All Keys Lost: How a Locksmith Replaces Your Car Key
No key, no problem — but how does that actually work? The three routes to a new car key, explained plainly.
All keys lost means no working key is left, so a locksmith makes a new one from the car itself instead of copying a key.
It costs $250–$550, because every vehicle is different, and in Hamilton it is done at your car with no towing. The lost keys can be deleted from the immobiliser at the same visit so they no longer start the car.
It is a fair question. If every key is gone, where does the new one come from? There are three routes, and which one applies to your car decides how long the job takes.
Route one: the key code
Every vehicle leaves the factory with a code describing the exact depths and spacings of the blade. If that code can be obtained — from the manufacturer using the VIN, with proof of ownership, or from a database for older vehicles — the blade is cut directly to specification.
This is the cleanest route, and the resulting key is identical to the original rather than a copy of a worn one. It is ordinary key cutting performed from data instead of from a pattern.
Route two: reading the lock
Where no code is available, which is common on used imports, we decode the lock itself. A door lock or ignition barrel can be read to determine the wafer positions, and the blade is cut from that.
It takes longer and it is a genuine skill, but the result is the same working key. This is the route that most often applies to Japanese imports, where factory code data for the New Zealand market simply does not exist.
Route three: the immobiliser
Cutting the blade only gets the key into the ignition — on any vehicle from roughly the late 1990s onwards, the car will not start until the transponder chip is registered.
Diagnostic equipment connects to the OBD port, communicates with the immobiliser, and adds the new key to the list of keys the vehicle accepts. That is transponder key programming, and on a push-to-start car it is smart key programming.
Where the time goes
That third step, on modern cars. Some makes add a key in minutes; others require the security module to be read directly, and a few enforce a timed delay before a key can be added, which no equipment can shorten. The full range is in how long does key programming take.
It is also why the process is genuinely secure: ownership is checked before any of it starts, precisely because the capability exists.
The step worth asking for
Deleting the old keys. Once a new key works, the lost ones can be erased from the immobiliser on most modern vehicles, so they will never start the car again.
If your keys were lost somewhere public, that is not optional. It matters even more if they were stolen — see car keys stolen.
Done where the car is
All three routes happen at the vehicle. We carry the cutting machine and the programming equipment, so a car stranded in a Hamilton car park or on a rural road does not need moving first.
For the outer Waikato towns we will give you a realistic travel time rather than an optimistic one before setting out.
The whole process happens at the vehicle — see lost car keys. Tell us the registration and we will say which route applies and what it costs before travelling.
Common questions
Can you really make a key with none at all?
Yes, on the great majority of vehicles. Either the key code is obtained, or the lock is read directly to determine the blade, then the chip is registered to the car.
Why does it take longer on some cars?
The blade is the quick part. Registering the chip varies enormously by make, and several enforce a security delay before a new key can be added.
Do you check I own the car first?
Always, and before any work begins. The capability to do this is exactly why the check exists.
Will the lost keys still work afterwards?
Not if we delete them, which we recommend and do on most modern vehicles. Without that step, both old and new keys start the car.