Key broken inside the lock

A key nearly always breaks for the same reason: it was worn or bent, the lock was stiff and it was forced a little more than it should have been. On the coast, the salty air that seizes up cylinders makes it happen more often.

What to do now

• Keep the piece of key left in your hand. It helps us see the model and the shape.
• See whether the piece inside sticks out slightly from the lock.
• If the door was left open, leave it like that until we arrive, or close it on the latch only if it is safe to do so.
• If you have another copy of the key, do not put it in that lock until the piece has been removed.

What not to do

• Do not insert another key to push the piece out: you will drive it in further.
• Do not use glue to try to stick the two pieces together. It is the mistake that makes extraction hardest.
• Do not try to get it out with pins, hairgrips or a thin screwdriver. You can dislodge the cylinder pins and leave it useless.
• Do not keep turning if the piece is inside and the lock does not respond.

How we sort it out

We work 24 hours a day, every day, in Torrevieja and the Vega Baja. Send us a photo of the lock and the piece of key on WhatsApp and we will give you a fixed quote.

With specialist extraction tools we remove the tip of the key without forcing the cylinder. If the lock is in good order, you carry on using it with your other copy. If, when we remove the piece, we see that the cylinder is worn or badly seized, we tell you: it was probably the reason the key snapped and it will happen again. In that case we suggest replacing it, and you decide.

If you are locked out and the broken key was the only one you had, we open the door (first checking that you have the right to enter) and then see whether the cylinder can still be used.

You will find all the information about the process under broken key extraction. If the key goes in but will not turn, see key will not turn.

So it does not happen again

• Replace worn or bent keys before they snap.
• If the lock is stiff, do not force it: lubricate it with a specialist product or ask us to check it.
• Do not use the key as a lever to pull the door.

Pay by card, Bizum or cash, and talk to us on WhatsApp in your own language.