When Keys Don’t Work

Over time, keys wear down. Seems logical enough, yet we meet people all the time who say the same thing: “I don’t know why, it just stopped working!” This is probably largely due to the fact that we just expect our keys to work, our car to open, the engine to fire right up when we crank the key, and for life to go on exactly as planned. Nearly all of us have, however, come out to a car that won’t start on a cold Columbus morning, or one that simply does nothing due to a dead battery that was definitely working yesterday, or a number of other things that just can, and will, go wrong throughout the course of owning anything that comes with a set of keys.

There’s No Trick To It

If you find yourself wiggling your key to get the lock to work, then it is likely that your key is not long for this world. Often times, keys are not made to be an exact fit, just a pretty close one. This can happen at the manufacturer’s side, from an inattentive locksmith, and very commonly happens with keys made by businesses that have purchased a key replicator and staffed someone that has very little idea of how locks actually work to man it. Every key from a basic house key to a laser-cut key with a microchip embedded in it has a shelf life of some sort, largely determined by the maker of the key.

Either way, there is no trick to it. If your key is not working in the lock, it will never work properly again. You may be able to squeeze a couple more uses out of it by wiggling it, pushing just-so, or any other trick you have figured out to get in and get going, but we strongly recommend simply replacing it instead. If it’s already too late, and you need an emergency locksmith, please feel free to contact us right away for service anytime, 24/7.