Last Tuesday around 9 PM we got a call from a homeowner on Cantara Street near Branford Park. She’d just gotten home from work, twisted her house key in the deadbolt, and felt that awful crunch. Half the key came out in her hand. The other half was sitting flush inside the cylinder, invisible from the outside. She was locked out of her own house with groceries melting on the porch.
This kind of call comes in two or three times a week across Arleta. Keys snap. It’s almost always the key’s fault, not the lock’s — they wear down over years of use, and one cold morning or one extra twist is enough to break them. The good news: getting the broken piece out is one of the simpler jobs we do, and the price reflects that.
What Broken Key Extraction Costs in Arleta
For a standard residential job in Arleta, you’re usually looking at $75 to $150 all-in. That covers the service call, the extraction itself, and a quick test to make sure the lock still works smoothly afterward. If you call us between 8 AM and 8 PM and the lock is a common residential brand (Schlage, Kwikset, Defiant, Master), we’re almost always at the lower end of that range.
Here’s what pushes the price up or down:
Factors That Affect the Price
- Time of day. A 2 AM call near Pacoima Wash or a Sunday morning visit on Woodman Avenue runs higher because of after-hours rates. Expect $125–$200 overnight.
- Lock type. Standard pin-tumbler deadbolts are quick. High-security locks (Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, Schlage Primus) take more time and specialized tools, which adds $25–$75.
- How deep the key is wedged. If the broken piece is flush and the springs are pinching it, that’s a few extra minutes. If someone tried to fish it out with tweezers first and pushed it deeper, that adds time too.
- Lock condition. If the cylinder is corroded from sprinkler spray or hasn’t been lubricated in ten years, we sometimes need to disassemble and clean it before re-keying. That’s a separate conversation.
- Whether you need a new key. Cutting a replacement on-site from the broken pieces is usually $15–$30 extra. Worth doing right then so you’re not back in the same spot next week.
How We Actually Get the Key Out
People picture us drilling the lock. We almost never drill. Drilling destroys the cylinder and turns a $100 job into a $300 job. Here’s the real process for :
Step 1: Look at What’s There
First thing we do is shine a light into the keyway and figure out how the key broke and where it’s sitting. Sometimes a tiny sliver is poking out and we can grab it with needle-nose pliers in 30 seconds. Other times it’s fully recessed and we need tools.
Step 2: Pick the Right Extractor
We carry a set of extractor tools — thin spiral picks and hooked probes designed to slip alongside the broken key, catch on the cuts, and pull it straight out. The trick is keeping the pins lined up while pulling, so the key doesn’t bind. This takes a steady hand more than anything fancy.
Step 3: Test the Lock
Once the piece is out, we test the cylinder with a known-good key (yours, if you have a spare, or a blank we cut on the spot). If it turns smoothly, we’re done. If it feels gritty, we lubricate it with graphite — never WD-40, which gums up over time.
Step 4: Talk About the Why
If your key broke from wear, the other keys on that lock are probably close behind. We’ll mention it. No pressure to re-key, but you should know.
When to Call Us vs Try It Yourself
If the key is sticking out and you can grab it with pliers, try once. Pull straight, don’t wiggle. If it doesn’t come out on the first pull, stop. Every failed attempt usually pushes the piece deeper and bends the broken edge, which makes our job harder and your bill higher.
Do not stick superglue on a key blank and try to pull the broken piece out. We see this monthly. It glues the pins together and turns a simple extraction into a full lock replacement.
For anything else — fully recessed key, key broken in an ignition, key broken in a mailbox or padlock — call us. We cover all of Arleta including Woodman, Osborne, Laurel Canyon, the neighborhoods around Arleta High School, and the side streets off Sheldon. Most callouts in the 91331 area we’re at your door in 25–35 minutes.
One Last Thing
Broken key extraction is one piece of what we do. If you’re locked out at midnight, our team is the same crew, same trucks, same pricing structure. And if you want to see the full list of what we handle locally, our Arleta locksmith services page has everything.
If you’ve got half a key stuck somewhere right now, give us a ring at (818) 398-9391 and we’ll talk through what you’re looking at before we head out.
— The Locksmith HQ Team
