Emergency Lockouts · Aurora
Broken Key Extraction
The key went in like any other morning, you turned it, and something gave with a small metallic click. The bow is still between your fingers.
Call now · open 24/7(289) 802-6293In plain words
A car key that breaks in the door or the ignition is handled with the same extraction tools, with one difference. On most vehicles the plastic head of the key carries the transponder chip and the remote buttons, and that half is usually intact in your hand. Once the blade is drawn out of the lock, a new blade can often be cut and fitted to the existing head, so the chip keeps talking to the car without reprogramming. The ignition wafers are checked for disturbance and the steering lock is confirmed free. Proof of ownership is asked for before work begins.
How the visit goesA roommate tried to help with tweezers, then by gluing the other half to it. The fragment is now further in than it started, there is dried glue around the keyway, and the front door still does not open.
Broken Key Extraction · Aurora
How the visit goes
- 1
Locked or unlocked right now
Whether the bolt is thrown changes the order of work. If the door is locked, extraction is the first half and getting you inside is the second; the locksmith plans both so the door is opened with the least fuss once the keyway is clear. If the key broke while you were locking up and the door is open, the priority reverses: the fragment comes out and the door is made secure before anything else is discussed, so you can leave when you need to. On a vehicle the same question applies to the door and, separately, to whether the ignition turns.
- 2
When the piece is standing proud
A fragment that shows above the cylinder face looks like the easy case, and it is, provided nobody pushes on it. The locksmith grips it with fine-jawed extractor pliers or needle-point tweezers made for the purpose, steadies the cylinder with the other hand, and pulls straight out along the line of the keyway. If it resists, the plug is checked for rest position rather than the pull being increased, because a piece forced against lifted pins can bend them. A trace of dry lubricant at the keyway entrance eases a tight fit. The piece comes out whole, and the lock is ready to test.
- 3
A cylinder that has been looked after
Extraction usually doubles as a service. The keyway has been blown clear of grit and salt, the pins and springs checked for wear, the cylinder cap snugged if it had loosened, and dressed with the lubricant its maker specifies rather than a one-size-fits-all product, since some cylinders take a dry graphite or PTFE spray and others forbid graphite outright. General household oils and sprays commonly collect dust and clog the pin chambers. A puff of the right lubricant twice a year, spring and fall, keeps the cylinder turning freely, and a key that starts to need force is an early message worth acting on before it breaks.
In the van
- Replacement cylinder or deadbolt
- Hook key extractors
- Fine-jawed extractor pliers
- Vehicle key blades and chip shells
- Tension tool for resetting the plug
What affects the quote
- 1
Removing the cylinder to free it
A deep or bound fragment may need the cylinder taken off the door and the plug pushed out from behind on the bench. That disassembly and reassembly is quoted on its own.
- 2
Anything added since the break
Glue, a second key or marks from a screwdriver mean clearing and sometimes repair before extraction can start, and that added time is named in the quote.
- 3
Condition of the cylinder
Worn pins, a loose cap, grit or corrosion found after the piece is out may call for a service, a rekey or a new cylinder, each explained and quoted separately.
Same fees day, night or weekend.
Broken Key Extraction: questions
Can you extract a key from a padlock, mailbox or filing cabinet?
Yes. Small cylinders in padlocks, mailboxes, desk drawers, filing cabinets and cam locks on lockers hold a fragment the same way a door does, and the same slim hooks and spirals fit them. Their keyways are narrower, so it is finer work. Where a padlock is not worth saving, the locksmith will say so and offer a cut-off and a new padlock keyed to your preference instead.
My car key snapped in the door. Is that a locksmith job?
Yes. Vehicle door locks and ignitions use wafer cylinders that respond to the same extractor tools. Once the blade is out, the plastic head you are holding, which carries the transponder chip and any remote buttons, can usually take a freshly cut blade so the car keeps recognizing it. The ignition is checked as well, since a broken key sometimes disturbs the wafers.
What information helps when I call?
What the key was in: a front door deadbolt, a knob, a padlock, the driver's door or the ignition. Whether any of the key shows above the face. Whether the key turned before it broke and whether the door is locked now. Whether anything has been inserted since. Whether you have the other half, a spare or the key code. And whether the property is owned, rented or managed.
Lockout Services
EmergencyHome Lockout ServiceIt is minus fifteen, the wind is coming across the driveway, and the key will only go halfway into the deadbolt.
EmergencyBusiness Lockout ServiceThe heavy glass door has been scraping the threshold for weeks.
EmergencyBreak-In Damage Lock RepairThe shop's aluminum door has a bent meeting stile and the hookbolt is jammed half out.
EmergencySeized & Jammed Lock OpeningIt is the coldest morning of the winter and the key goes halfway into the side door and stops.
EmergencyLost Keys — Same-Visit RekeyA roommate moved out on bad terms and says the key was left on the counter.
York, Ontario
Aurora information
- Town
- Aurora, York, Ontario
- In business
- 13 years
- Hours
- Open 24/7 · nights, weekends and holidays, same fees
- Phone
- (289) 802-6293
- Visits
- On-site assessment preferred. Request a visit or call.
What the census means at the door
22%
Newer homes. About 22% of homes in Aurora were built in 1980 or earlier, according to the 2021 Census.
Households in newer homes are often keen on keypads, fobs and phone-controlled locks. Standard doors make installation straightforward, and the locksmith spends more of the visit setting codes and pairing devices than on carpentry.
60%
Mostly houses. Single-detached houses make up about 60% of homes in Aurora (2021 Census).
Garage entry doors on detached houses are often the household's real front door, used more than the formal entry. They deserve the same quality of lock, and keying them alike with the house means one key does the whole daily routine.
Open 24/7
Request a visit
The key went in like any other morning, you turned it, and something gave with a small metallic click.
Call now · open 24/7(289) 802-6293- On-site assessment preferred
- Same fees day, night or weekend
- 13 years in business