Keys, Locks, remotes, repairs. Forest of Dean & Ross on Wye
We normally keep keys and remotes for these in stock. We hold genuine JLR and aftermarket parts.
We can cover Freelander, Defender, Range Rover Sport, Evoque, Discovery models etc. Remotes for both BMW based versions, older Lucas systems etc can be provided for you.
If you’ve lost a car key you can get another without going to an approved dealer. Many showrooms will tell you that only they can program keys for that make of vehicle – that is often incorrect. It is likely than an independent auto locksmith can make a new key/remote for you. Some dealerships may even take a week to get your key sent over from Germany. That won’t help when you’re stuck at the side of the road.
Is the price of a spare or duplicate key may putting you off getting another one cut and programmed? Once all keys are lost it can be significantly more expensive to make you a new key. (Potentially 8-10 times as expensive if parts of your car need stripping down and chips de-soldering off of circuit boards). If you already have a remote it may be possible to just do the cheaper option of a chipped (transponder) key without buttons. (A chipped key will often suffice for EU/US vehicles. Asian vehicles may require a remote to cancel the alarm).
Until the particular nearby branches in Gloucestershire closed I used to program keys for 2 different franchised dealerships because we produced keys quicker and cheaper for their own vehicles than their own technicians could do them.
Nobody can do all vehicles from every manufacturer, but it’s worth asking.
We’re based in Forest of Dean / Ross and Wye but no matter where you are in the country, give your local independent auto locksmith (not one associated with a high street cat collar engravers and key cutters) a call if you need a spare or replacement car key programming.
If you’ve only got one car key it is advisable to get a spare cut and programmed.
Here is an example of a recently programmed car key. This is a smart (aka proximity) key for a 2018 Mitsubishi. Because this type don’t have to be put into the ignition to start the car, they do seem to get lost more easily. It isn’t unheard of for people to put them on the roof of the car then drive off.
Always remember that proximity keys can render your car vulnerable to theft. A criminal doesn’t need to have your key physically in his hand to start your vehicle. If they can detect your key inside they house, they can simply relay the signal to the car. Always leave the keys at the opposite end of the house to the car. Or put them in a suitable RF blocking sleeve or metal box.
Customer locked their keys in the boot of their Aston Martin. We opened it for them after their recovery service couldn’t do it. Not a car I see much in the Forest of Dean. Maybe not as luxurious as the Rolls Royce I opened once, but certainly more powerful.
A recurring problem with the blue Transit remotes is they go flat and stop working the remote central locking. This is because the OEM remotes have a rechargeable battery soldered to the circuit board. The remote battery is charged by the coil around the ignition barrel. Like all rechargeable batteries they will eventually fail.
If your Transit has a bulkhead behind the drivers seat you may be unable to access the rear compartment of the vehicle. Only a remote will open the rear.
If you only have one working blue remote it’s a ticking clock until it fails and locks you out. Aftermarket remotes are available which enable you to slot a new battery in whenever you like. This gives you peace of mind that if the battery does ever go flat, it’ll take you 20 seconds to put a new one in. This type of inexpensive battery is commonly available.
Aftermarket remote for Ford Transit Mk7 with user replaceable battery.
These blue remotes are electronically completely different from the similar shaped black remotes. Although they both operate of 433MHz both the transponder chip and the keyless entry aspect of the blue and blacks versions are not compatible.
A basic ‘chipped key’ (transponder key) has several disadvantages compared to a key with a keyless entry fob/remote. This include the inconvenience compared to remote central locking. Some vehicles may not deadlock and will therefore not be as secure. Some vehicles such as some Renaults only have a door lock on the passenger side which can be rather annoying after a while. Additionally some vehicles will not set the alarm unless the remote is used. EU and US vehicles will normally silence an alarm once the key is turned in the ignition. Asian vehicles often will not silence the alarm unless the remote is used.
In the example below the customer’s car only came with 1 transponder key. They wanted a remote. They chose this bright green version. This particular make of remote can be programmed to become several thousand different car remotes.
Not all vehicles are able to lock with a remote. Basic versions of some VW and Fiat for example do not have the electronics for keyless entry. A giveaway on modern vehicles can be if there are rear window winder handles.
Sometimes vehicles automatically lock themselves with the keys inside. Other times we mistakenly lock them in the boot. (I hate to admit to having locked my own keys in my car twice).
