock, but in recent years, instead of the lock, manufacturers often install a start button that is unlocked by a signal from the anti-theft system when the smart key is in the car. If you do not have a key with a chip embedded in the case, the car will not start, even if you managed to open the door. If such a key is lost, the recovery process will be more costly than if the metal key is lost. The fact is that you will have to pay money not only for a blank with a chip and cutting a new key, but also to change the immobilizer board in the car. This is done for security reasons - in this case, not only the newly acquired and "registered" key will be "clean", but also the anti-theft device itself. It is necessary to register the keys because the immobilizer must know their unique identification code and not respond to other people's "chip keys" and primitive devices with which attackers can try to steal a car.

There are a lot of unexpected and at the same time unpleasant situations in a person’s life, but for the owner of a motor vehicle, the most unpleasant is the unforeseen loss of the ignition key. Guessing where it happened is not rational, it is much more useful to solve the problem. So let's think together, lost the keys to the car and what to do, where to find a way out, how to restore the lost thing.

Before sounding the alarm, double-check all pockets and bags, you may have put the keys in an uncharacteristic place for this or it has fallen behind the lining.

In the described situation, many car owners are “wedged” and they do not understand at all how to find the lost car key, where to run or, on the contrary, stand still, waiting for help.
First of all, you need to calm down and put your thoughts in order. The "initial" search options can be divided into several stages. To get started, double-check all pockets and bags, you may have put the keys in an uncharacteristic place for this, perhaps they fell behind the lining or. Try to mentally imagine your entire path to the car, and then walk it on foot, carefully studying the way back. Please note that the search radius needs to be increased by 2-3 meters, because a random passer-by could throw it off with his foot.
If you are close to home, then call your family and ask if you left the keys at home. In case of loss in a store, market, supermarket - be sure to give an audio message (announcement), with an accurate description of the lost item and an indication of the amount of reward. Leave your contact details so that you can be contacted.

We solve the problem

If you managed to open the door, but you can’t start the car, then it’s better to call a tow truck, but you need to have documents for the car with you.

Well, you still lost the keys to the car and now you need to open it somehow, especially if some of the things remained inside the cabin.
The first solution to the problem is to hack the car, but at the same time your car. You can carry out the “operation” both on your own, especially since you can find many ways on the network how to open a car without a key, or with the involvement of professionals.
If everything is clear with the loss of the key with the presence of a duplicate, but if the chip key from the car is lost, what should I do in this case? What to do if you lost your only car key, what will help then? After all, even if you open the door, you still can’t start the car. The only way out is to call a tow truck and tow the car to a service station or to the address of the owner of the car.
Please note that when calling a tow truck, you will need to present documents confirming your right to transport.

Restoring the key

Masters in the event of the loss of a single key or a chipped version, recommend replacing the ignition lock cylinder.

Maintenance masters, in case of loss of a single ignition key or a chipped version, recommend replacing the ignition lock cylinder. The only downside to this procedure is the cost. Depending on the brand of car, the cost of replacing the door larvae, which includes the larvae and the key themselves, can vary from $40 to $200, excluding the cost of a specialist. In this case, you can save money only when buying spare parts at car disassemblies and only if the brand of your car has been produced for a long time.
The second option, how to restore the car key, if lost, is to produce a duplicate key according to the lock cylinder. This method is possible, since almost all modern cars are produced with the same lock cylinders.

What to do with modern cars

But how to open the car if the key with the microcircuit is lost? The so-called “chip-key”, which has a certain code or combination of codes? The main difference between these keys is a massive base with buttons. Not sure what yours is? Wrap the head with several layers of ordinary foil (aluminum) and try to start the car. If the result is negative, be sure that the “chip is the key” is in your hands.
The main problem in the production of a duplicate, if the key to the car with an immobilizer is lost, is the recoding of the engine control unit. So when buying a car, immediately make a duplicate so that later such situations do not arise.

Starting the car without a key

Many are interested in if you lost your keys, there are enough options:

There are many ways to start a car without a key.

• neutralize the steering lock. To do this, you need to turn the steering wheel several times to the right - to the left, then turn the steering wheel to the left to the end, and then sharply pull to the right;
• connect the terminals. Connect the positive terminals of the ignition coils and the battery, in parallel connect the terminal on the starter and the battery.

Please note that these methods will not work for a car with a “chip key”!

How to open doors

There are many ways to open a car door without a key, so look at your options:

• break glass, preferably redder on the passenger side;
• make a loop of rope or flexible fishing line;
• use a ruler, etc.

