Lost car keys

Qwiksilver

jimmo wrote: »

When a friend of mine lost a set of keys his car insurance would cover the car keys, not the house keys and his house insurance would cover the house keys, not the car keys. In both cases the insurance excess was more than the cost of replacing the locks so he took it no further. However, as he asked the question, each insurer recorded it as an incident. It certainly increased his car insurance on renewal. I don't remember whether it affected his house insurance.
Technically its probably wrong not to inform your insurer (and BMW locks could well cost a lot more than Mondeo locks) but I wouldn't bother.

Thats my concern Jimmo.

Geoff1963

You definitely need a means to immobilise it, until the key can be unlearnt. There are dozens of ways to do that, with varying ease of setting and resetting. Either that, or leave it at a different location ( ideally also a secure one ).

Make sure everything is removed, and maybe leave the compartments open ( like shop tills, and parked lorries ) so there is obviously nothing to take.

Can you find someone with a metal detector to do a sweep of the drive and your route into the house?

If the key is passive, it unlocks the door by : a pull on the handle sends out a radio call that the key responds to. Suitable equipment would therefore allow it to be found some distance away, but I'm not sure who would have that.

If it does ever turn up, it can probably be programmed back again, although you might by then have changed the mechanical lock.

Qwiksilver

Car is well blocked in on the drive Geoff. No chance of it being taken in the meantime and I have emptied it of anthing remotely valuable.
Key is thankfully not passive.

Tiexen

Qwiksilver wrote: »

Good evening all,

I would appear to have lost my car key. I have serached high and low (even gone through the bins!!). It suspect it may have fallen out my pocket onto my drive (no other rational explanation to be honest) as i have not been anywhere else since i came home and it is most definately not in the house. Luckily i have a spare.
The questions are
1 .Do I need to let my insurance know?
2. Can I disable the lost key in any way (I fear someone may have found it on my drive and perhaps has nefarious intentions)
3. Do I go through the main dealer or try some of the auto locksmiths that inhabit google search to obtain a replacement ?

Many thanks in advance.

Sherlock Holmes said:
"Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth."

So have your searched under the car seats - door pockets etc, will the car start without the "other key" being near? then retrace your steps from getting out of the car to finding the keys gone.

I also think if anyone had found your keys with the intention of stealing your car they would have taken it - before you found out.

chrisw

Qwiksilver wrote: »

It is push start so no ignition.

Does the fob go in a slot in the dash, or is it keyless where the fob only needs to be nearby?

If it's keyless, see if the car starts, in which case the key/fob is either somewhere in the car or nearby.

It happened to me and the fob had fell out my pocket down between the seat and centre console and was almost impossible to see.

LeafGreen

My mobile slipped out of my pocket recently, somehow slid down/under the drivers seat, even on first look I didn't find it, so definitely worth getting in the back of the car and having a good rummage around, even if you have already looked once.

Qwiksilver

It is keyless and does not start when I attempted it which confirms that key is not nearby.

Nodding_Donkey

Did you get out of the car at all on your journey home with the engine running where the key could have been lost?

Geoff1963

Is it a design where you use the key to lock the door ?
If so, it can't be in the car.

Is it a design where the door locks itself when you get out ?
If so, it can't be in the car.

Did you get out of the car at all on your journey home with the engine running where the key could have been lost?

Is it a design where if the engine is running, and the key moves away, a warning is put on the dash ?

Richard53

Geoff1963 wrote: »

Is it a design where if the engine is running, and the key moves away, a warning is put on the dash ?

On my wife's Focus, if the holder of the key got out, the dashboard went mad with bongs and warning messages about 'key out of range'. Impossible to miss.