Car keys · Norfolk County
Spare Car Key Duplication
A lockout last month ended with a locksmith opening the door and going home, and the same single key has been carried ever since with nothing behind it.
In plain words
Making a spare before the original goes missing is simpler than making one after, because the whole process is built from a working key to read or trace from. With the vehicle and its existing key both present, the locksmith identifies the blade profile and the chip or coding the immobilizer expects, produces a matching blank, and gives it the same electronic identity as the first key. Testing both keys side by side in every door and the ignition confirms the spare performs the same way, so a future lost key becomes an errand rather than a call for entry.
How the visit goesThe blade on the everyday key has gone shiny and thin along one edge, and lately it needs a wiggle before the ignition catches. Nobody wants to be holding a failing original with nothing waiting in reserve if it finally gives out.
Spare Car Key Duplication
How the visit goes
Confirming what the spare needs to do
Not every household wants an identical twin of the original. Some ask for a plain mechanical spare with no remote buttons at all, useful for a valet or a young driver who does not need trunk release or remote start. Others want every function the first key has, cut and coded to behave exactly the same in anyone's hand. Settling this before work begins decides which shell is ordered and how much programming the visit involves, and it is worth revisiting if the household's answer turns out to differ from what the person calling first assumed on the phone.
Working from a used or single-key vehicle
When only one key exists for the vehicle, the whole process leans on that single copy: its blade is traced or measured, its chip is read where the system permits it, and every remote function it performs is noted before work starts, since there is nothing else to check against. The new key is built to match, then tested on its own, away from the original, to confirm it genuinely operates independently rather than only appearing to work while the first key happens to be nearby with its own signal still in range.
Keeping the household on one system
If the household runs more than one vehicle or more than one driver, this is a natural point to confirm every key still works the way it should: the original, the new spare, and any older keys already sitting in a drawer. A round of testing the whole set against the vehicle, rather than assuming a key still works because it once did, catches a fob with a fading battery or a blade that has quietly started to wear before it turns into a problem on a morning when someone is already running behind schedule.
Spare Car Key Duplication
In the van
Key blank matched to blade profile
Deburring file
Transponder chip
Proximity fob shell
Code-cutting machine
Spare Car Key Duplication
What affects the quote
Timing around the day's other calls
A visit that fits between other scheduled stops is generally simpler to arrange than one needing a dedicated block of time set aside on its own.
Whether remote functions are included
A spare limited to the blade and chip that unlock and start the vehicle involves less programming than a full match of every remote button the original carries, and the quote follows whichever is chosen.
How many keys are needed
Making one spare is a smaller job than producing several matching keys for a whole household or a small fleet in the same appointment, and the quote reflects how many are wanted.
What to have ready
- Do you know the VIN, or can you access the door jamb?
- Has the vehicle had an aftermarket alarm or remote starter installed?
- Does the key have buttons, a chip, or neither?
Spare Car Key Duplication: questions
QuestionsDoes cold weather affect a key fob?
Yes, in a couple of small ways. Battery performance drops in cold temperatures, so a fob that already had a fading battery is more likely to act up on a cold morning, and a proximity system's range can feel shorter in the cold as well. Testing a spare's battery before winter, and keeping a spare battery on hand, avoids being caught out by either.
How is the electronic chip handled during duplication?
Where the transponder supports it, the chip in the working key is read and its data cloned onto a fresh chip, sometimes with vehicle-specific data pulled from the car to help. Where cloning is not supported for that particular vehicle and chip, the locksmith instead connects through the diagnostic port and has the car's own security module enrol a freshly coded chip as a new, independently authorized key.
What is a relay attack, and does it matter for my spare?
A relay attack is when nearby equipment picks up a proximity fob's signal from inside a house and relays it to a vehicle parked outside, tricking the car into thinking the key is close enough to unlock or start. It matters for every fob in the household, spare included, which is why storing any proximity key in a signal-blocking pouch when it is not being carried is worth doing for all of them.
Related services
- Car Key ReplacementThe key snapped at the head while you were turning it in a stiff, frosty door lock.
- Key Fob ProgrammingA new driver has joined the household, and the one existing fob is the only key anyone has ever had cut for this vehicle.
- Transponder Key ProgrammingEvery key that ever opened the car is gone at once, one taken with a stolen bag, the spare misplaced months ago and never replaced.