Steve’s Lock Out is now carrying protective covers for Ford, Lincoln and Mercury remotes.
Steve's Lock Out is now carrying protective and decorative skins for Ford, Lincoln and Mercury remotes
These remote covers slip easily on to your Ford, Lincoln, or Mercury remote. Not only do they protect your remote they also come in your favorite color to match your personality or your car.
Look for remote covers for other types of vehicles in the near future.
In the first article “Buying Chip Keys and Remotes Off the Internet” I address purchasing chip keys. Now it’s time for the remotes.
And as in the article about the keys I want to clear up a few things about remotes.
Here is the scenario. You lock your keys in your car, but you spouse has the other keys and remote at home. So you simply call and have them hold the remote up to their cell phone and hit the unlock button as you hold your cell phone near the car. Bingo! It’s unlocked right? Wrong! Cell phones do not have the capability to broadcast the radio frequencies your remote uses to unlock and lock your car. I have had people challenge this only to realize that it was simply their remote unlocking the car all the way across the parking lot. When increasing the distance it no longer worked. I will admit though I’ve seen some new systems that use what is basically a cell phone built in and you simply call the number and enter a security code and the car unlocks. I believe these new systems as handy as they are, are adding fuel to the myths of cell phone unlockings.
All GM remotes work with all GM products, all Nissan remotes work with all Nissan products, etc. Where as one remote may cover more than one model on more than one year it will not cover them all. For instance I keep over 20 different GM remotes in stock. I believe its actually higher I’m just being conservative. I’ve never actually counted them.
Now how does a remote work?
There are 2 was that auto remotes broadcast a signal to your car.
In some of the first remote factory systems an infrared signal was used. These were a bad idea. Very low security.
Then radio frequencies were introduced. These used what is called a fixed signal. Much better, however, still alot of room for improvement.
All vehicles now use remotes that use a radio frequency with a rolling code. I’ve yet to see this cracked.
What should I look out for when purchasing a remote?
First of all you need to know if your vehicle is equipped for a remote. Most places that sell remotes should be able to guide you through this.
Next you will need to pick the right remote. This is done by narrowing it to down by asking a few questions. What make is my vehicle? What model? Year? Does it have power sliding doors? How many? Does it have a solenoid activated hatch or trunk release? Does it have remote start?
Now that selecting the right remote is out of the way here are some questions to ask so you don’t get taken for a ride.
Is it used or new? Some places sell used refurbished, or in some cases notrefurbished remotes. These are sometimes referred to as “grade 2″ remotes. These may have scratches or blemishes, but should be in good working order. Keep in mind they will have the original circuit board in them so they already are partially worn out. Two problems we see a lot are broken battery contacts, this can be fixed many times by soldering. And worn out buttons, this requires a whole new remote.
What kind of warrenty is offered? Usually you will get a longer warrenty with a new remote than with a refurbished one. See the last 2 sentences of the paragraph above.
Are they factory or aftermarket remotes?
Can this remote be programmed by using OBP (On Board Programming)? In other words can I do it myself?
If not how much will it cost to have it programmed? This can vary quite a bit. Usually all it takes is a phone call to find this out.
I hope this will provide you with some information that will be useful to you the next time you need to shop for a new remote or key for your vehicle.
Steve’s Lock Out provides and programs factory remotes and keys in the Parson, Kansas area.
I sometimes feel like a nay sayer with many of the articles I write, however, I feel like I need to inform the general public of situations where they could be taken advantage of.
My topic for this article is remotes and “chip” keys.
First I want to clear up a few things on what a chip key is. They can and are called many different things by vehicle owners, manufacturers and dealers including some four letter words when priced by the consumer who just wants an extra key and didn’t even know their key contained a chip. Some terms you may have heard are transponder, chip, immobilizer, smart key, computer key, security key, anti-theft, PATS, Sentry key and there are many others. Irregardless of what they are called they are a key with a transponder in them. Below is a key we stock that you can see right through the head of the key. It happens to be a Ford key. And to the right of that a close up of a transponder. Many people are unaware that their is a transponder in their key because it is house in plastic and not visible.
