Honda’s high security “laser cut” keys are notorious for failure, in two different ways. The most common is with their remote head keys. There are four parts that make up the key: the metal key blade, the remote/buttons, the transponder chip (sometimes integrated into the remote), and the plastic shell. The design of the key relies on a very thin strip of weak plastic, with a tiny screw, to resist the weight of the keyring it’s attached to and the torque used to start the car. Unsurprisingly, they snap at this point and the key blade falls out. If this happens to your key, don’t superglue it! It may hold for a little while but it will eventually work loose.
If you have the key blade and all the guts (remote and transponder chip) we can re-shell it. It costs far less than a whole new key because we take the guts out of the broken key and put it into a new plastic shell with a new key blade. Our replacement shells are an aftermarket brand designed to correct the weak point of these keys. They are a heavier duty plastic that snaps together without any screws. If your remote wasn’t working because of a dead battery, we’ll include that as well.
The second most common failure in Hondas is the ignition lock cylinder. We receive calls every week from Honda drivers whose keys are hard to put into or take out of the ignition, they have to wiggle the key to make it turn, or their key stopped working entirely. These locks are made with tumblers that require sharp corners to make contact with the key blade. Sharp corners that wear off after years of use, eventually causing jamming which prevents the lock from turning.
Brand new ignitions are expensive as they are only available at auto part stores with the complete housing and steering wheel lock. They’re also difficult to remove. And if you simply replace the ignition then you have separate keys for the door and ignition, and you have to get those new keys programmed so they’ll start the car. A less expensive and troublesome alternative to replacing them is to have it rebuilt. When we rebuild the ignition lock cylinder we remove it for you, replace the worn tumblers, clean and lubricate it, and reinstall it. We’ll also re-shell your existing keys with a new key blade cut to factory specifications. No hardware has to be replaced, we use your existing keys so there’s no programming, and the same key works the door and ignition.
If you notice your Honda key is becoming hard to turn or the plastic is starting to crack, don’t get stranded! The cost of rebuilding is location dependent- if you catch it early and are able to drive it to a location convenient to us it’ll be less expensive. We offer free quotes for ignition rebuilds and broken key repairs over the phone.
