Broken Kia Car Key Blades and why they fall out
If you have a Kia, there’s a chance you’ll soon have a broken Kia car key. Every week, we get calls from frustrated customers that are left stranded. On our YouTube channel, we get over one thousand hits every day, from owners trying to fix their broken Kia car key. We believe there’s a design problem with the style of key shown below.
The problem shows itself one day when the key blade just vanishes! In truth, it’s been working its way loose for weeks. The blade is held into the hinge mechanism with a small roll pin.
This is standard practice in the industry and has been for over fifteen years. However, Kia have messed up the design with the position of the pin hole and the strength of the metal.
There are really common problems in all makes of car. Click Here to read about how broken keys can be fixed.
Hairline Cracks
A small hairline crack appears in the silver hinge. If you have a magnifying glass, you can spot it early on. Once the key has been dropped a few times with the key blade extended, there’s too much pressure on the hinge part and unfortunately it cracks. Then, within a short time, the pin finds its way loose and the blade drops out.
What makes it worse, these keys are very expensive from the dealer. Locally, in Lincoln, the average price is £250, which is well above the average price for a car key. If they were high quality, it would be easier to stomach, but the replacement keys are still very poor, in our opinion.
Can I fix my own broken Kia car key?
Yes, you can, but it comes with a warning. the transponder chip, (small and black) lets the car start. Sometimes it is held in with super glue. If it is, there’s a chance you may break it.
We recommend having two keys available, before you try and fix a broken key. So yes, you can fix your own, but whether you should or not is a judgement call for you to make.
Now that’s the disclaimer done! Off we go.
Fixing a broken Kia car key.
The good news is that there’s a simple answer to the problem. A range of repair cases are available and they’re very good. The expensive parts of the key are the transponder chip and the green circuit board. These need to be removed from the broken Kia car key and placed carefully into the repair case.
The problem is, when the keys are glued shut, they don’t open easily. We’ve tried many ways to open the case, eventually settling on this method.
The other really important thing you need is a pair of Circlip pliers. These are amazing and we open hundreds of keys every month using this tool.
How to fix a broken Kia car key
Here are the steps you need to take; the video will also help you.
- You need a set of circlip pliers. The great thing about these, are that when you squeeze the handles together, the jaws open instead of close.
- Poke the tips of the jaws into the hole, near the hinge section.
- Squeeze the pliers and the key should crack open. don’t go crazy, normally they open easily. However, we do come across keys that are glued shut tight. If this is the case, you’ll need a soldering iron as a backup. Melt a line around the key, so you can insert the pliers, or a screwdriver. just be careful you don’t slip and hurt yourself, or the delicate electronics inside.
- Once the key is open, place the green circuit board safely to one side.
- Next you need to remove the transponder chip. These are held in with an insert. Sometimes the chip just drops out like in our video. other times, super glue covers the chip and it will not come out. When this happens, we again resort to the soldering iron to melt it out of the plastic. Be careful, because if you heat the chip up too hot, it will stop giving out a signal and your car will not start. Just take it slowly and eventually you’ll get it out.
- Hopefully you have managed to get the chip out.
- Place the chip and circuit board into the new case.
- Wind the key blade around and get some tension on the spring assembly
- Close the key, hold it together and try the flip out mechanism.
- If it works ok, screw the case shut, or if you have a cheaper case, it will need to be glued.
- Replace the key battery with a good one.
- Get the key blade cut at a good key cutting shop.
- Off you go!
Can I just swap the blade over from the broken key?
Maybe. The problems with doing this are as follows.
Because this is an aftermarket repair part, it’s not made by Kia. Therefore, when you take your old blade and try and put it into your new key case, it may not fit. You may be able to file the tang to go into the key holder, but it may still not fit. As well as this, if you do get it to fit, then the hole for the pin, may not match up with the groove in the blade.
In the process of knocking out the pin in the new case, and then fitting the old blade into the new key, it may damage the new case. This is because the pin sits against a groove in the old key. Well in the new repair case, the groove may be in a different position. If you try and force it, you may crack the new case hinge. Therefore, we recommend getting the key cut.
The good news is that once you’ve managed to swap it over, it won’t need coding in. The car will think it’s the old key. Nice and simple.
To find out what other Kia owners are saying about the problem Click Here
We hope this has helped you.
Why are car keys so expensive? Take a look at why we think this is Click here
This post contains affiliate links.
Affiliate Disclaimer
Links on this website may lead you to a product or service. They provide an affiliate commission to the owners of this site should you make a purchase. In no way does any affiliate relationship ever factor into a recommendation. Nor does it alter the integrity of the information we provide.
Please note that we have not been given any free products, services, or anything else by these companies in exchange for mentioning them on the site. The only consideration is in the form of affiliate commissions.
