Key Broke Off in the Lock? What to Do (and What Not To)

You turn the key, feel it give, and then you are standing there holding half of it. The other half is stuck in the lock. It is a bad moment, but it is a very fixable one. What you do in the next two minutes decides whether this is a quick extraction or a damaged lock, so here is what to do, what to avoid, and how a locksmith gets the piece out.

What to Do Right Away

1. Stop turning. Do not keep trying the lock with the broken piece or with a second key. Every extra attempt can push the broken piece deeper or bend the lock’s inner parts.
2. Look at the lock. Is part of the broken key sticking out of the keyway? If you can see enough of it to get a grip, you may be able to pull it out.
3. If it is sticking out, try a gentle straight pull. Use needle-nose pliers, grip the piece firmly, and pull straight out along the line of the keyway. Do not twist and do not rock it side to side. If it does not slide out easily, stop.
4. If it is flush or inside the lock, stop and call. Digging at it with a pin, a nail or a knife blade usually pushes it further in and scratches the keyway.
5. Keep both pieces of the key. They help us cut a replacement quickly.

What Not to Do

• Do not use superglue to reattach the key. This is the most common mistake. The glue runs into the lock, and now you have a stuck key and a glued cylinder.
• Do not spray oil or heavy lubricant into the lock. It will not free the piece and it gums up the pins.
• Do not try to hammer or force the lock open. The door, the frame and the lock all get damaged, and the broken piece is still in there.
• Do not drill unless a professional has looked at it first. Drilling destroys the lock. In most cases it is not necessary.

Why Keys Break in Locks

A key almost never snaps from normal use. It snaps because something was already wrong:

• A worn or fatigued key. Years of turning wear the metal and open tiny cracks. The key finally gives out under ordinary pressure.
• A copy of a copy. Keys cut from other copies can be slightly off, and a poorly cut key sits wrong in the lock and takes extra force to turn.
• A stiff or sticking lock. Dirt, wear or a bent pin makes the lock hard to turn. People push harder, and the key is the weakest part.
• A door that has shifted. When the door sags or the frame moves, the bolt rubs against the strike plate. Turning the key then means fighting the door, not just the lock.
• Using a key as a tool. Prying, scraping and opening packages with a house key adds up.

How a Locksmith Gets a Broken Key Out

We use slim extractor tools made for exactly this job. They slide into the keyway alongside the broken piece, catch the cuts on the key, and draw it out without scarring the lock. In most cases the lock keeps working afterward and nothing needs replacing. If the cylinder was damaged by earlier attempts or by long wear, we tell you before we do anything more, and we can rekey or replace just the cylinder instead of the whole lock.

Once the piece is out, we can cut a new working key. When the key is worn, we cut a fresh one rather than copying the worn one, since a copy of a worn key copies the wear. If the key broke because the lock was sticking, we will also check that the lock turns smoothly with the new key, so you do not end up back in the same spot.

A deadbolt with fresh keys after a rekey. A broken key is a good moment to replace worn keys and make sure the lock turns smoothly.

A Broken Key in a Car

The same rules apply to a key broken in a car door lock or ignition. Do not force it and do not crank the ignition. If a piece is stuck in the ignition, call before trying anything, because turning it can damage the ignition cylinder. For ignition problems that come from wear, see our guide to car ignition problems, and for replacement keys see car key replacement.

How to Keep It From Happening Again

• Replace keys that are visibly worn. If the cuts are rounded or the key bends, have a new one made from the original, not from another copy.
• Do not force a stiff lock. If a key suddenly takes effort, that is the lock asking for service. A call now is cheaper than a call after the key breaks.
• Use only a lock-specific dry lubricant if you lubricate at all. Skip oil and heavy sprays.
• Fix a sagging door. If you have to lift or push the door to lock it, the hinges or strike plate need adjusting.

Key broken in the lock? Call (602) 301-5243 and tell us whether it is a house or a car and whether any of the key is still sticking out. We serve Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, Mesa, Chandler, Glendale, Peoria and Paradise Valley, Monday through Friday, and we tell you the price before we drive out.