Hear from Our Customers
Your key fob quits working right when you need your car. Maybe you’re in your driveway in Erwinna with a trunk full of groceries going bad. Maybe you’re at work near Upper Black Eddy and you’ve got somewhere to be. The dealership wants $400 and can’t fit you in until Thursday. That’s not acceptable.
We show up where your car is sitting – your house, your workplace, a parking lot – with everything needed to cut and program a new key fob on the spot. Most jobs wrap up in 20 to 30 minutes. You’re not calling friends for rides or paying a tow truck to haul your car 40 miles to the nearest dealer.
You get a programmed key fob that starts your car and unlocks your doors, tested before we leave. Then you drive away. The whole thing costs roughly half what dealerships charge, and you didn’t lose a day of your life sitting in a service department waiting room.
Our family has been solving lock problems since the late 1800s. Not a hundred and some years – over 140 years. Tom McCausland and his daughter Chrissy run the fourth generation of what’s now the largest locksmith operation in the Delaware Valley, based out of our full storefront in Prospect Park.
We serve all of Tinicum and surrounding Bucks County with mobile units stocked with key fobs, programming equipment, and cutting tools for most makes and models. When you call, you’re working with a family business that’s been trusted by local residents longer than cars have existed. We know the area – the rural roads around Tinicum, the longer distances to reach big-city dealerships, the fact that being without your car out here isn’t just inconvenient, it’s a real problem.
You tell us your vehicle’s year, make, and model. That tells us which key fob you need and whether it’s already in our van. Most of the time it is. If it’s something less common, we’ll tell you the timeline upfront.
We schedule a time that works for you, usually same-day. Our locksmith drives to wherever your car is – your driveway, your workplace, anywhere in Tinicum. You’re not arranging how to get a car with a dead key fob to a shop.
Once we arrive, we handle the key fob replacement from start to finish. If your fob has an emergency key blade, we cut it. Then we program the new fob to communicate with your car’s computer using the same diagnostic equipment dealerships use. This is the critical part – without proper programming, a key fob is just a plastic shell. The transponder chip or smart key signal has to sync with your vehicle’s immobilizer system, or nothing works.
Programming typically takes 20 to 30 minutes. We test everything before we leave – locking, unlocking, starting the engine. If you lost your original fob and you’re concerned about security, we can erase the old one from your car’s memory during the same visit. That means whoever finds your lost key fob won’t be able to use it. You leave with a fresh fob that’s the only one that works with your vehicle.
Ready to get started?
You’re getting the physical key fob – either OEM from the manufacturer or a quality aftermarket option depending on your vehicle and what fits your budget. We cut the metal emergency key blade that’s tucked inside most fobs. And we program the fob so it actually works with your car.
That programming step is where the real expertise comes in. Your car’s computer needs to recognize the new fob’s transponder chip or smart key signal. Without the right diagnostic equipment and know-how, you’ve got an expensive paperweight. We bring that equipment to your location and handle the programming on-site, same as a dealership would do but without the dealership price tag or wait time.
For people in Tinicum, this setup makes a difference. You’re looking at longer drives to reach dealerships in bigger cities. If your key fob dies and you’re stuck at home near Point Pleasant or Uhlerstown, you don’t want to pay for a tow truck to drag your car 40-plus miles. We drive to you instead. That saves you the towing cost, the time arranging transportation, and the frustration of being without your vehicle for days while the dealer fits you into their schedule.
The total cost typically runs 30 to 50 percent less than dealership pricing. You’re not subsidizing their overhead or waiting behind everyone else who booked appointments two weeks ago. You pay for the fob, the programming, the mobile service, and nothing extra. Transparent pricing, same-day service, and you’re back on the road.
The cost depends on what type of key fob your vehicle uses. Basic transponder key fobs usually run between $100 and $200 for everything – the fob itself, cutting the key blade, and programming. Smart keys or proximity fobs for push-button start vehicles typically cost $150 to $300. Luxury vehicles or European makes can run higher because of specialized programming requirements and more expensive fobs.
Dealerships often charge $200 to $600 for the same work, and that’s before you calculate what your time is worth or what you’ll pay for a loaner car or rides while yours sits in their service queue. We’re usually 30 to 50 percent less than dealer pricing because you’re working directly with a locksmith, not paying dealer overhead and markup.
The price we quote includes the key fob, cutting the emergency blade if your fob has one, and programming the fob to sync with your car’s computer. No surprise fees for the mobile service call or equipment use. You get a working key fob for a straightforward, upfront price. If you need a key fob battery replacement down the road, that’s under $10 and takes minutes to swap out yourself, but the full replacement and programming service is what most people need when they call us.
Yes. Replacing a lost key fob without the original is one of the most common jobs we handle. You’ll need proof of vehicle ownership – your registration or title – so we can verify the car is actually yours. That’s standard procedure for any legitimate locksmith or dealer.
