KEYS
Car keys: cutting, generation and programming
Most cars on the road won't start on a key that's only been cut. This follows a car key job the way it actually goes: identify the key, source it, cut it, program it, and figure out what's really wrong when it still won't work.
- Format
- One-on-one. You're the only student.
- Where
- My shop in Colorado Springs
- Experience
- None for domestic keys. European keys are for people who already do domestic.
- How long
- Days, not months
- Included
- Tools and materials while you train
- Price
- Intro pricing for the first five students
Taught by me, Nick Brown, a working locksmith in Colorado Springs. About me
What we cover
Keys and cutting
Mechanical keys, transponder keys, remote head keys and push-to-start fobs, and telling them apart. Blanks, part numbers and FCC IDs, where keys legitimately come from, duplicating a key, and generating one from key-code information.
Programming
What a transponder is doing, how immobilizers work at a basic level, what a programmer does, and common programming workflows, including the mistakes that turn a routine job into an expensive one.
Common repairs
The "my key won't turn" calls. Worn and damaged keys, lock cylinder and ignition symptoms, door lock problems, and telling mechanical trouble from electronic trouble. Knowing what to repair, what to replace and what to refer out is most of the job.
European keys
Audi, Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Land Rover, Mini and Volvo. Add-a-key, all-keys-lost, smart-key systems, and the diagnostics you do before you program. This is the advanced end.
You'll leave able to
- Identify what key a vehicle takes and where to get it
- Cut and program common keys, remotes and fobs
- Tell whether a key problem is mechanical or electronic
- Know which jobs need more experience or more equipment before you take them
Good fit for
- Mechanics and techs who keep handing key work to someone else
- Tow and roadside operators
- Residential and commercial locksmiths moving into automotive
- Anyone who wants a service that doesn't need a shop bay
Not covered here
- Module and bench work: AUTO
- Full ignition rebuilding
- A promise you'll be able to handle any car that pulls up
Automotive tooling is where beginners waste the most money. You'll use the equipment here first, so you know what's worth buying before you spend your own.
In plain English
What a transponder key is
Since the mid-1990s, most cars check the key electronically before they'll start. A small chip in the head of the key, called a transponder, answers a question from an antenna near the ignition. If the car recognizes the answer, it starts.
That's why a key that's only been cut will often open the doors and even turn, but won't start the car. The metal is right. The conversation isn't happening.
So a working car key is two jobs: cut it so it fits, and program it so the car recognizes it. That's two pieces of equipment and two skills, and either one can be why a key doesn't work. Push-to-start fobs are a more involved version of the same idea.
Want to learn KEYS?
Message the Page with KEYS, or call or text me. Tell me what you already know and what days work for you.