Broken Key Extraction in Burbank, CA

What should you do when a key breaks off in the lock?

Stop turning it. That is the single most useful thing to know in the first minute. A key that has snapped usually leaves a piece sitting in the cylinder, and every extra twist, wiggle, or push risks driving that piece deeper or bending the small parts around it. A fragment you can still see is a straightforward job. A fragment pushed in past the pins is a slower one.

Call us at (213) 577-1366. The line is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, all year, so a key that snaps at 11 at night or on a holiday morning gets the same pickup as one that snaps at noon on a Tuesday. We will ask a few plain questions: which lock it is, whether any of the key is sticking out, and whether anyone is locked out or locked in. Then we send a mobile van to you in Burbank.

This page covers broken key extraction: a key broken inside a lock, a broken key stuck in a door, a snapped key in a padlock or deadbolt, and a broken car key in a door or ignition. If the situation is really a lockout with nothing broken, our apartment lockout service page covers that separately.

Why do keys snap inside locks?

A key rarely breaks for no reason. Almost always there is a pattern behind it, and knowing the pattern helps us decide how to remove the piece and what to do with the lock afterward.

Metal fatigue is the most common cause. A key that has been used for years, especially a copy of a copy, develops hairline cracks near the shoulder or where the blade meets the bow. One ordinary turn is the last turn it can take. Brass keys are softer than people expect, and a key cut from a poorly made blank can fail much sooner than the original would have.

• Worn or cracked keys that have been in daily use for many years.
• Keys cut on a cheap or badly aligned blank, where the blade was weakened at the cut.
• A lock that binds because of a swollen door, a misaligned strike plate, or a dry, gummed-up cylinder, so the key is forced against resistance.
• Using the key as a pry bar, screwdriver, or package opener, which bends it before it finally snaps.
• A latch bolt pressed hard against the strike because the door has shifted, so the key must fight the bolt to turn.
• Cold, stiff ignition or steering-lock resistance in a vehicle, where the key is turned with extra force.

How do we remove a broken key step by step?

Every cylinder is different, and so is every break. What follows is the general order we work in. We adjust it to what we find, and we stop and change method if something feels wrong, because forcing a fragment is how a repairable lock becomes a replacement.

1. Look first. We inspect the keyway with a light and magnification to see where the fragment sits, how much of it is exposed, and whether the cylinder is a standard pin-tumbler, a wafer lock, or something more specialized.
2. Check the lock's condition. Debris, worn pins, and a bent plug change how we approach it. We also note whether the door itself is binding, since that is often why the key broke.
3. Choose the method. If a piece is protruding, a fine extractor or gripping tool may pull it straight out. If it sits flush or deeper, a thin hooked or serrated extractor, a keyway-matched tool, or a careful picking approach is used to free it. Which one depends on the lock.
4. Remove the fragment slowly and in line with the keyway, without twisting the plug. Pulling on an angle can scrape the pins or snap the piece again.
5. Clear the keyway. We check that no small shavings or slivers are left that could jam the next key.
6. Test the lock. We operate the cylinder with a fresh key or a properly cut one, and check the pins move cleanly and the bolt throws smoothly.
7. Talk through the result. If the cylinder is worn or damaged, we tell you plainly and lay out the options, which may include repair, rekeying, or replacement. You decide.

What about a broken car key in the door or ignition?

A snapped car key brings extra questions, and we answer them honestly rather than guessing. The extraction itself uses the same careful approach as a house lock: expose or reach the fragment, remove it without scarring the wafers or tumblers, and test the lock. The extra step is what comes after. If you no longer have a working key, you will need a new one, and what that involves depends on the vehicle.

We do not assume anything about a car's key from the outside. Whether the key carries a chip, how it is programmed, and whether a given make requires a dealer-only process are things we confirm by VIN or in person, not by guessing over the phone. If it turns out a specific vehicle can only be handled at a dealer, we say so up front instead of letting you wait on us.

Once the fragment is out, the follow-up work is covered on our other pages. A new key for a vehicle is covered on car key replacement, and if the ignition cylinder itself was harmed by the break or by earlier forcing, ignition repair is the page for that. We would rather link you to the right service than blur it into this one.

How much does broken key extraction cost in Burbank?

We don't quote numbers on a web page, because a fair price depends on what we find at the door. What we can do is tell you exactly what moves the cost up or down, so there are no surprises when the quote comes.

Most of the difference comes from how the key broke and how deep the fragment sits. A piece standing proud of the keyway is quicker work than one sitting flush with the face of the cylinder or pushed back past several pins. Time and tooling follow depth.

