Car key transponders are delicate

This key is for a Ford Transit. Somebody wanted to separate the metal blade from the plastic head (because it was loose and spinning) so decided to hacksaw it off.

Unfortunately this meant they cut the glass transponder chip in half. Without the correct chip the vehicle is immobilised and won’t start.

Ford Transit key
Damaged Ford Transit transponder key

Below is a new transponder chip that we programmed into the vehicle in the Forest of Dean. As you can see it is glass and very delicate. The Ford transponder chips are about double the size of the ID48 chip commonly used by Fiat and VW. Safely inside the key head it should be protected from most bumps and knocks – but it won’t survive being cut in half with a hacksaw! Because there was only 1 key for the vehicle they didn’t have a backup and had to call out an auto locksmith to program new keys. It is always a good idea to have a spare key for a vehicle. It is normally significantly cheaper to get a key duplicated from an existing key than it is to cut and program one from scratch.

Ford transponder. Auto locksmith Forest of Dean
Glass type Ford ID60 transponder chip.