Once we confirm ownership, we access your vehicle’s immobilizer system and program a completely new key fob from scratch. We’re not cloning an existing fob – we’re creating a new one that your car will recognize. If you’re worried about security because someone might find your lost fob, we can erase the old one from your car’s memory during the same service call. After that, the lost fob won’t unlock your doors or start your engine even if someone tries to use it.
This process takes a bit longer than a standard replacement since we’re building new keys without a reference point, but most jobs still finish in under an hour. We bring all the diagnostic equipment and key fob inventory to your location in Tinicum. You don’t need to figure out how to get your car towed somewhere or borrow a vehicle to drive to a shop. We handle everything on-site, and you’re back in business the same day.
Most key fob programming jobs take 20 to 30 minutes once we arrive at your location. That timeframe includes cutting the emergency key blade if your fob has one and syncing the new fob with your car’s computer system.
Some vehicles are faster. Basic transponder keys on older models might only take 15 minutes start to finish. More complex smart key systems or vehicles with layered security features can take closer to 45 minutes or an hour. European luxury vehicles sometimes require additional steps that add time. We’ll give you a realistic estimate when you call based on your specific make and model.
The programming itself happens on-site using specialized diagnostic equipment that communicates directly with your vehicle’s immobilizer system. We’re not hauling your car to a shop or sending parts out to be programmed later. You wait while we complete the work, then we test the fob to make sure it locks, unlocks, and starts your vehicle correctly. The whole appointment from the time we arrive to the time you’re driving away usually wraps up in under an hour. That includes testing everything twice to make sure you’re not calling us back tomorrow with problems.
We handle key fob replacement and programming for most domestic and foreign vehicles. That includes the common makes you see around Tinicum – Ford, Chevrolet, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Jeep, Dodge, GMC, Hyundai, Subaru, and Kia. We also work on many luxury brands and have programming equipment for a wide range of vehicles.
Some European luxury vehicles with proprietary encryption require dealership-only programming because the manufacturers lock down access to the software. If your vehicle falls into that category, we’ll tell you upfront before you waste time or money. But that’s the exception, not the rule. We handle the vast majority of cars on the road today, including newer models with push-button start and smart key systems.
Our mobile vans stock key fobs and programming tools for the most common vehicles we see in the Tinicum and Delaware Valley area. If your vehicle needs a less common fob that we don’t have on hand, we can usually source it quickly and schedule a follow-up appointment within a day or two. We’ll let you know the timeline and cost before you commit to anything, so there are no surprises. The goal is to get you a working key fob as fast as possible without the runaround you’d get from a dealership.
If your key fob is responding inconsistently – you have to press buttons multiple times, or it only works when you’re standing right next to the car – there’s a good chance you just need a key fob battery replacement. Those batteries are cheap, usually under $10, and pretty straightforward to replace yourself.
Check your vehicle’s owner’s manual for the specific battery type, then grab a replacement at any hardware store, pharmacy, or auto parts shop. Most key fobs have a small seam where you can gently pry the case open with a flathead screwdriver or coin. Swap the old battery for the new one, making sure it’s seated correctly with the right polarity, then snap the case back together. The whole process takes a few minutes and doesn’t require any special tools.
However, if you replace the battery and the fob still doesn’t work, that’s when you need professional help. The problem could be a damaged circuit board, worn-out rubber buttons, water damage, or a synchronization issue between the fob and your car. Sometimes fobs need to be reprogrammed after a battery change, especially if they’ve been dropped or gotten wet. That’s where we come in – we can diagnose what’s actually broken and either repair the fob or replace it depending on what makes sense. If the circuit board is fried or the transmitter is dead, replacement is usually the better option than trying to patch together a failing fob that’ll quit on you again next month.
We stand behind the work we do. If there’s a problem with the programming or the key fob itself stops working after we’ve completed the service, we’ll make it right. The specific warranty terms depend on whether you choose an OEM fob or an aftermarket option, and we’ll walk you through that when we’re discussing your replacement options.
OEM key fobs – the ones that come directly from your vehicle’s manufacturer – typically have the strongest warranties because they’re built to exact factory specifications. Aftermarket fobs cost less and are still high quality from reputable suppliers, but the warranty coverage may differ slightly. We don’t use the cheap knockoffs you find on random websites that don’t work half the time. We source from established suppliers who back their products.
The programming work itself is guaranteed. If your newly programmed fob doesn’t sync properly with your vehicle or stops working due to a programming error on our end, we’ll fix it at no additional charge. We test everything thoroughly before we leave – locking, unlocking, remote start if your vehicle has it, push-button start functionality. You’re not going to be stuck with a fob that works for a day and then quits. If something goes wrong that’s related to our work, we handle it. That’s been our approach for over 140 years – do the job right, and take care of problems if they come up.
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