Car Key Replacement in Kenosha, WI

Proving the car is yours

A replacement key is made for one vehicle, so have proof that you own it or may drive it: photo ID plus the title or current registration in your name. If the title is missing, or you bought the car recently and the paperwork is still in the seller's name, sort that out with your state motor-vehicle agency first. For a leased or financed car, the registration and the lease or loan papers usually serve.

Where the car is parked matters

Kenosha prohibits parking on posted snow routes once 2 inches of snow has fallen, and a car with no working key cannot be moved off one. Making or programming a key needs the vehicle itself, so the exact spot belongs in your request: a posted snow route, a driveway, a lot or a side street, and whether the car has to be out of that spot by a certain time. This is general information, not legal advice.

Salt and worn keys

Salt slush dries in car door keyholes, and the state Department of Transportation says Wisconsin uses an average of 452,000 tons of salt a season. A metal key that has scraped through gritty cylinders wears down, and a copy cut from a worn key copies the wear. If an old key still works but only barely, say so; a new key cut to the vehicle's factory specification, not from the worn one, does not carry the wear along.

What to have ready

1. Photo ID and the title or registration
2. The 17-character VIN, printed at the base of the windshield on the driver's side and on the registration
3. Year, make, model and trim, and whether the car starts with a push button or a turned key
4. How many keys or fobs you still have, if any
5. The location: street and cross street, driveway or lot

The car key replacement page covers the service. To add a remote to a key you already have, see key fob programming. Kenosha overview: Kenosha.