Latest
Key blanks explained: keyway codes, blades and shells
A blank has to match the keyway, accept the chip, and fit the shell. Getting two right and one wrong is the most common ordering mistake there is.
Read itLocksmith guides
How to read a key, what a transponder chip actually does, which machine cuts what, and what a job needs before you quote it. Reference material, kept current.
More from Locksmith guides
- Guides What a 2-in-1 pick and decoder does, and how to choose the keyway It reads the lock instead of the key. Which means the tool is chosen by keyway code, never by the badge on the bonnet.
- Guides All keys lost: what the job actually needs Often possible, occasionally not, and it depends on the vehicle rather than the tool.
- Guides How to read an FCC ID and find the right fob The FCC ID narrows a remote to one exact part rather than a family that looks identical in photographs.
- Guides Key programmer or key cutting machine: which do you buy first? They solve opposite halves of the same job. Which half you buy first depends on which half you currently pay somebody else to do.
- Guides Transponder chips explained: ID46, ID47, ID48, 4C, 4D and 8A Which chip families clone, which have to be programmed through the immobiliser, and how to identify what you are holding without...
- Guides Is my remote 315MHz or 433MHz, and does it matter? A remote on the wrong frequency will never pair, however carefully it is programmed.