• How much of the key is exposed and how far inside the fragment sits.
• The type of lock: a common house deadbolt, a high-security cylinder, a padlock, a vehicle door lock, or an ignition each take different tools and different patience.
• Whether the cylinder is worn, jammed, or already damaged, which can turn a simple extraction into a repair.
• Whether you also need a new key cut afterward, or the lock rekeyed, or a damaged part replaced.
• The time of day and how far our van has to travel to reach you.
• Access: a lock behind a gate, in a secured garage, or in a hard-to-reach spot can add time.

Why does extraction usually cost less than replacing the lock?

Where the cylinder is intact, extraction is usually the more economical route because you keep the hardware you already have. A lock is not harmed by a broken key; it is harmed by the attempts to dig the key out with a screwdriver or a pair of pliers. That is why we ask people to stop trying.

If a cylinder does come out of the job worn, we show you before changing anything. Often the sensible next step is to have it rekeyed so the old key family no longer works, or have a copy cut from a sound original through key duplication so you are not relying on a single cracked key again. That second point matters. If the other half of a snapped key is worn, the spare in your drawer is probably just as tired.

What does a broken key look like around Burbank?

Burbank has a mix of housing, and each type breaks keys in its own way. We are about 16 miles from our Westwood storefront, and our vans cover the whole city, from the flats to the foothills.

In Magnolia Park, many 1920s to 1940s bungalows still carry original mid-century door hardware. Old latches and worn cylinders tend to stiffen with age, and a key that has turned the same lock for decades can crack at the shoulder. Those older cylinders call for patient extraction, because the parts inside are small and worn, and we would rather keep a sound old lock than force a replacement. Postwar ranch homes across the flats raise similar issues with older deadbolts.

Dry Santa Ana winds and valley heat matter too. In summer, wooden doors swell, and a swollen door pushes the latch hard against the strike. The key then has to fight the bolt, and that is a classic setup for a snap. Hillside houses above Glenoaks Boulevard in the Verdugo foothills get more sun and wind than the flats, which can make doors move more with the seasons. There is no salt-air corrosion this far inland, so when a key breaks here, we usually find wear, binding, or an overworked blade rather than rust.

Downtown Burbank and the Media District have large controlled-access apartment complexes and mid-rise condos. A key that breaks in a unit door in a building near the Chandler Bikeway is a frequent call. In an apartment, a broken key usually leaves you locked out or locked in with a door you can't just replace, since the building often has its own key system. We work around that and talk to the property manager if needed. If you are shut out rather than dealing with a snapped key, see apartment lockout.

For a street address in ZIP 91501, which covers parts of the central city, a broken key in a front-door deadbolt is the kind of job our mobile vans handle at the door. The same goes for 91502, 91504, 91505, and 91506. We drive to you with the tools needed to pull the fragment on site, so you do not have to bring the lock to us.

What should you not do with a key broken in the lock?

People understandably try to fix it themselves, and the attempts are what turn a small job into a bigger one. Here is what to avoid.

• Do not push the broken piece further in with another key or a nail.
• Do not use super glue to stick the pieces back together. Glue in a keyway is far harder to deal with than a clean break.
• Do not pry at the fragment with a screwdriver, a knife, or tweezers, which can mark the pins and wedge the piece tighter.
• Do not keep forcing the door open with the other half of the key.
• Do not spray heavy oil into the lock before calling. A light graphite or dry lubricant helps; wet oil can attract grit.
• Do keep the broken piece, if you pulled one out by hand without force. It tells us where the other half broke.
• Do call us before the lock gets damaged, and tell us if anyone is stuck inside.

Why call Wilshire Lock & Key for broken key removal?

We have been in business since 1987, and a broken key is one of the oldest jobs in this trade. The tools have gotten finer, but the judgment is the same: go slowly, know when to stop, and keep the lock if it can be kept. David, the owner and lead technician, oversees the work, and the techniques he insists on are the ones above, not shortcuts.

We are one company, with a storefront at 10740 Wilshire Blvd in Westwood and our own mobile vans. There is no dispatch middleman, no call center passing your job to whoever bids. When you phone (213) 577-1366, you are reaching the business that does the work. We serve 140 cities across Los Angeles and Ventura counties, so Burbank is a regular part of the map, not a stretch.

One more thing worth knowing: California requires locksmith companies to hold a BSIS LCO license, and you should ask any locksmith for it before they start work. That applies to us and to anyone else you call. Our license number is being added to this site, and until then, ask us and we will answer directly.

If you want to know how our mobile service works more generally, the mobile locksmith page explains it, and if the broken key is part of a bigger lock problem, lock repair covers that ground.

More locksmith help in Burbank

• 24 Hour Locksmith in Burbank
• Apartment Lockout in Burbank
• Business Lockout in Burbank
• Car Lockout in Burbank
• Emergency Locksmith in Burbank
• House Lockout in Burbank
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