9 Ways to Find Lost Car Keys in Your House

Losing your car keys is one of the worst problems you can encounter in an emergency. While you know that they will eventually turn up somewhere, you usually won’t have the time to go through all possible locations in your home. 

If the situation is really dire, emergency car unlocking services from an auto locksmith can come in handy with their car key replacement service – but you should keep that as a last resort after you’ve exhausted all other options.

1. Check the car door

Start with the most obvious place – check your car door itself. Many people simply forget their keys hanging from the door without realising it. If you live in a safe neighbourhood, chances are your keys will still be there untouched.

2. What about under car seats?

Sometimes keys can slip under car seats or get caught in the seat tracks. Make sure to check these areas thoroughly before moving on to other locations.

3. Use your spare key

A good example comes from Engine Remaps, a car remapping and vehicle diagnostics company based in Greater London. They note that most vehicles, especially models with keyless entry, come with two transponder keys. Many drivers keep the spare in the logbook wallet with documents such as the vehicle identification number (VIN). Use the second key to unlock your car.

4. Use a car key app

Some remote car keys come with an app. You can use it for vehicle unlocking from your phone. At least it helps to remedy the situation.

5. Check your clothes from the previous day

Another obvious spot you should investigate is your clothes from the previous day. Hopefully you haven’t run them through the washing machine yet. Go through your pockets and any backpacks or other bags you might have been wearing through the day, and see if your keys will show up somewhere in there before you start worrying about vehicle security.

Don’t stick to the pockets you commonly use for keys and similar objects. If you’ve lost them, chances are you temporarily kept them in a different spot, which is why you didn’t take them out in the first place.

6. Make a list

If they don’t turn up in those locations, it’s time to make a list of possible places you can find them. You should write this down – keeping it in your head will make the search process messy as you may not remember which places you’ve already checked, especially before you start thinking about car key cutting.

That way, you can just keep going through the list and crossing items off to be sure about what you’ve checked specifically. In the end, you’ll have exhausted all reasonable options and will know that your keys are definitely not there.

7. Get rid of chaos along the way

While you’re going through that list, take the opportunity to get rid of any clutter you encounter along the way. This will not only help you in your search, but it will make it less likely to fall into the same trap later on. When you see a messy pile, just take a minute to sort it out. If you want to push this to a later time, just throw all items you can’t sort right now into a big box.

8. Check your pets’ hiding places

Have pets? Sometimes they’re the ones responsible for your missing car keys. Knowing their usual hiding spots will help you here. Just check each place to ensure that the little critters haven’t taken anything that doesn’t belong to them. Who knows, you might also discover something else you thought you’d lost.

9. Use a smart key finder

This won’t help you immediately, especially if a replacement still needs key programming, but it will be of a lot of use down the road. Using a smart key finder will make it a lot easier to resolve this problem if it happens again, and without having to go through your entire house. Most models don’t cost a lot these days and you should be able to get one for every vehicle key or key fob you have without trouble.

A structured approach will help a lot when searching for lost car keys in your house. Don’t panic, and remember that they must show up somewhere in the end. Just be patient and go through all possible locations one by one, using a system to note down which places you’ve already searched. And when you eventually find them, note where they were for future reference. Why not let the interior designer build you a custom car key storage? With a great design idea, you will never lose the keys in your home again.