The alarm went off, what to do

And what to do if you lost the keys to the car, which is equipped with an alarm. When opening the door with a non-native key or breaking into the car, the signaling is likely to work, the question arises, how to turn off the car alarm? To calm the siren, first you need to turn off the "mass" on the battery, and at this time you need to find the "Valet" service button and hold it for a couple of seconds. After purchasing a new key, you must re-program the alarm in a new way by pressing the service button 5 times and 2 times on the key fob.
We hope that our advice will help you in an emergency when the key to the car is lost, what to do, where to go without unnecessary nerves and wasting extra energy.

When purchasing a new car, you always get 2 keys with it - the main one and the spare one. If the car is supported, this kit may already be incomplete due to the fact that the old owner lost the keys to the car, and he didn’t know what to do in this situation. Now it is not known where this key is and who can use it, so it is better to refrain from such purchases.

If the key was lost not by the previous owner, but by you, this article-instruction will help you quickly find the loss and not make unnecessary mistakes.

So, without finding a car key in your pocket, bag or other place, you need to ....

1. Without panic, carefully review everything again, not only where it should have been, but also in other places, perhaps in a hurry you put it not in the right pocket of the jacket, but, for example, in the chest pocket, or even threw it into the bag or a bag with products (shopping, etc.);
2. If you still couldn’t find the loss, remember your route and don’t be too lazy to walk it in the opposite direction, carefully examining the road and all the objects for (in) which the keys could fall. Be sure to visit again those places where you could simply leave (forget) your keys: at the cash desk of the store, on a table in a restaurant, etc.

And do not hesitate to ask the service personnel (the waiter who served you, the cashier, etc.) about them, very often it is their representatives who are the first to find the lost (left) things. Also, if you met someone, had dinner, etc., be sure to ask this person to reconsider their belongings, perhaps he / she accidentally grabbed your keys along with his.

1. Leave your phone number with the administrator (restaurant, hotel, trading floor, etc. - the place where you were) in case the keys are found later. And think for yourself how to continue driving or drive the car to the parking lot / to the dealer.
2. If you have a spare key at home, ask your relatives to bring it to you. In the absence of such an opportunity or a second key, you can try to open the car without them.

Method number 1.

If one of the windows of the car is not completely closed, you can easily get inside the car using an ordinary wire or any other hook that allows you to raise the door lock lever.

Method number 2.

It also involves the use of wire. Only much thinner, enough to fit into the gap between the body and the door or the glass and the side of the door.

Bend the wire with a hook and try to hook the door closing drive rod with it or press the closer / lift it (depending on the car model). The main thing here is to find a wire with sufficient power reserve.

Method number 3.

The simplest and most expensive.

All that is required of you is simply to call a professional (fortunately, almost every major car service provides such services today), explain the problem and provide documents confirming that you are the owner of the car being opened.

You will be surprised how quickly he can open your car and even start it, you just have to go to the workshop and order a duplicate for yourself.

How to get a new key without having the old one as a sample?

Again, there are different options available here.

1. You go to the official dealer with all the documents for the car, unless, of course, the car was bought new, and ask him just one question: I lost my car keys, what to do. In response, he will most likely offer you to make a new key, based on the parameters of your car and / or its serial number.
2. You change all lock cylinders, including the ignition lock.

Pros - intruders will not be able to use your lost keys to steal your car.

Cons - it is expensive, complicated and time consuming.

1. You call all reliable companies involved in the production of keys, specify whether they can make a duplicate without the original, if they can, determine for yourself the most optimal one in terms of price-quality ratio, remove the ignition lock and deliver it to the right address, again along with documents to the car. They will make a cast from the lock and make a duplicate of it, the only reason when this action will be denied to you is when the key is not simple, but chipped.

What should I do if I lost the chip key?

The main difficulty in restoring chip keys is that they cannot simply be rolled back on a cast due to the presence of this very chip in them, which contains unique information for the on-board computer of a particular car. The slightest mistake in its programming, and the car simply will not start. And how to do this programming without having a sample - no way. Therefore, the only way out of the situation when the chip key is lost is to contact the official dealer. Only he has data on each released car.

Ideally, if you have a spare at home, at least a technical one (only opening the car, but not starting its engine), key.

It almost always has a barcode, knowing which, the dealer will be able to produce for you a chip key completely identical to the lost one.

If you do not have such a spare key or it does not have any code on it, the dealer will ask you to bring the car to it to assess the difficulty of making the key. It may well be, especially if you do not have not only a barcode, but also a key, that the dealer will refuse such an order.

You will have the only way out - to completely change the lock for another chip key, and this is very expensive (20-50 thousand rubles).

