Another ? for car people

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

So after locking my keys in my car yesterday, I decided to go out and get some spare keys made.

I tried the spares in the door and trunk locks--they worked just fine.

I tried them in the ignition--they didn't work. I also tried the spare key I used to get in the car yesterday, and that didn't work in the ignition either.

My car is a 2002 Saturn and it has something called "automotive theft protection", which I'm thinking might have something to do with this.

So what's up? Did the keys get miscut? Or do I have to have a special key made up someplace that will work in the ignition?

Thanks in advance.

[Kogarashi]

I knew someone in Utah who had something that sounds very similar to this. Theirs was even a Saturn. There's probably a chip or similar in your original key that tells the ignition it's "okay" to start up. The copied keys won't have this and so the ignition won't actually start. You'll probably have to get an ignition duplicate made at a Saturn dealer.

Alternatively, you could do what Hubby and I have. We have a black magnetic box with an emergency key in it tucked up under the rear bumper where no one can see it (it blends in with the car's framework), just in case we lock our keys in the car. I've had to use it only once, and made sure there was no one around when I fished it out. This would be perfect for one of your copies, since they won't start the car anyway. You can use it to unlock your car, then use the actual ignition key to start it.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Actually, I figured out the problem--the farm store I had the key cut at didn't do a good enough job. Their machine must've been on the blink or something.

I returned those keys, went over to the Ace hardware store in town, and had them made. Cost a little more but they work fine.

I called a local Saturn dealership to find out if I needed key codes or if my key had a transponder in it, and they told me it didn't.

[Evil Queen]

I have a Saturn too. We should form a club.

[BrightEyedKitty]

Pround new owner of an 04 Ion here.

[Terinka]

if the key has a chip in it it wont start the car, but yeah it ill work perfectly fine unlocking the door , so best suggestion is dealer
they should have a little device to check for the chip before they make the key though, thats what i always do and inform my costumers too

[El Pollo Guerrera]

Alternatively, you could do what Hubby and I have. We have a black magnetic box with an emergency key in it tucked up under the rear bumper where no one can see it (it blends in with the car's framework), just in case we lock our keys in the car. I've had to use it only once, and made sure there was no one around when I fished it out. This would be perfect for one of your copies, since they won't start the car anyway. You can use it to unlock your car, then use the actual ignition key to start it.

I used to do this, but the roads up where I live are bumpy and I lost 3 of those little black boxes... somewhere.

Now I keep a copy in my wallet, because I always have my wallet with me.

[Terinka]

I would be afraid to have the magnetic key case... once i saw a guy going around the cars in the parking lot with some tool what looked kind of like metal detector . I might be wrong, but you never know these days

[Kogarashi]

if the key has a chip in it it wont start the car, but yeah it ill work perfectly fine unlocking the door , so best suggestion is dealer
they should have a little device to check for the chip before they make the key though, thats what i always do and inform my costumers too

I don't know what kind of tool that guy would be using, but a metal detector should be pretty useless at finding the spare key under the chassis. One tiny key shouldn't register unless the whole car registers first.

As for bumpy roads, our key case seems to have a super-strong magnet on it, because it's hard enough to budge when I do need to grab it off of there.

[Terinka]

oh ok, i didnt realize that . thanks!

[It shouldn't]

Locksmith here..... (about to get technical)

I tried the spares in the door and trunk locks--they worked just fine.
I tried them in the ignition--they didn't work.

Saturns have a 8 cut system, but only the ignition uses all 8 cuts on the key. Doors and trunk only use 6 out of the 8 cuts. So if they messed up on the last 2 cuts, it won't work in the ign.

There's probably a chip or similar in your original key that tells the ignition it's "okay" to start up

Even if the key did have a transponder (which '02 Saturns don't) the key would still turn in the ignition, the engine just wouldn't go vroom.

I used to do this, but the roads up where I live are bumpy and I lost 3 of those little black boxes... somewhere.

Drill a 1/4 - 1/2" hole in the head of the key (not recommended for transponder keys, since you are liable to mess up the electronics in the head of the key) and put it under the license plate, holding it there with the license plate screw through the drillede hole. You can always get the screw out with a quater or a nickel or soemthing.

I don't know what kind of tool that guy would be using, but a metal detector should be pretty useless at finding the spare key under the chassis. One tiny key shouldn't register unless the whole car registers first

Most keys are made of brass. Brass is not magnetic, so it won't register on a metal dedector, anyhoo.

[wolfie]

I would be afraid to have the magnetic key case... once i saw a guy going around the cars in the parking lot with some tool what looked kind of like metal detector . I might be wrong, but you never know these days

The tool might have been looking for magnetic fields. It would look a lot like a metal detector (coil on the end of a stick), but what would trigger it would be the magnetic field from the "spare key" box.