2018 Chevrolet Equinox
Key Replacement - Save vs Dealer in San Diego

2018 Chevrolet Equinox Smart Key Replacement - Fast, Affordable & Professional

He was at a taco shop in Downtown IB when his backpack disappeared. Grabbed from a booth while he was at the counter. Keys, wallet, phone, all of it gone in about two minutes.

He borrowed the cashier's phone and called the police first, then his girlfriend, then me.

His 2018 Equinox was sitting in the lot with zero keys and no way to move it. His girlfriend called the dealer while he was filing the report. They said to tow it in, they'd have to order the key on his VIN, and it would be three to five business days. They also recommended rekeying the locks since the stolen fob could still unlock the doors. Combined estimate was over seven hundred dollars, plus whatever the tow ran.

I got there that evening.

All-keys-lost is a different job than adding a spare, and I want to be clear about why. When you still have a working key, adding a second one is relatively quick because the car already trusts an existing fob and just registers a new code alongside it. When every key is gone, there's no trust to borrow from. I have to clear the entire key memory, go through the security access cycle, and build the vehicle's key list from nothing. The stolen fob gets wiped out of the system in that process. It can still physically touch the door handle, but the immobilizer won't let the engine fire.

I connected through the OBD port, ran through the security access sequence, and waited out the timed cycle. Then I programmed two new fobs, cut the emergency blades for both, and walked every button on each one before I packed up. He drove home that night.

The dealer estimate was still sitting in his girlfriend's texts when I left.

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