Lost Your Car Key in South Florida? What to Do, Step by Step

Step 1: Make sure it's really lost

Retrace the obvious: the last store, the beach bag, the restaurant host stand, the other jacket. Call the last place you were. Most lost keys are found within a few hours. If you have a spare at home, a ride to get it is almost always cheaper than a new key.

Step 2: Work out what kind of key you have

This decides how the new key gets made. Use our key finder (four questions), or:

• Push-button start? You have a smart (proximity) key.
• Buttons built into a key with a metal blade, or a flip-out blade? Remote-head or flip key, a transponder key with a remote.
• Thick plastic head, no buttons? Most likely a transponder (chip) key.
• All metal, thin head? A basic mechanical key, mostly older vehicles.

Step 3: Get your documents together

Anyone making you a car key should ask for proof you own the car:

• Driver's license or photo ID
• Vehicle registration or title, in the same name
• The VIN (on the driver's side of the dashboard, visible through the windshield, and on the registration)

If the papers are locked in the car, the locksmith can open it first and check them there. If the car is a family member's, a lease, or a company car, have the owner reachable by phone.

Step 4: Locksmith or dealer?

Mobile locksmith: comes to the car. For most vehicles we can cut and program a new key on the spot, with no tow. Usually the faster option when all keys are lost.

Dealer: can make keys for its own brand, but the car usually has to be on its lot. That means a tow if no key works, and often a wait for the part. Some newer vehicles restrict key programming to dealers; a good locksmith will tell you that on the phone instead of coming out.

Step 5: Protect yourself

If your key was stolen, or lost with anything showing your address or plate, ask for the lost key to be erased from the car's memory when the new one is programmed (possible on many vehicles). Then it won't start the car even if someone finds it. And get a spare made at the same time. It's much cheaper as an add-on than as another all-keys-lost job later.

Florida-specific tips

• Heat kills fob batteries. If your fob gets flaky, replace the battery before it strands you.
• Never leave a spare key hidden on the car. Thieves know the magnetic box spots.
• At the beach, zip keys into a pocket or a locker, not a towel. Sand swallows them.