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Lost Both Car Keys? Here Is What Actually Happens Next

May 14, 2026

Losing one car key is an errand. Losing both is a different problem, and the difference is worth understanding before you start making calls, because the route you choose in the first ten minutes determines most of what happens afterward.

Why losing both keys changes the job

When you still have one working key, a locksmith can usually cut and program a second one directly from it. Fast and straightforward.

With no key at all, the vehicle has to be accessed, the immobiliser data read, and a new key created and programmed to that specific car from scratch. Modern keys are small computers paired to one vehicle. There is no such thing as a blank that simply works.

The part most people do not budget for

Here is what catches people out: a dealership generally cannot come to you. If your keys are gone and the car is at home, at work, or in a parking garage, the dealer route usually begins with towing the vehicle in.

So the comparison is rarely dealer price against locksmith price. It is dealer price plus towing plus however many days the car sits there, against a mobile locksmith who works at the vehicle where it already is. That structural difference is why the mobile route is so often the practical choice, not because anyone is undercutting anyone, but because one route includes a tow truck and lost days and the other does not.

We will not quote a number on a web page, because the honest answer depends on the vehicle, the year and the type of key. You get the price on the phone, before anyone is dispatched.

What you will be asked to prove

Any locksmith who creates a key to a car without being sure it is your car is doing something they should not. Expect to show:

Photo identification
Registration, title or insurance card showing the vehicle is yours
The vehicle identification number, which is visible through the windscreen

If a company does not ask for any of this, that tells you something about how they operate generally. The paperwork is not bureaucracy. It is the thing standing between your car and anyone who fancies it.

Have this ready before you call

Year, make and model
Whether it uses a turn key, a remote head key, or push button start
Whether the car is locked, and whether anything is inside it
Exactly where the vehicle is standing

Those four answers are what allow a real price over the phone. Push button start and traditional keys are different jobs with different equipment, and the year matters more than people expect.

While you are at it, make the spare

The moment you have a working key again is the easiest moment you will ever have to make a second one. It is a short job, done at the same visit, and it turns any future loss back into an errand rather than a day off work.

Most people do not do this, and most people who have lost both keys once will tell you it is the first thing they did differently afterward.

One thing worth checking first

Before assuming the keys are gone for good, check whether the car is simply not detecting them. Push button vehicles with a flat key battery behave very much like a car whose key has vanished. A replacement battery is a two dollar fix, and it is worth ruling out before anyone is called.

Home Advisor Locksmith is licensed and insured and works across Miami and Miami-Dade County. Call (786) 777-9529.