2012 GMC Savana
Key Replacement - Save vs Dealer in San Diego

2012 GMC Savana Transponder Key Replacement - Fast, Affordable & Professional

An HVAC technician parked his 2012 GMC Savana at the fitness center lot off Magnolia in North El Cajon. He'd been fighting the ignition for a few weeks. Jiggling the key, pushing it at an angle, sitting there and trying again. It was an every-morning routine he'd learned to live with until the morning it stopped turning at all.

He called the dealer first. They quoted him a new ignition cylinder, a new key, and programming time. He was a day away from scheduling it when a coworker told him to call a locksmith instead.

I got to the lot and looked at the cylinder before touching anything. The key wasn't worn out. The lock was. The internal wafers had rounded off from years of heavy daily use, which is exactly what happens on a commercial van that goes out five days a week. I decoded the existing lock, swapped out the worn wafers, and cut a fresh key matched to the repaired cylinder. Before any of that, I pulled the key data through the diagnostic port as a reference, standard practice before mechanical work on any vehicle with a transponder system.

He watched the whole job. I showed him the old wafers so he could see the wear with his own eyes. The ignition turned smooth when I was done, key slid in clean, and nothing got replaced that wasn't actually broken.

The dealer quote never came up again.

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