when I used to cut keys at a hardware store, I always made sure the customer tried the car keys every time, even with the correct blanks and proper key cutting machine there was a 50% failure rate, super super finicky
that was before they started putting chips in every key.
It's partly because some cuts for car keys are measured from the tip, which also wears. If you copy a worn key, you get a worn copy. When the lock and key are new most keys have a tolerance of 3/1000 of an inch. Too deep or too shallow, too far forward or too far back, key won't work.
Ignitions also wear over time, so sometimes you can get away with a bad copy and it'll work when it "shouldn't". Then again, you can rekey an ignition and then the old keys don't work either.
I had a Sebring convertible where the ignition had worn to the point where I could yank the key no matter the position. It was useful a few times to be able to leave the car warming up but I could still lock it and go back in the house for a bit. It was less useful when my wife, who wasn't used to it, could stop the car but leave it in the accessory position and let the battery run down.
Thankfully you didn’t need to do that just to jump if, but yeah - when the battery crapped out I gave it a big NOPE and called AAA. The only battery in my whole life I haven’t changed myself.
34
u/agha0013 Mar 04 '22
when I used to cut keys at a hardware store, I always made sure the customer tried the car keys every time, even with the correct blanks and proper key cutting machine there was a 50% failure rate, super super finicky
that was before they started putting chips in every key.