Half the key is in your hand and half is stuck in the ignition or door. The next few minutes matter — the wrong move can push the broken piece deeper or damage the lock. Here is what helps, what hurts, and how extraction actually works.
Keys rarely snap without warning. Most have been bending, sticking, or needing a wiggle for weeks. Metal fatigues at the narrowest point of the blade, especially on older keys that have been copied several times, used to open packages, or forced in a stiff ignition. Cold mornings, a worn ignition cylinder, and a heavy key ring hanging from the key all add stress. When the break finally happens, it usually happens while turning — which is why the broken piece so often ends up inside the ignition, not on the ground.
A key that needs jiggling to turn is asking for attention. Getting a fresh key cut to the original pattern at that stage is far simpler than extracting a broken one later.
A fragment in a door lock is inconvenient, but you can often still drive the car with a spare and deal with the door later. A fragment in the ignition is different — the car is not going anywhere until it is out, and the ignition cylinder contains more delicate parts than a door lock. Steering lock, ignition switch alignment, and the transponder ring around the cylinder all sit in that same area, so extraction there needs a gentler, more precise approach.
Push-to-start cars are not immune either. Their emergency key blade, hidden inside the fob, can break in the door lock the same way a traditional key can.
Extraction is not pulling harder — it is getting a thin, hooked or barbed tool past the fragment so it can be drawn out along the same path it went in, without disturbing the pins around it. The method depends on how deep the piece sits, whether the cylinder was turned after the break, and how much of the blade is accessible. Once the fragment is out, the cylinder is tested with a working key. In many cases the lock itself is undamaged and no replacement is needed.
After extraction, you still need a key that starts the car. If you have the broken halves, a new key can often be cut from that pattern and, on chipped keys, programmed to the vehicle. See how that second step works on our car key replacement and ignition repair pages.
In those cases the honest answer may be repairing or replacing the ignition cylinder, then cutting and programming keys to match. A good specialist explains which situation you are in before any work starts, with the price quoted up front.
Replace a key that bends, sticks, or needs a wiggle — do not wait for it to snap. Keep heavy key rings off your car key, and get a spare made while you still have a working key. A spare made now is a straightforward duplicate; a replacement after a break plus extraction is a bigger job in every way.
Lock to Lock provides mobile broken key extraction and replacement across Metro Atlanta — including Peachtree Corners, Norcross, Duluth, Sandy Springs, Roswell, and Marietta — at your car, with no tow.
Mention this website when you call for 10% off any service.
We extract the broken piece at your car, cut and program a replacement, and test it before we leave — upfront pricing, no tow to a dealer.
Fill out this quick form and get your discount code instantly — 10% off any service we offer. Need a spare? Take 50% off a second key for the same vehicle when we make it during the same visit.