Southwest Lock & Key

Today we have a tale of woe. A customer called us after they had replaced the Ignition Lock Cylinder on their 2005 Toyota Sequoia. The customer started having problems turning the key in their Ignition Lock Cylinder. They diagnosed the issue and replaced the bad part. They called us out to program the new Transponder Keys that came with the Ignition Lock Cylinder. Once on site we attempted to program their new Transponder Keys but the programming was unsuccessful. After some troubleshooting we found that the Transponder Key Reading Coil, that sits around the Ignition Lock Cylinder, was not putting out a signal. We discovered that during the Ignition Lock Cylinder replacement, the customer could not remove the Transponder Key Reading Coil, so they cut the coil off. This is where the tale of woe comes in. This part is a Dealer Only Part that is no longer available for purchase. At this point the customer’s only hope is that they can find a used part from the junk yard. We let the customer know that cutting the Transponder Key Reading Coil was the reason we were unable to program the new keys to their vehicle. The customer said they would call us back “if” they found a replacement Transponder Key Reading Coil.

Today a customer called us and asked us to “reprogram” a key to their 2008 Honda Accord because the they replaced the steering column. After asking a few questions we let the customer know that the key that came with their used steering column could not be “reprogrammed” to their vehicle. We told them not to fear that we could come on site, provide them with a new key, and program this new key to their vehicle. We arrived on site, cut a new key, and attempted to program it. The key would not program and after a few minutes of investigation and scanning the vehicle, we found that the Immobilizer Ring on the replacement steering column was not the correct one for their vehicle. We removed the Immobilizer Ring from the old steering column and installed it on the new steering column. After this we were able to successfully program our new key to the vehicle. The moral of this story is to always check the part numbers on your replacement parts. Sometimes programming a key isn’t straightforward.

Did you know as your local Locksmith Shop we can perform all types of Locksmithing Services including Lock Re-keys, Car Key Programming, and Safe Opening. Today we are helping out one of customers with an out of the ordinary key duplication. The customer told us "we have been everywhere and no one could help us". Here at Southwest Lock & Key we welcome any challenge that you want to bring to us.