Milan Key Shop

This photo from the internet is just for an example - if a car has a maple leaf like this on the VIN sticker it is made for Canada. Everything is different. I was unable to program a spare key for a 2018 Subaru WRX STI today because it was Canadian - takes a different key from what I stock.

"I found my keys"

a Google review for my business today called me a "very nice older gentleman." Ouch that hurt.
kind of like last year when I was waiting in line at a KFC in Pasadena and a young lady was looking me over. then she came over and said I look just like her step-grandfather.

It is motorcycle season. I stock every motorcycle keyblank I have ever seen available. Made keys today for this 1987 Harley Davidson Sportster 1100. Good thing I did, because look in the second photo his original key was just about ready to break.

2003 Chevrolet Corvette. The VATS keys with the resistor pellet - the 1997-04 Corvette is the only car that uses this wide head key.

2009 Toyota Corolla. Toyota has a completely different definition of what is a master key and what is a valet key. You need to have a working master key to add a key, if you only have a valet then we have to do a immobilizer reset and erase everything and start over. Fortunately this lady had a masterkey for her car, one got bent so we just added another. This car will accept a maximum of 5 masterkeys and 2 valet keys.

1999 Buick Century. These old GM VATS keys with the resistor pellet in the shank of the key are pretty old school, but I still do them. This customer said he went several different places trying to get his key made.

2011 Toyota Tundra. This guy's transponder key the blade was getting very worn and didn't turn ignition smoothly anymore. He had a metal key that was not very worn, he had just been using that as an emergency door key. So he cut the transponder head off the ignition key and super-glued it to the metal key that was not worn and saved himself about a hundred bucks. I don't mind.

I had a customer this morning 2015 Subaru Forester like key shown. He accidentally dropped the key on a hard floor and the remote buttons stopped working. Subaru dealership quoted him over $600 for a replacement key. He came to me and I replaced the battery for $10 and key worked fine. Apparently the battery just decided to quit working about the time he dropped it. Please don't pay these car dealerships their ridiculous key prices, I would have done a new key for $400 less than what they quoted.

2008 Yamaha YZF R6 motorcycle. This R6 came in today on a trailer with all keys lost. I used my AccuReader tools to figure out the 7 cuts on the key - same key works ignition, gascap and seat lock. I like doing motorcycle keys.

2012 Subaru Forester. Added duplicate key - this lady said the dealership quoted her $400 for another key. My price was about $300 less, I can make a living without cheating people. High security sidewinder cut key, on Subaru all keys must be present when you program in additional key. This system will hold a maximum of 4 keys. The hardest thing for me on this one was deciding to select 2010-13 Forester or 2012-18 Forester on the menu of my programmer, I learned something on this car and I know how to select the right menu option without hesitation next time.

This WW2 military padlock came in the other day with no keys. My impressioning skills are not great, I can never see the marks. My dad could impression locks like this easily, he had better skills than me in that regard. But I did get lucky and originate a couple keys for this one.

2015 Chevrolet Silverado 3500. Come see me if you accidentally run over your remote with your truck.

2012 Toyota Camry push to start. Programmed in a spare prox and cut the insert key which is only used to open the door if the battery in the prox goes bad. In that case you can hold the prox up to the Start button and still drive the car until you can get a new battery. The insert key is the 2010+ Toyota 80K Code Series and is only cut on one side and is not reversible.

I knew it was unusual when the Ford dealership called and said they were sending me a customer for a car key. This was a 1963 Thunderbird. Yes, I still do keys for old cars.

2008 Pontiac Grand Prix. Another customer who said they couldn't find their key anywhere else. It's a PK3 transponder chip with a Z keyway blade. Only used on 2005-09 LaCrosse, 2004-08 Grand Prix and 2005-07 Pontiac Montana.

2007 Chevrolet Aveo. Chevrolet only sold the Aveo in the U.S. from 2004-11 then replaced it with the Sonic. Originally developed by South Korean manufacturer Daewoo Motors and takes a different key than any other car out there. Transponder keys are rare for this model, I have not come across one yet. This customer couldn't find this Daewoo key anywhere but at my shop.

2011 Chrysler Town & Country. These keys are called fobiks, there are actually 11 different button configurations out there, I try to stock one of each. This one has all 7 buttons - L,U,H,RS,SD,SD,P. Customer needed a spare and found that I had the best price by far. I connected to vehicle through OBD2 port, read 4 digit pin # and programmed fobik. Also made her a few spare door keys as she was concerned about locking her key in the car by accident.

1969 VW Beetle. I really like these old VW keys with the different sets of cuts on both sides. Lots of interesting stuff came in today.

1995 Suzuki Every micro van - sold only in Japan. This interesting customer imports Japan only vehicles and restores them to sell in the U.S. He brings them to me to make keys. We previously had made keys for a 1992 Suzuki Carry-On and next he says we'll do a Honda Beat. Google them if you've never heard of them. It's fun to me to see his cars and make keys for them.

2022 Chevrolet Malibu push-to-start. Programmed in a spare prox to this car this morning, saved the customer a lot of money.

2021 Kia Soul. Cut & programmed this remote head flip key this morning, first one of these I have done. I think it is a crime how much the Kia dealership was going to charge this customer, I beat their price by a whole lot.

2011 Chrysler Town & Country. This one took a fobik key with all the trimmings: L,U,RS,H,SD,SD,P buttons. And it had Keyless Go feature where you don't insert fobik into ignition, you just push a button to start. I think this is only the 5th or 6th one of these I have come across.

I was driving through Kent today and saw this business. It's not me. Sorry this is just not what I do.

I saw this on a house yesterday. Something doesn't seem right?

One of my favorite things is making keys to vintage motorcycles - especially when the original keys are lost. Customer brought me ignition from a 1969 Honda CT70 - a cool little trail bike. I successfully originated a key for this bike and then made a duplicate.

I read this on a Honda forum site it happens all the time.
Customer: I recently got around to having a 2nd transponder key made for my 2013 Honda CRV EX-L to replace one that went missing a few years ago. Because I was trying to save money, I decided to buy a blank transponder key on Amazon ($15), program it myself ($ Free) and have it cut at Batteries Plus ($20).
Answer: Yes, programming the key fob to work the keyless entry is easy enough. And can be done by the owner without special tools.
However, if you want to program the vehicle to accept the new key to run the engine Then the new key must have a transponder for the immobilizer unit. And it must be done with a scanner with the ability to program the immobilizer/ECM. Those scanners are not cheap.

The thing that's different about Honda push-to-start vehicles is that you push the Start button once to activate the accessories and twice to start the car. Third time turns the car off. A customer pushed the Start button twice to roll up the windows and then went in the restaurant. When he came out, his battery was dead. The car was on the entire time. Read the Owners Manual, understand the system. Every car manufacturer is different.

2013 Chevrolet Equinox. This car came with a remote head flip style key but customer just wanted a simple transponder key without the buttons - its for their employees to drive back & forth to work. I cut 3 of them and programmed them into the car. This car will accept a maximum of 10 keys in the system, which is the most generous system I know for that - other cars might be 2, 4, 6, or 8 maximum keys. If you lock the car with the buttons and you push the LOCK button twice, it sets the alarm and alarm will sound when you open car with key, but that's ok here because the employees will never access to the remote head key. If the alarm did go off, you would silence it by turning ignition on with a programmed transponder key.