Car Key Replacement
Lost every key? We cut and program a new car key at your vehicle, no original needed, in Coronado or San Diego.
How it worksMobile automotive locksmith ยท Coronado & San Diego
Ignition Repair and Replacement in Coronado and San Diego
Key will not turn or is stuck? We repair or replace the ignition cylinder at your car in Coronado and San Diego.
Every day, 7:30 AM to 10:30 PM
Ignition repair is for the morning the key goes in and simply stops. It will not turn. Or it turns with a click and nothing else. Or it starts the car and then refuses to come out again. All of these point to the ignition cylinder, and all can be fixed at your car in Coronado or across San Diego without a tow.
Cylinders wear. Thousands of turns round off the wafers inside, and a worn key speeds that up. Grit from the beach finds its way in. We open the column, remove the cylinder, and either rebuild it with new wafers or fit a new one.
If we replace the cylinder, we rekey it so your existing door key still works. One key for the whole car, the way it came from the factory. We also check the steering lock, since a bound steering lock is a common reason a healthy key will not turn.
What our ignition repair & replacement covers
- Keys that will not turn in the ignition at all
- Keys that turn but the switch behind the cylinder does nothing
- Keys stuck in the ignition, in the on or the accessory position
- Worn cylinders that only turn with a jiggle
- Full ignition cylinder replacement, rekeyed to match your door key
- Steering wheel lock that will not release, so the key cannot rotate
Common calls in Coronado and San Diego
Key stuck in accessory at Liberty Station
You turned the key back after parking outside the market and it stopped in the accessory position and will not come out. We free the key, remove the cylinder and replace the worn wafers that held it, then key the rebuilt cylinder to your door key. While you wait, switch off the headlights and the radio so the battery is not flat when we get there.
Key turns but nothing happens on Garnet Avenue
The key turns all the way in a metered space on Garnet Avenue, the dash lights come on, and the starter never engages. A key that turns freely is usually not a lock problem, so we check the switch behind the cylinder and say plainly if the fault is electrical and not ours to fix. If the cylinder spins without moving the switch, that is the part we replace.
Boat truck ignition worn at Chula Vista Bayfront
The old truck that tows the boat has started needing a wiggle of the key before it will turn in the marina lot. Rounded wafers inside the cylinder are the usual reason, and we rebuild or replace it at the trailer space. Bring every key you have; if a less-worn spare turns it cleanly, the cylinder has life left and a service will do.
How ignition repair & replacement works
-
Tell us the symptom
Will not turn, turns but nothing happens, or stuck. Add the year, make and model. We give you the price for the likely fix before we drive out.
-
We diagnose on site
We check your ID and proof of ownership, then the key, the wafers and the steering lock before touching anything. If a different service is the real fix, we stop and requote before going on.
-
Repair or replace, then rekey
We rebuild or swap the cylinder, key it to your door key, and have you start the car and remove the key a few times.
Around Coronado and San Diego
Salt air is hard on ignitions, and Coronado has plenty of cars that live in it, parked off Orange Avenue, at the Coronado Cays and in the lots at Silver Strand State Beach. Across the water we repair ignitions in the Gaslamp Quarter garages and around the Convention Center, at Sunset Cliffs and Shelter Island in Point Loma, near Crystal Pier in Pacific Beach, and in the shopping lots around Plaza Bonita in National City and Third Avenue Village in Chula Vista. Wherever the car is stuck, we bring the parts to it.
Ignition Repair & Replacement questions
My key will not turn. Is it the ignition or the key?
It could be either, or the steering lock. Try turning the wheel slightly left and right while gently turning the key; if it frees up, the steering lock was bound. If a spare key does the same thing, the cylinder is probably worn. If the key turns but the car will not start, the chip is the likelier problem, so see transponder keys.
The key is stuck in the ignition. Should I keep pulling?
Please do not. Forcing it can snap the blade and turn a simple repair into a broken key extraction. Check the car is in Park, try turning the wheel slightly, and if it still will not release, leave it and call us.
Can you repair the ignition, or do you always replace it?
We repair when the cylinder can be rebuilt, which is common. Worn wafers are replaced and the housing is cleaned and lubricated. If the housing is damaged or the model does not allow a rebuild, we fit a new cylinder and tell you so before starting.
Related services
Transponder Key Programming
A cut key alone will not start a modern car. We program the transponder chip to your vehicle on site in San Diego.
How it worksBroken Key Extraction
Key snapped in the door, ignition or trunk? We remove the broken piece without damage and cut a new key on site.
How it worksNeed ignition repair & replacement today?
Call or text and tell us where the car is. We come to you anywhere in Coronado and across San Diego, 7:30 AM to 10:30 PM, every day.