If you get to your car and can’t find your keys, your first action may be to panic a bit. Lost car keys are worrying! Take the time to go through your pockets, purse or bag. If you’re locked out of car, walk around the vehicle and look as far underneath the vehicle as possible. If you don’t have a spare key nearby, you may well need car key replacement. Mobile locksmiths can meet you at your current location, provide you with emergency car locksmith support and help you with any necessary car key duplication.
Identify Your Key Type
Traditional Metal Keys
If your car is older, chances are good that you have traditional metal keys. Another indication that you’re working with traditional metal keys is if you’ve got one key for your door lock and one key for your ignition. Your automotive locksmith can help you get both keys replaced if your keys are lost. Car locksmith services for traditional metal keys don’t require programming.
Transponder Keys
Transponder keys are common on newer cars. These chipped keys greatly increase the security of your vehicle; even if a potential thief gets into your vehicle, they won’t be able to override the ignition. If your transponder keys are lost, a locksmith can provide you with replacement keys and provide secure transponder key programming. Your locksmith can also help you with ignition repair and replacement if the ignition has been damaged.
Key Fobs and Smart Keys
Smart keys can stay in your pocket and still unlock your car as you approach it. Key fobs can be used to lock, unlock and start your vehicle. Lost key fobs and smart keys can be quite hazardous, especially if your house key is on your car key ring. You may have a spare at your home, but getting a key fob replacement or extra smart key programmed by a skilled locksmith as soon as possible is a great decision.
Immediate Steps to Take
Search Thoroughly
If you’re away from your house, you obviously had your keys when you arrived at your current location. Take a deep breath. Check all your pockets, including your jacket pockets. Next, go through your bag if you carry one. Confirm that your vehicle is locked; it’s tough to lock your car without your car keys or fob in your hand. If the doors are locked, retrace your steps.
Those who find that their keys are missing at home need to check pockets of garments they wore yesterday. Walk the path you took from your car to your front door. If your car key and house key are on the same ring, your key is obviously inside the house somewhere.
Use a Spare Key
In the event that your keys are truly gone or you just don’t have the time to look for them, you can hopefully rely on your spare key. Spare keys need to be located just as carefully as your main keys within your home. Even if you need to put your spare keys in the junk drawer, try to put a bulky key ring on them. If you must rely on your spare key for the long term, make sure you get a car key replacement.
It’s a great idea to test your spare key batteries if you have a fob or smart key. Even if your spare keys are just a set of extra metal keys, it’s a good idea to use them on a regular basis.
Contact Authorities if Theft is Suspected
Key rings can contain access to many of your private spaces. If you think your keys were stolen, contact the police and file a report. To make sure that your Dublin, CA properties remain secure, reach out to a locksmith to rekey your home. If your work keys were on the same ring, contact HR immediately. Lost car keys can be a frustrating hassle. Stolen car keys can be incredibly dangerous.
Contact a Professional for Replacement
Automotive Locksmith Services
If you know that your keys are long gone, a mobile locksmith can meet you at your car, get you back behind the wheel, and recreate the key you need to start the car. Be ready to demonstrate ownership, such as showing your title and registration. Should you find yourself stranded outside your locked car, make sure you stress that you are in an emergency situation.
Dealership Services
Your vehicle dealership can also help you replace your car keys, transponder keys, smart key or fob. If your vehicle is newer and has a fob, be aware that such tools need to be programmed when you replace the keys. You may also find that you’re required to tow your car to the closest dealership to get a new fob from them. Once it’s there, your new key or fob and any programming may be more expensive than hiring a locksmith.
Required Information
If you’ve lost car keys in Dublin, CA and need to reach out to a traveling locksmith service, make sure you have the required information at hand. You’ll need your ID, proof of ownership and the VIN or Vehicle Identification Number. If your ID is locked inside the car with your keys, you will need to show your locksmith all of this documentation before you drive away.
Considerations for Specific Key Types
Replacing Traditional Keys
If your keys are irretrievably lost, you can call a locksmith to meet you at your car, unlock the vehicle and replace your traditional key. If there’s a chance that your keys are in the possession of an untrustworthy person, it may be necessary to get a new ignition switch and/or door lock.
Replacing Transponder Keys
Transponder keys include a computer chip that must mesh with the ignition to physically unlock the car. Quality transponder key programming will match this requirement. These keys are specific to each separate vehicle as well as make and model. If your transponder key is lost, or if your transponder key is damaged or scrambled, a locksmith can get you back into your vehicle and program you a new key.
Replacing Key Fobs and Smart Keys
Losing a key fob, especially one that’s on a key chain with work or house keys, is particularly worrying. In the wrong hands, you key fob can give people a lot of information you may not want them to have. If you’re sure your fob or smart key set is gone forever, a skilled locksmith can meet you at your car and help you reprogram a new electronic fob or smart key. Be aware that this may take more time than it would take to just create a new key.
If you’re remotely concerned that someone else has gotten control of your keys and your house key was on the same ring, it’s a good idea to get your house re-keyed as well as getting a new fob.
Preventive Measures for the Future
Keep a Spare Key
If you bought a car with traditional ignition and door lock keys and only got one set of keys, get another made as soon as possible. Test drive the car with these new keys to make sure that the new keys work, then store them in a safe spot in your home.
Use Tracking Devices
There are Bluetooth trackers you can use to find your keys. With a tracker on the ring, you can use a phone app to easily find the entire key ring and easily locate them if misplaced.
There are phone connections you can use to sync your phone to your car via Bluetooth and start the car if the car has the right technology. If you travel to places without signal, don’t do this unless you have a backup key!
Establish a Routine
Create a spot in your Dublin, CA home where you can easily develop a key drop-off habit. If you carry a purse, a briefcase or a bag, designate a spot inside that tool where your keys always go as soon as you take them out of your vehicle. Many people hang their bag on a hook just inside their front door or put it inside a coat closet near the door.
Once you’ve suffered from lost car keys more than once, chances are good that you need a better storage habit. Those who don’t carry a bag may have a pocket where their keys always go. When seasons change and you go from pants to shorts, you may lose your key storage spot. A keychain that you can loop over a finger may be a good investment for summer months.
Conclusion
As soon as you notice that your keys are not where you expect them, check your other pockets. Carefully review the contents of your bag to confirm that your keys are not there. If you’re not locked out of your car, check your ignition. Review the gaps around the front seats. Check the floor and check under the front seats.
Should you find yourself locked out, check the space around the vehicle. Take a hard look at as much of the inside of the car as you can possibly see. Retrace your steps. If you previously stored your keys in a pocket, check areas where you previously sat down, such as the table where you ate or the bathroom stall that you used.