Upon seeing this title, you might immediately be thinking that today’s blog is about giving assistance to car thieves and other unsavory characters. Far from it! We are offering help and advice to those who might, for whatever reason, have lost or misplaced their keys or otherwise find themselves without the key to their car. Is there a way for them to get started without it? Are we talking about “hotwiring” the car here? Read on to learn more.

Why Would You Need to Start a Car Without a Key?

Let’s begin today’s blog by considering the main reasons one might even get themselves into a situation where they needed to start their car in this unusual way.

You’ve Lost Your Keys

The first and most common scenario is that you have misplaced your keys, or someone has taken them by mistake and you don’t have spares. However it has come about is irrelevant, because the result is the same, which is that you have a car you need to start, but no keys to do that with.

You Have a Bad Ignition Switch

The second scenario is that you do have a key, but it’s not working because even if you turn the key, the switch is not prompting the flow of electricity into the ignition systems as it should be. It takes the combination of turning your key and the ignition switch kicking in for the engine to start up. If the switch is bad, your key is essentially as useless as having no key at all.

What are the Different Types of Car Keys?

Back in the 1990s and early 2000s, just about all car keys were the same. The only variation that came into the mainstream back then was a remote key fob that you could use to open the central locking system, and lock the car after getting out. In 2022, however, there are key types galore:

Traditional

Even with the emergence of newer keys and car starting technologies, traditional keys have stood the test of time and are still with us, either in the older models that people still have on the road, or in the more basic new car models that people drive that still rely on regular turn-key starting.

Traditional (Remote-Controlled)

As mentioned earlier, these are the traditional keys that come with a remote for locking and unlocking the car from a distance. These key fobs worked using a basic infrared signal system.

Chip (Transponder) Key

Chip keys were developed as a response to a demand for more secure ways of accessing cars. These chip keys didn’t look any different from regular keys with the main difference being its built-in signal chip that combined with the receiver on the ignition coil.

Rolling Codes Transponder Key

This was a more advanced version of the chip key. These transponder keys used a freshly generated code each time the button was pressed as opposed to the same preset one used in regular chip/transponder keys. This prevented smart criminals from predicting what the signal would be and creating a cloned version of it.

Smart Key

Smart keys first arrived on the scene in 1998 from Mercedes-Benz — just another thing that Mercedes was doing before everyone else. These are keys that can be detected by your car when you’re in close proximity. This means you don’t need to take the keys out of your pocket or bag to unlock or start the car. If the right key is detected, all the functions will work.

Digital Key

This is the latest key technology introduced in 2020 by BMW. This is a key that uses NFC technology to turn your smartphone into your car key. Using BMW’s app, drivers were able to share the key with trusted individuals.

What Are the Main Ways You Can Start a Car Without a Key?

The first thing you need to expect as we answer this question is that starting your car without the key will be a pretty tricky business. That’s how cars are designed. If it were a simple matter to start cars without keys being either used or detected, then cars could be stolen from their parked locations constantly.

1. Using Screwdriver and Hammer

This is possibly the simplest method in our list, but also can potentially damage your car, so great care is needed. The idea is to use the screwdriver and hammer to disable the lock pin and get the car started. If you damage the mechanism, however, you might end up needing the entire ignition system replaced.

One method here involves hammering a screwdriver right into the ignition lock, which will break the pins in the cylinder and allow you essentially to turn the screwdriver like keys to start. Another method involves using a flathead screwdriver placed at the top and center of your steering column. Once there, you apply pressure to the screwdriver right where the gap is separating the steering wheel column and wheel. From there you can get access to the solenoid and start the car that way.

2. Hotwiring

This is always made to look very easy in movies, but it’s more complex than it looks, and can be dangerous which is why you should only ever attempt this while wearing proper safety gloves. The first step is to remove the screws holding the steering column casing in place. With the screws gone, your flathead screwdriver should now be able to pry open the casing, exposing the ignition cylinder and wires connecting to it.

Look for the battery and starter wires. You can confirm which they are by looking in your car’s manual. Cut the power lines from the cylinders, strip the ends and then connect them by twisting the metal ends together. That gives your car’s system power. Next, cut the starter wires, strip the ends, and then touch them together WITHOUT touching the exposed wire – the current in them is live.

3. Get Under the Hood

For those who are more au fait with all the systems that lie under the hood, one more method available to you is to pop the hood and look for the red coil wire. Once you’ve found it you can attach it to the positive terminal of the battery to provide power to the dashboard. If you can then locate the starter solenoid, you also connect that up to the positive battery terminal before removing the ignition switch wire from the solenoid and shorting the positive post with a screwdriver.

4. Using the Passive RF Chip (Keyless/Smart Key Systems)

Keyless systems typically come with a failsafe built in to allow you to use them even when their batteries are dead or they are otherwise not working. Inside the device is placed a passive RF chip that if placed in close proximity to your “Start Engine” button should be detected and allow you to start up the vehicle.

Some EVs like Teslas will allow you to start the car from your smartphone as long as the phone has been programmed as a connected key in advance.

How Much Does it Cost to Get Car Keys Replaced?

The one other downside of the advancing technology when it comes to car keys is that their replacements have become more expensive than ever! Replacing a traditional car key might not cost more than $20 or so, but replacing a modern smart key can cost up to $400, especially if you’re forced to go back to the dealership to get them, which you invariably are. On average, you should budget between $100-200 to replace a lost set of smart keys for push-button starts, and $50-100 for a more regular key fob from a dealership.

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