Car keys are getting ever more complex and there are very good reasons why a specialist car locksmith is who to turn to when you need new keys or have other problems.
One particular reason is that although high street locksmiths have the right blanks and fobs for car keys, the fobs don’t have the electronics that modern car keys need and the locksmiths don’t have access to the specialist kit that’s required to code a remote key fob to a particular car.
The key fob doesn’t just handle remote entry. For a long time now they have also included the electronics to operate the immobilisers installed on most cars.
Keys are getting harder to copy every day
It wasn’t always like this. Until about the early Eighties, car keys weren’t very different from ordinary household keys. All they had to do was have the correct profile to lift the cylinders in the lock. That sort of key could easily be replicated by an ordinary locksmith with their standard machinery that copied the profile of an existing key.
But in response to an epidemic of car crime the government called manufacturers in and told them that, while they weren’t responsible for the actions of thieves, they had a responsibility to make cars harder to steal. At the time immobilisers were being installed only on high-end models, although remote locking was becoming more widely available. After the government stepped in, immobilisers began to appear on all but the cheapest models.
Nowadays a key from a high street locksmith, while it might seem like a quick and cheap solution, could get you into your car, but you won’t then be able to go anywhere. The problem is that it might not seem obvious that the cheap key is the problem.
Electronic Ignition
Many immobilisers work by disabling either the fuel system or the electronic ignition that controls the spark. A key that is mechanically correct but doesn’t have the right electronics will give you the impression that it is working because the dashboard will light up and the engine will turn over, even though it won’t actually start.
You might not realise that it’s the key at fault, and eventually trying to start the engine, again and again, will drain the battery, leaving you stranded.
So if you need an additional set of keys for your car, come to South East Car Keys and you’ll get a spare set that actually works, simple as that. Why not contact us today?
