You’ve broken you your key in the ignition of your car or in your front door. UGH! What now? Well, you may have to call a locksmith to help remedy the situation.
When keys break off or get stuck in a lock, or if the locking mechanisms break, leaving you with a lock that is now useless, you have a couple of options. You can throw your hands up and buy a new car, but that’s not practical. You can get a whole new handle system for the door with the key that’s stuck in it or you could simply call a professional locksmith to get the job done. Most locksmiths don’t break locks and are able to repair broken locks pretty quickly and cost-effectively. No one wants to spend hundreds of dollars to hire a locksmith to fix a broken lock or replacing a key but that is not likely the case.
If you’ve simply lost your keys, or locked them in your car, we don’t recommend breaking into your home or vehicle. As locksmiths, we’ve seen more broken window glass than you can imagine.
Locksmiths are often asked if they have to break locks to gain entry. Do they have to break my lock?
The answer to that question starts with knowing what kind of door you have, but generally, the answer is no. Locksmiths will not generally need to break your locks, or your door for that matter to gain entry to your house. However, if you’ve spent a lot of money on locks and security then the chance of damage increases a little because those locks are more difficult to deal with but most of the time, a professional locksmith will gain entry into your house or your car without breaking anything.
When car key breaks off in a car door or car ignition, locksmiths have tools to carefully remove the broken pieces without breaking the lock itself. So, don’t start looking at ads for new cars just yet. We’ve got you.
How much will it cost me to get my broken key out of my ignition?
That cost depends on the type of key you may have. If your car uses a transponder key the work involved is different from dealing with a regular key. When a regular key has been broken inside the ignition, you should probably expect to pay somewhere between $100 and $150 for the service of a professional locksmith who will come out and meet you where you and the car are. The locksmith will charge for the extraction of the key, and then the remaking of a new key.
If a transponder key is broken inside your car’s ignition, the price is considerably higher for remedying the problem. Expect somewhere around $200 to $250 for this service. Now the locksmith will need to extract the key, remake of the key, and reprogram the key as well. So, the moral of the story is… don’t break your car key in the ignition.
Can I remove the key on my own?
Well, if the key is sticking out of the ignition, you might be able to pry the remains of the key from the ignition using needle-nose pliers. However, in most cases, you’re going to still need to hire a locksmith to come out and remake the key, but obviously, this will incur a significantly lower cost if you can remove the broken parts of the key on your own. If the broken part of the key is not sticking out enough to be able to easily grab with pliers and especially if you are in danger of destroying the ignition, please call a locksmith before trying to remove it. If you don’t happen to have the proper tools, you could seriously damage the ignition cylinder causing the need or that to be replaced. Trust us, calling a locksmith will save time and money. If you’re in the Bellevue area and break your key in your car ignition or door, Bellevue Locksmiths will come to you and we are equipped with all the right tools. We will get the job done without damaging your vehicle’s ignition or car door lock. We never break locks unless the situation is dire.
How can I avoid this happening to me?
Take note: if your car or house key is bending even a little, call a locksmith before trying to unlock your door or start your vehicle. If a key is noticeably thinning, call us at Bellevue Locksmith and we will make you a new key before it breaks on you. If it’s cold outside and the key is sticking, your key may be wearing down.
Call us before things go wrong or when they do. We’re here for you at Bellevue Locksmithing!
