Anyone heard of this? It sounded like a hoax to me, but I turned up this media reference:

http://www.wcpo.com/wcpo/localshows/...y/2a5f620.html

If you think about it, the only way anyone would be able to tell what style lock cylinder you had in your vehicle and in what series the tumblers were in, is the production number, and even then I <u>highly</u> doubt the VIN production numbers were produced with that kind of specificity. Of course, I can't say for sure one way or another sooo....

Maybe a naive dealer types the vin number into a database the automaker has for their make of vehicle?

At our company one of our guys lost all his keys to his truck and he called the dealership, went down with ID and the registration and they made (or gave) him a new key for 5 bucks.

my dad makes keys for cars sometimes...including the master key.. he told me that the master keys are not at all protected in any way and they have no idea how many he makes.. these keys will actually start any vehicle by a particluar manufacturer.

According to Snopes.com It's True....

Honestly, it doesn't surprise me. All it takes is an unsuspecting counter parts person...

Not quite the same deal, but my '98 ZJ has a Dealer installed security system becasue the dealership was broken into and several keys to new vehicles were stolen. instead of re keying, they put this annnoying system on that you had to disarm the system by inserting a key into a port under the dash and wait for a beep then start the vehicle.. :P

When I worked in a Pontiac store in the '70s we had to record the key codes on the finance papers for new cars. When a collector was going out to do a repo he would look up the codes and have a set cut. They couldn't be determined from the VIN.

i know for a fact, ford can look up key cuts by the vin #.
you can call up ford, and they will ask you to bring proof of ownership before giving you the keys

but now that is thrown out the windo if you have a pats key. they will give you the key with the original pats #, but most people go and change them immediatly do to them worrying about dealer theft. they thus change th epats code, so the key turns, but wont start the car. they will then have to get it towed to a dealership to reset pats

now, a ford tech using a WDS diagnostic system and get into a car with no keys and reset the PATS # to anything he wants to, but they have a timer of 15 mintues before he can change the code to act as a theft deterant.(they use 15 minutes so he cant just go to the car via the vin and get the factory pats# or keycode for the door. without waiting for 15 minutes outside the vehicle standing around)

I have heard that there is a large problem with Honda Civics and Accords. They have busted theifs with masterkeys here and probably else where. On the other side it does not take much to bust a column either.

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This absolutely can happen. I worked at a Nissan dealer and we ALWAYS could get keys cut FOR other makes of cars based on the V.I.N. Most manufacturers have the ability. Some are judicious with the info; others will cut a key for about anyone.

If you bought the car at our dealership, we recorded it on all of the sales record and Service Work Orders (actually on the first work order, which became the “parent” ticket and could be accessed fairly easily). We used to speculate that we could just cut a key to ANY Nissan on the road and just go “pick it up”. If you needed a key we would verify that you were the customer and could hand cut the key with an aftermarket device (Curtis and Ilco made them). I once went with a repo man and my “code book” to cut a key on site. It takes about 3 minutes. The codes are a five digit number that then has to be “converted” or de-coded to the ”steps” or notches that are them cut out of the key blanks with a tool similar to a hole punch. We alway got calls (two or three a week) asking if the car had been purchased at our dealership and if we had the keycode) Nissans were difficult to pick, so if you were "out of town" and lost you keys, lock****hs could call and fromwhere you were and "cut" you a key. Again, this ALWAYS was going on.

If we didn't have the code or couldn't find where it was puchased, we could run an inquirey agains the manufacturer's data base and get the number. This took a little longer, but was still very do-able.

Anyone with a familiarity of the “system” could come up with a code. If you have a “friend” with access to blanks and the tools; you’ve got a key. We occasionally would misplace a key to a car (new or used, Nisasan or not) and would cut a key to move the car; that was easier than “finding” the keys or calling the customer. The newer keys can’t be cut (Z cars, Infiniti’s, etc.) but the run of the mill key is easily made. I’ve seen the new laser cut keys on most upscale and European cars, but even they can be had… for a price. (My sister needed a new key for her BMW and just had to order it. They asked for I.D. to accept her check but not the for the key)


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