Of course, you can still contact private specialized companies, but you would not be recommended to do this, because, firstly, if the official representative of the manufacturer of your car did not take up this matter, then it is foolish to hope that someone else will be able to restore this chip key (if they take it, they will take it, only whether the key they made will work in a duet with your car), and secondly, it is not known, even if they succeed, whether they will also make a duplicate for themselves and for what purpose they want to use it. Therefore, if you decide to use their services, immediately after receiving the key, either issue a full CASCO, or enhance the protection of the car from theft with additional systems.

Video.

Losing car keys is unlikely to be a pleasant event for anyone, as it entails a lot of trouble. What to do if the car key is lost? If you are faced with such a situation, you should not panic and tell strangers about what happened if you hastily decided to ask them for help.

From the current situation, you can find several ways out at once. The easiest way is to get home on your own to take a spare key and use it. If you purchased a used car that came with a single key, then you have to go the other way.

It should be noted that many car owners who have had to go through this test do not even attempt to look more closely for a lost key. Try to remember your route that led you to your car, which you found missing the key. Think of places where you've had the temerity to drop or leave them.

Do not be too lazy to walk along your path in the opposite direction, carefully considering the road and objects for which your car keys could fall. If you dined at a restaurant, it would be appropriate to ask the waiter to assist you in your search.

However, there are a few things you shouldn't do:

• do not fuss in search, hoping to find the loss as soon as possible;
• do not panic and seek help from every stranger passing by;
• you should not report the trouble that happened to you in the media or loudspeakers, hoping for the prudence of the person who found your keys.

As for the help of a good friend, it will be very appropriate. Quite often, such searches are crowned with success, after which you can simply forget about the trouble that happened to you. However, if you still couldn’t find the keys to your car, you will have to use more effective methods.

Be sure to make sure that there really is no way to find the key, because the next course of action implies the need to take decisive, most extreme measures.

Trying to get into the salon

If the search did not bring any results, you will have to find another way to get into the car. At the same time, it is important to try all ways to get inside the car without harming it, since breaking locks and breaking windows should be the last thing.

It will be quite difficult to get into the passenger compartment of a personal vehicle through one of the side doors or the trunk, and, most likely, you will have to call professionals. There are a few important things to keep in mind here:

• you must have documents proving that you are the owner of this car, otherwise the lock opener will not get to work;
• it is advisable to call professionals only from the official service or large companies, you should not trust such a responsible procedure to be the first to offer their services;
• to solve the problem, you should forget about savings - it is better to pay more to get the result and leave your car safe and sound.

You can try to get into the car on your own only if the glass of one of the doors remains at least a little ajar. A wire or a crafted hook will help you with this, which will help raise the door lock lever located on its inside.

If all the glasses were completely closed, there is nothing left but to contact an experienced specialist. Qualified professionals know how to deactivate the alarm, and even how to start the car without using the ignition key. However, much depends not only on the skills of the called master, but also on the brand of your car and the protection systems that are provided for by its configuration.

If, after calling a specialist, everything was successfully resolved, you will only have to order the manufacture of a new key, which will need to be handled more carefully and carefully in the future.

Making a duplicate key

After the car has been successfully opened by the called specialist, the issue of producing a duplicate of the lost key remains open, while not having a sample for making a new one. If the car was bought new in a car center, you can avoid the costly production of a duplicate by contacting an authorized dealer with all documents for the car. It is likely that the dealer will offer you to create a new key based on the parameters of your personal vehicle or its serial number.

Another solution to the problem is to replace all door larvae and, of course, the ignition switch. In this case, you do not have to worry about stealing your car if suddenly the lost keys fall into the hands of intruders. Unfortunately, the process of replacing all the locks on modern foreign cars is quite complicated and expensive. In this regard, it is advisable to use the following service:

• look for a reliable company specializing in the production of car keys;
• check with consultants or at the call center, if any, about the possibility of making a key in the absence of the original sample;
• dismantle the door lock cylinders, as well as the ignition lock, to deliver them to the company of your choice.

To implement such a procedure, you also cannot do without presenting documents for the car. Using a special technology, the company's specialists make an impression in the locks, which becomes the basis for a new identical key. The main problem that can prevent the successful completion of this process will arise if the car key was with a chip.

If the chip key is lost, there is nothing left in this situation but to contact the official dealer, because only he can solve your problem, the elimination of which, unfortunately, will significantly affect your budget.

If you find that the keys to your personal transport are lost, you should not panic, because in any, even the most seemingly hopeless situation, you can find a solution to the problem. Once faced with such difficulties, any car owner will henceforth be more accurate and prudent. Taking care of the keys to your personal transport is one of the key rules that every motorist must follow.

Video

Various ways to unlock the car without keys are shown below: