The Call Came on a Wednesday Afternoon
We got a call from a woman named Rachel around 3 PM on a Wednesday. She was at her friend David’s place on West Glenoaks Boulevard, just a few blocks from the Americana at Brand. David was flying out to Chicago early the next morning for a two-week work trip, and Rachel had agreed to house-sit, water the plants, grab the mail — the usual.
But here’s what almost slipped through the cracks: David’s 2019 Honda Accord was staying in the driveway, and Rachel might need to move it. Street sweeping on Thursdays. The HOA had sent a couple of warnings already. David only had one key for the car, and handing over his only copy while he was 2,000 miles away didn’t sit right with either of them.
“Can someone come out today and cut a second key for the car?” Rachel asked. “He flies out at 6 AM tomorrow and we’re kind of running out of time.”
Yeah, we could do that.
Getting to Glendale Before Rush Hour
Our tech Marco was finishing a job near the Glendale Galleria, so he was only about ten minutes away. He grabbed the address, confirmed the vehicle info — 2019 Honda Accord LX — and headed over through the side streets off Central Avenue to avoid the Colorado Boulevard traffic.
He pulled up to David’s place around 3:40 PM. David was home packing, Rachel was there with her laptop set up at the kitchen table, already half moved in. David came outside with the original key and the car registration.
Marco verified the VIN on the Accord, checked the key type, and got to work. The 2019 Accord uses a standard transponder key — not a full smart fob, which made this a pretty straightforward job. He cut the blade on his mobile unit, then programmed the transponder chip so the car’s immobilizer would recognize the new key.
Total time from arrival to handing Rachel a working key: about 35 minutes.
Why This Was Actually Smart Planning
Here’s the thing — most people don’t think about car key cutting in Glendale (or anywhere) until they’re locked out at 11 PM in a parking garage. David and Rachel were ahead of the game. If Rachel had needed to move that Accord on Thursday morning for street sweeping and didn’t have a key, she’d be looking at a parking ticket at best, or a tow at worst. And then David would’ve had to arrange a key replacement from Chicago, which is a whole different headache.
We see this situation more often than you’d think. House sitters, pet sitters, family members watching a place while someone travels — they forget about the car until the last minute. If you’re leaving a vehicle behind and someone else might need to use it, a spare key is one of those small things that prevents a big problem.
A Quick Note About Honda Keys
Hondas from the mid-2010s through recent models use transponder keys that need to be both cut and programmed. You can’t just go to a hardware store and get a copy made on a key grinding machine — it’ll turn the ignition but the car won’t start because the chip won’t match. That’s where a mobile locksmith comes in. We carry the blanks, the cutting equipment, and the programming tools right in the van. No tow to a dealership, no waiting three days for a key to be ordered.
And if you’re in a situation where the only key is gone entirely — lost, stolen, dropped in the LA River — that’s a different service, but we handle that too. Check out our page on if that sounds like your situation.
Three Tips If You’re Leaving Your Car With a House Sitter
1. Get the spare key made before your trip, not during. Even a day or two of lead time makes everything easier. Car key cutting in Glendale typically takes under an hour on-site, but last-minute airport panic helps nobody.
2. Leave the registration and insurance info in the glove box. If your house sitter needs to deal with anything — a fender bender, a traffic stop, even just the locksmith verifying the VIN — having that paperwork accessible saves a lot of back-and-forth phone calls across time zones.
3. Tell your sitter where the car is parked and what days to move it. Street sweeping schedules in Glendale vary by neighborhood. The areas around Pacific Avenue and south of Broadway have different days than the neighborhoods up near Verdugo Park. A sticky note on the fridge goes a long way.
We Cover All of Glendale
Whether you’re near the Montrose Shopping Park, down by Griffith Manor, over on Adams Hill, or right in the middle of downtown off Brand — our mobile team covers it all. Car key cutting in Glendale is one of our most common calls, and we keep blanks and programming tools stocked for most major makes and models. For a full list of what we offer in the area, check out our Glendale locksmith services page.
Rachel texted us a couple days later to say she’d already had to move the car twice for street sweeping. “Glad we got that key made,” she wrote. Same, Rachel. Same.
If you’ve got a trip coming up and need a spare key cut for whoever’s watching your place — or your car — give us a call at (818) 398-9391. We’ll come to you.
— Locksmith HQ Team
