Prices

$225 for a duplicate Mercedes Benz key cut and programmed into your vehicle.

We can also generate keys if you have lost all of your keys.

Here is a chart of the year, make, model and function we cover for Mercedes Benz:

If you would like a Mercedes Benz key call 541.632.3968.

Here are some general prices for OEM duplicate keys:

$160 for high security key cut and programmed into vehicle
$125 stand alone remote (must purchase key too)
$200 for remote smart keys programmed into vehicle
$280 Remote head flip keys programmed into vehicle

Notes:

• We will match or beat any local prices
• These are estimates as the date of this post. Prices may change.
• If you are purchasing multiple units simultaneously a significant programming discount will apply.

If you would like to get an additional key made for you Volvo call us at 541.632.3968 with the year, make and model.

P.s. if you have lost of all your keys we can come out and generate keys on site.

Problem

The problem stems from the lack of plastic holding the brass mechanical blade that uses the turning force for your locks. This happens on remote head keys because the shells are more spread out in order to hold the remote circuit board.

What it looks like

Here are a few pictures of customers Lexus and Honda remote head keys shells that are either taped together or broken apart.

How we fix it

The fix for these is to provide a new key shell and cut it for you. then move over the remote and transponder chip components into the new shells. This takes less than 15 minutes.

We stock the lexus and honda remote shells so we can take care of you the same day. As of 7/15/15 you are looking at $60 to provide the shell, cut the key and transfer the components over.

If you need your Lexus or Honda remote head key shell fixed just give us a call at 541.632.3968.

We can get your keys out. Even if it is a high security BMW or Mercedes with a deadlocked truck. Here is how:

First Option – Conventional Opening

The first and easier way is to come out and open the cab of your car. This works if you have either (a) a manual inside trunk release or (b) the back seats fold down from the inside.

If you have an electronic trunk release that gets locked down  when the alarm sounds or the back seats fold down from the inside of the truck such as Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Volkswagen and more. Then we move to step two.

Second Option – Bypass Method

On most Mercedes, BMW’s, Audi’s & Volkswagen’s there is a bypass method that de activates the alarm and unlocks the trunk. For security reasons we cannot show or explain to you how to do this.

Third Option – Make a Mechanical Door Key

The third option is to make a mechanical emergency key to unlock your trunk. This is the case for most Mercedes and BMW when the smart keys have set the alarm before being locked in the trunk. Yes, you do have an emergency key hiding inside your smart key or proximity box with a hidden mechanical lock on your trunk – for this very occasion.

Making a mechanical key takes about 30 minutes. Here are some shots from the last episodes.

Even though it is the correct part, the issues come during programming because certain manufacturers products, once married to a particular car, cannot be re-married to another car, where others can.

Here is the short list of when and where used proximity boxes and smart keys will work and when they will not:

This week we had two and I had finally remembered to take pictures for a blog post. So here it is.

Chrylser, Jeep and Dodge, use an eight cut side bar ignition. This ignition is very common, and regularly gets stuck. We see it on vehicles from eight years and older. It is not exactly a design defect, but from use.

Root causes

The three key reasons your ignition gets stuck are (a) a worn key, (b) dirt/lint and (c) worn wafers. The basic fix is for us to come out, get your ignition unstuck, remove, clean and rebuild it with new wafers and springs. If you key is still making the sidebar stick out, then we need to cut you a new key by code too. Well go through the hole process here.

Removing the ignition

The first step is getting your ignition unstuck by manually going in and moving the wafers back into position. Once the wafers are in position we can turn the lock to the on position in order to depress the ignition cylinder retainer. On rare cases with multiple (I have seen three) wafers are stuck, we need to drill into the ignition housing to depress the sidebar directly. Here is a picture of the ignition cylinder and housing removed.

Stuck Wafers

Once we have the cylinder out you can see the front 1-3 wafers (right side) being stuck down. Compared the the wafer 3-8 which are higher. See picture here.

Removing wafers and cleaning the cylinder

With the ignition cylinder removed we then remove all of the wafers and springs. Looking closely you can see the grime build up inside the wafers. Also here is a picture of the ignition lock cylinder, housing, wafers, springs and key taken apart.

Adding new wafers & springs

After cleaning, we put brand new springs and wafers into the lock using a Chrysler keying kit. Notice how the new shiny wafers all pop up to the same level now.  Compare to the stuck wafers picture above.

Seeing the difference in the side bar

Here you can see the side bar that is poped up on one side, compared to the rebuilt cylinder where the sidebar is flush. The side bar need to be flush in order for the ignition cylinder to turn.

Checking the Key

The last step is to check the existing key in the new rebuilt cylinder. If the key rocks and the side bar can pop up, causing the cylinder to have difficulty turning, then a new key by code needs to be cut.

Now if your Chrylser, Jeep, Dodge or ignition is stuck or won’t turn, you can understand what is going on, and how we can fix it for you.

As always, we hope this is insightful for you and if you need help give us a call at 541-632-3968.

To cover the highlights, we always strongly prefer to accept payment directly from you and then have you submit for reimbursement with our receipts. If the insurance company contacts us for the work and offers to pay that is also acceptable for us. We cannot bill people who did not authorize the work.

On the quick notes, we do bill State Farm car insurance for lockouts and service calls because they work with and pay non contracted vendors.

On to the more specific situations.

The most common situations we get asked about for insurance coverage are: (a) car lockouts, (b) lost car keys and (c) theft of keys and re-keying both for vehicles and homes.

Car Lockouts and Lost Car Keys

For car lockouts most insurance companies have contracted emergency roadside assistance providers that cover this. Many do cover the service call or up to certain limits for lost keys. Most have client reimbursements for these items.Here is a chart of the major and most common car insurance companies in Oregon and their coverage:

*note, these are what we have gathered from online, phone and in person research. Our information may not be 100% correct. We strongly recommend talking in depth with each company to very and receive more details about their emergency roadside assistance coverage.

Theft of Keys and Re-keying

Occasionally vehicle or house keys are damaged or stolen. This occurrence is very policy specific. We recommend contacting your agent. But here is what we have seen.

Vehicle keys can be covered if they were damaged for the same reason the vehicle is being repaired.

Vehicle re-keys and home re-keys can be covered under you home insurance policy. Normally the cost of the deductible is higher than the out of pocket cost of going direct, but we have had customers with this coverage.

A Little Bit About the Process

Most of the major insurance companies contract out their roadside assistance to service provides like Road America, AAA or Agero. Some operate there own fleet and/or further contract to smaller local towing and locksmith companies like ourselves.

So if you really push your insurance company to initially cover all the work and then have you pay the difference of what is not covered, we do receive and work for the large service providers that you originally call us about.

Overall if you want to have your insurance cover our services you need to contact and work through them and have them contact us directly. If you have an Oregon based State Farm coverage that is current and you are the authorizing individual we will bill them directly as long as you accept full responsibility for payment if your request is denied. If you do not want to go through the hassle at the moment you can check whether they reimburse you, pay us directly and then send the receipt in for reimbursement.

We hope this sheds some light on the insurance coverage for specific situations and how it works from the locksmith perspective.

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On cold morning people oftern go out and warm up their vehicles. Here are three quick tips to prevent locking your keys in your car while it is warming up:

(1) unlock it with the remote

(2) manually unlock the door

(3) roll down the window

Here is a video showing you how to prevent locking your keys in your car while it is warming up:

Call us now at 541-632-3968.