What is a transponder? The word Transponder itself is a combination of two words; transmitter and responder. Occasionally abbreviated TPDR, TR, XPNDR or XPDR. When you put your key into your ignition and turn the key. An antenna either on, around or near your ignition transmits a signal to your key. They key then needs to “respond” back with the appropriate signal to let the car know its ok to start.
What is the purpose of a transponder? Simply put, to make your vehicle harder to steal. Forcing the ignition will not allow the car to run like it would on many non transponder vehicles. There are other systems that deture this as well, but I’ll save that for another article.
Clear Ford Key Showing TransponderA Close Up of a Transponder
VATS Key
Feel free to contact us with any additional questions you might have.
Steve’s Lock Out sells and programs chip keys and remotes in the Parsons, Kansas area. Feel free to drop by for an estimate at 1806 Main.
This is Steve signing off.
Sometimes it pays to listen to your Locksmith and compare the pros and cons and prices before making a decision. Today I’m referring to Auto Locks. Ignitions, especially, when they fail. There are some vehicles that failed ignitions are quite common. We try to keep the most ignitions in stock, but sometimes they aren’t available or you are one of several customers that has called us and they haven’t been restocked yet. So that means ignitions are sometimes out of stock or are not a regular stock item, however, we can usually have them overnighted if your in a pinch.
The price we quote you includes:
We suggest doing it this way. Why? For many reasons. Here are a few.
If you decide to shop around, make sure to ask the individual what all is covered in the fees. Does your vehicle need towed to their location? Will the replaced ignition be new and set to your original key? What, if any, additional labor charges are involved.
I hope this article will help you out in making a decision if you personally ever have to deal with this problem.
For Dodge and Chrysler
Needing to replace a remote head key can be exspensive problem. Whether the problem is a worn or broken key blade or broken shell we can fix your problem economically. Steve’s Lock Out is now providing replacement remote shells for Chrysler, Dodge and Plymouth remote head keys for a fraction of the cost of a new remote head key.
These are the shell and blade only. There is no chip or remote contained in these. The board and buttons will have to be removed from your key and placed into the new shell and the blade cut to your key to work your vehicle. Shells are available for 3, 4, 5 and 6 button remotes head keys.
If a new shell can’t fix your problem we also can provide, cut and program new remote head keys. We also sell the new ”Pod” keys as well as a plethora of other auto keys and remotes.
Winter weather is here. It’s been rather odd here in the mid-west, nothing like what we are used to. Here’s a quick winter weather tip for you…….
Have an extra door key made for your car/truck. Keep it on a separate key ring in a different pocket. When you go out to start your car on these wintry mornings to warm it up and defrost the ice and snow you won’t be locked out when your vehicle “automatically” locks on you when you least expect it.
Uh oh…..you’ve lock your keys in your car. Who do you call? There are literally dozens of places that unlock vehicles, however, not all of them offer as professional a service as they should. I unlocks hundreds of cars a year and hear the stories all the time of how “the last guy” broke this or that while he was opening the car.
I just have to throw this little story in here of a lockout I will always remember. It was late at night and we received the call. I don’t even remember what kind of car it was. It was a late 80′s “something”. What I do remember is the following: The lady on the other end of the line said,”Don’t be alarmed by all the blood”. My wife and I exchanged glances at this point. And when we arrived at the scene there was blood….alotof blood. I had to straddle a pool of it to open the car. It turns out that the last gentleman that had been attempting to open the car sliced his arm with the tool he was using to try to open it. He was currently out at the emergency room of Labette County Medical Center.
