Ford Probe Key Origination

Originating a key for a vehicle is a fairly simple task most of the time for the experienced locksmith technician. With so many year, make and model vehicles in the market from different manufactures it is hard at times to keep track of all the different ways that are available for a professional locksmith to make a key. Most of the times, the door lock or ignition cylinder would need to be removed in order to retrieve a unique code that will allow the technician to originate the key. However, sometimes things will not go as smooth and an nontraditional solution would be required.

A while back I got a call from a customer who lost the keys to his 94 Ford Probe. I rarely got to service these types of models, but I knew that it would be the same key for the door lock and the ignition which meant I would need to remove either or in order to get the stamped code to make the new key. Thinking I had the solution figured out, I decided to accept the job, took the customer's information and was heading on my way.

When I got to the customer's home (where the car was parked), I reviewed my options again in order to originate a key for the customer. Normally, removing the ignition cylinder in order to get the stamped code would be much preferred. However, in that particular situation where the original key was not available, it meant that the ignition cylinder would need to be picked and I knew it may take a while since its a 10 cut ignition. I decided to go with my other option which was removing the door lock.

As I began removing the studs that hold the door panel, I noticed couple of them were giving me a hard time and didn't want to come out. Failure to remove those studs meant I would not be able to remove the door panel and access the door lock to get the code, but after about 10 minutes of trying, I finally gave up and started looking for another solution. The only option I could think of at that point was drilling the ignition and put another one, but before doing that, I figured I should make a call for a fellow Spokane locksmith technician of mine for an advice.

After getting him on the phone, he mentioned something that I didn't know. Apparently, if I rolled down  the door window of the vehicle all the way down, I would have a clear look at the door lock and the stamped code should be visible as well. After finishing the conversation, I started rolling the driver's side window down and I was able to see the cylinder, but it seem a little dirty, so I couldn't get a clear view of the code. I had to take a small piece of rag and use a long bar I had to get to the cylinder and wipe the dirt off with the rag and the code was visible enough for me to originate a new working key for the customer.