This is the errant key that we retrieved today from the ignition of a Ranger after it decided to lock all the doors by itself.
We can open most vehicles if you find yourself in the same situation. It would be much simpler if you had a spare key that you could use without calling somebody out.
Some older Mercedes cars have a boot mechanism that operates remotely using a vacuum pump. The pump can fail and the vacuum tubes can perish or disconnect. When that system fails it’s not normally a problem because the boot can still be opened using the key. If the boot lock is also faulty or damaged – then it is a problem problem. You can’t open the boot.
In this example the boot mechanism could be heard clicking when the switch was operated. That indicated the vacuum pump was working OK so the likely fault was the actual actuator mechanism on the boot lid itself. The seats don’t fold down on this car – you can’t get into the boot that way. There are 2 ways to open the boot in this situation – one is to drill a hole through the skin of the boot to access the linkage. The other is to extract the lock barrel. Because this lock wasn’t working and needed replacing it was best to extract the lock and save drilling through the boot lid.
Once the boot lock is removed the release linkage can be pulled, opening the boot and allowing the faulty mechanism to be swapped out.
A quirk of this Mercedes is that the battery is in the boot. If your key doesn’t work the locks and you get a flat battery you will struggle to get into the boot. There are ways around this if you know how.
Another vehicle with a weird boot/battery setup is a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow. They have a quirk where it can be difficult to tow an automatic with a flat battery. Again, there is a way around it.
If you can’t open your vehicle or have locked your keys in the boot / car in Forest of Dean and Ross on Wye areas give us a call.
This venerable Triumph suffered a key snapped in the ignition. The key was so old and worn it was only a matter of time before it broke. Customer had a spare key – but it only worked one way up. Anyway, the spare couldn’t be used until the snapped part was extracted.
The snapped part of the key was well and truly embedded in the lock. What I thought would be a 5 minute job took significantly longer.
If your key is worn or cracking, getting another copied on the high street will just give you another worn key that is shinier. An auto locksmith will be able to cut you a key to original depths and spacings – as if it was new.
This Triumph is basically a rebadged Honda Ballade. Triumph and Rover made several ‘Japanese’ cars in UK. Cars have come a long way since then.
If you’re in need about to search for “auto locksmith in my area” when you’re in Forest of Dean, give us a call.
Lost key replaced for Kia Sorento in Coleford. In between being purchased and collected the original key had been lost. It is normally much cheaper to get an existing key/transponder duplicated than cut and programme a new one from scratch.
Cutting a duplicate key for VW Crafter. Actually for this collaboration between VW and Mercedes the key is a Mercedes blank, but the transponder chip inside the key is VW. The advantage of using a computerised cutting machine such as the one above is that the duplicate key isn’t just a shiny copy of a worn key – the key is cut to correct depths.
Broken uPVC door hinge being replaced. A broken door hinge typically occurs when the door is allowed to swing open in the wind. Sometimes if the same hinge cannot be sourced all 3 or 4 hinges on the door will need replacing. The reason why you can’t just replace one hinge is that unless the centreline of the hinges is the same. If off centre there will be twisting/shearing forces in the hinges.
This is the lock for an Audi with keys locked in the boot in Gloucester. The vehicle is deadlocked (putting a tool down the side of the door to pull a handle/lift a button won’t work). In this case the locks don’t even work (even with the key). Somebody had either replaced them incorrectly or the connecting links had come off No option here for the customer apart from wave goodbye to one of their windows.
2 days later we had another example of a client unable to get into their Audi. They couldn’t use the remote (it had lost synch during battery change), the linkages had again come off the lock so the keys couldn’t be used either. Fortunately it was an older vehicle with manual window winders.
This is the remote PCB for a Saab that was not unlocking. The button has clearly disintegrated. We replaced the button for a new ceramic centred button and it now works fine. These black rubber centre buttons often fall to bits or the rubber perishes.
Above is the ASK (amplitude shift keyed) locking signal for the Saab remote. You can see the highs and lows of the signal trace correspond to the decoded binary sequence below. The remote repeats the signal several times for a single button press. The actual binary sequence will change each time the button is pressed. This ‘rolling code’ makes the illicit capture and replay of the signal to open the vehicle more difficult to achieve. There are ways to do it – but why would you unless you’re a criminal?