Ignition Key

jeepjoe43

jeepjoe43

YJ Enthusiast
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Black Canyon City, AZ 85324
Does anyone know if a locksmith can get the original ignition key pattern from the VIN?
Had a close call yesterday as my keys went missing at my buddies shop when I went to bring her home.
They were later found, I'm just curious for future reference.
 
jeepjoe43 said:
Does anyone know if a locksmith can get the original ignition key pattern from the VIN?
Had a close call yesterday as my keys went missing at my buddies shop when I went to bring her home.
They were later found, I'm just curious for future reference.
Click to expand...
Don’t think they can from the VIN, I believe that’s secure dealer-only info. But usually they can insert some sort of feelers and inside and figure out what you have. I don’t understand how it works but redneck garage (locksmith) on YouTube rekeyed all cylinders in his YJ to his factory key I believe, and did so by using those feeler things to figure out what he had so he knew how he needed to key the others.

no clue how it works, but call a good locksmith and they should be able to figure it out.

Could also just get a copy of the existing key made. Not always precise but usually works.
 
I had a locksmith make a key from a locked lock I lost the key to. He used a Dykem type fluid on a blank and gently worked the key in the tumbler. The lock innards left missing dykem which is where he gently filed the key pattern till it unlocked the lock. Just be glad we dont have one of the "chipped" ignitions. Im sure things have lightened up since they came out but we needed to have several keys made for our ford work trucks and they pretty pricey little gems.
 
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There are simple to use decoder tools for doing that, the problem is they're very make-model-series specific. So finding someone who has the right one might be tough.

Some auto locks are easy to take apart and decode manually, others much less so.
 
I'll be marching my butt into ACE and getting copies of the original.
Having not driven it much I never gave it a second thought.

I was pretty pissed when I got home because I knew where I had left them.
3 hours and a 6 pack later, I get a call that they'd been found, Whew...(they got moved)
Bringing the Jeep home was the ONLY thing I had planned for this weekend.
 
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