I want to let you know that it is not necessary for your car to be damaged to be opened. Steve’s Lock Out may charge a small amount more, however, is 5 or 10 bucks worth having your car damaged over? We do realize that there are a few situations where this is not possible, but these are maybe 1 out of 300. I have no statics on this I was just throwing a number out there. The point is they are very few. One example would be when all the linkage has been disconnected by attempted openings by someone who did not know how to open the car. This is not usually the case, normally we can open these without damage even in this situation. On some vehicles aftermarket window tint may be an issue when using what is called an under-the-window tool. This is a tool that goes down in the door, under the window and back up on the other side of the window into the car to access the lock/unlock button.
Something else you may want to consider is most roadside companies use the absolutely lowest priced service they can find. Nine times out of ten that translates to the sevice with the least amount of experience and training. And many times you will have an extended wait time. With some companies you may be able to pick your own locksmith, get a receipt and be reimbursed. You do need to inquire with your roadside company first, if not authorized by them you may be left holding the bag.
Steve’s Lock Out has been unlocking cars for over 10 years now. Next time you need your car unlocked in the south east Kansas area you may want to give us a call. 620-421-3534.
I recently received some new high security picks.
It had needed to be done for quite some time so I finally did it. Knowing how easily I could get into my own van without a key always has made me a little uneasy so I did something about it. I’m not sure if it is really this easy for most people, however, working from a locksmiths point of view I cannot ignore it.
I made my decision to use Master Padlock’s 6271 Hidden Shackle padlock. These used with Master’s 770 heavy duty hidden shackle hasp is really a force to be reconned with.
I was a little leary. It required me to drill holes in my service van which is something I’m not real hip on. I got out my drill and took my time. It really took longer than I thought it would. One big obsticle was that the edge of the door was in the exact spot where I needed to tighten down the nut on the backside of the door skin. With careful use of a dremel tool this was alleviated.
Inside of the van door notched for clearence of the bolts
After drilling and cutting I used some touch up paint to make the job look better and to hopefully stop the beginning of any rust that might occur. I also used some clear silcone applied to the back of the hasp to keep any rain or other liquid from getting under the hasp and running inside the door. I also used hardened bolts to make the combination of hasp and lock that much stronger.
Too many keys? Ya, too many keys….hanging out of your cars ignition.
We’ve touched on reasons for auto ignition failures before and heres another bit of information to make your car that much more worry free.
Heavy or or overstuffed key rings are probably the largest contributor to auto ignition failure. Imagine if you would taking 2 pieces of metal and rubbing them together for a couple of minutes. OK not much happens here. Now take those same pieces of metal and rub them together a couple of hours a day and do that every day for a couple of months. Notice anything now. Not that you are really going to do this, but imagine what would happen to them if you did. You would most likely see substantial wear on them. Much the same thing happens in your car’s ignition and key when you have a heavy key ring. Fixing the key isn’t too bad. Most locksmiths can cut you a key back to factory specifications and have you on your way in a reasonably short amount of time and at not too much expense. If you have a “chip” key the cost can go up substantially. However, when an ignition fails it can be a whole new ball game. Ignitions, even ones that don’t use chip keys can be quite expensive. Most brands of autos use the same ignition for cars with and without chip keys. The difference is the antenna near the ignition that picks up the signal from the key.
Locksmiths are not the only ones who fix ignitions. Some mechanics do as well. The difference is most mechanics will put in a randomly keyed ignition and you end up with 2 keys to what should be a one key car. A locksmith, well I can’t say all, but most will key the new ignition back to the original key so you still have a one key car.
I will admit that there are several autos out there that have ignitions in them that are prone to premature failure no matter how careful you are. And failure doesn’t necessarily mean that the ignition will not turn on. I’ve replaced many GM ignitions that failed due to a sensor in the lock. In this case the key will turn on, however, you get a “no crank” situation and a blinking “theft” indicator on the instrument cluster.
Some ways to keep from causing to much wear on your ignition are.
Quick Release Key Ring
We do not advise simply leaving your key in the ignition in your car. This is just inviting auto theft and many insurance companies will not cover a claim when an auto is stolen in this situation.