Kortney M.
★★★★★
“I had my key break and lost it and he stayed out and helped make a new one. Decently priced for a new fob and key.”
September 2026 · via Google
Car Key Broke in Half or Snapped Off? We Can Fix It On-Site
Whether the key snapped in your hand, bent in the door, or broke off inside the ignition — don't force anything and don't reach for the superglue. We extract, cut, and program a new key at your location.
First: What NOT to Do
- Don't force a cracked or bent key. It will finish snapping, and it will pick the worst possible place to do it.
- Don't superglue the pieces. Glue in a lock cylinder can total the cylinder; a glued key snapping inside is the most expensive version of this problem.
- Don't dig at a stuck fragment with tweezers, paperclips, or a magnet-on-a-stick — you'll push it deeper past the wafers.
- Do keep every piece. The blade cuts and the chip in the plastic head both have value for making your new key faster and cheaper.
Broken Key Extraction
When the blade breaks off inside the ignition, door, or trunk lock, we remove it with purpose-built extraction tools — thin spiral picks and hooked probes that grab the fragment's cuts and walk it out without drilling the lock. It typically takes minutes for a locksmith with the right tools, and a very long frustrating evening for anyone without them. Once it's out, we cut and program a fresh key to factory code, so the new key doesn't repeat the strain that snapped the old one.
Your New Key: From the Pieces, or From the VIN
Two paths, both on-site: if the broken pieces are intact we can decode the cuts directly and reuse or clone the transponder chip. If the key is mangled or lost down a storm drain, we pull the factory key code from your VIN (with ID and proof of ownership) and cut a brand-new blade to original spec — often crisper than the worn key ever was. Programming happens at the car either way; see car key replacement for the full process.
Worn Keys That Stopped Turning
A key doesn't have to snap to be done for. If yours needs a jiggle-and-pray ritual to start the car, the cuts are rounding off — and it's flexing harder at every start. A fresh key cut from code (not a copy of the worn one, which just duplicates the wear) is the cheap fix now; the expensive version is the same key in two pieces at a gas pump.
What It Costs
| Service | Our range |
|---|---|
| Broken key extraction | Call for exact quote |
| New key cut from pieces or VIN | Call for exact quote |
| Extraction + new key, same visit | Call for exact quote |
Savings based on customer-reported dealer quotes for the same key. Your price depends on year, make, model, and key type. Call (567) 227-5397 for an exact quote — the price we quote is the price you pay.
Frequently Asked Questions
My key broke in half but I have both pieces. Can you make a new key from them?
Usually yes — the cuts on the blade are readable even from two pieces, and if the transponder chip in the head survived, we can reuse or clone it. If the pieces are mangled, we cut fresh from the vehicle's factory key code instead. Either way you leave with a whole, working key.
Can I glue my broken key back together?
Please don't. A glued key will snap again — almost always inside the lock, where the glue can also bond to the cylinder's internals. That turns a simple new-key job into an extraction, or worse, a cylinder replacement. Tape the pieces into an envelope and call us instead.
The tip of my key snapped off inside the ignition. Can you get it out?
Yes — broken-blade extraction is standard mobile locksmith work. We use extraction picks and spiral tools designed for lock cylinders, retrieve the fragment without drilling, cut a new key on the same visit, and check the cylinder for the wear that caused the snap. Whatever you do, don't push at it with tweezers — that seats the fragment deeper.
Why did my key break in the first place?
Metal fatigue, mostly — keys flex slightly at every turn, and after years (especially on worn ignitions that need extra torque) they crack at the shoulder. A sticky lock accelerates it: if you've been jiggling and forcing the key lately, the lock was warning you. A fresh key cut to factory code puts far less strain on the lock than a worn copy.
My key turns but feels like it’s about to snap. What should I do?
Treat it as already broken: stop using it and have a fresh key cut from the factory code now, while a working reference still exists. A new key cut to spec (not copied from your worn one) costs a fraction of an extraction-plus-all-keys-lost call later — and it usually makes the lock feel new again too.
Related Help
Key in Pieces? Keep Them and Call Us.
Extraction and a brand-new key, done at your vehicle anywhere in Lafayette or West Lafayette.
Open 24/7 · Typical arrival in the Lafayette area is under an hour. · Zero-damage guarantee