How to replace a lost car key without paying dealership prices
Car dealerships charge hundreds of dollars for a single replacement key, forcing drivers to choose between steep bills and being stranded without transportation. Affordable alternatives like buying blanks online and finding a local locksmith to cut and program them can significantly lower the cost.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Finding the key code on the vehicle, taking a blank to a locksmith to cut cheaper, and performing a passlock relearn sequence yourself.
- 2Ordering keys online to bring to a shop
- 3Going to an official car dealership
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I have a Honda civic 2007 and just realized that I’ve lost my primary car key 🤦♀️ I have a spare but need to have two since my parents often use my car when I’m away with my key.”source ↗
“would they have spare keys? or would I order it online and bring it to them?”source ↗
“would they be able to cut they key too? idk if that’s the proper term lol it’s a key where I need to put it in the car and turn it to turn on the car, but I can lock/unlock it by pressing the key buttons”source ↗
Where this came up
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