Exposing Dodgy Work #1 – 2011 Nissan Tiida

As a qualified locksmith with over 25 years of experience, I’ve seen my fair share of substandard work left behind by others in the trade. With a growing number of dodgy so-called locksmith businesses popping up, we’re often the ones called in to fix the mess they leave behind.

The goal of these posts is to shine a light on the shady practices used by unqualified locksmiths and the dangerous shortcuts they take. Some of the damage they cause is easy to fix while other work can cost customers hundreds, even thousands to repair.

2011 NISSAN TIIDA

A friendly customer from Rosanna contacted us for a quote on a spare key and remote for her Nissan Tiida. After accepting the quote, we attended her vehicle the next day.

She handed over her existing key and a separate remote, mentioning the buttons on the remote no longer worked. The key itself was unbranded, low quality, and had a worn brass blade.

We decoded the door and ignition locks to retrieve the correct key bitting, allowing us to cut a brand new key. After fitting a genuine transponder chip to the new blade, we attempted programming, but it failed.

Since Nissan bladed keys typically program easily via the OBD port, we knew further investigation was needed.

After removing the ignition cover, we discovered a transponder chip that had been siliconed to the back of the key reader antenna, completely outside of where it’s supposed to be, which is inside the key itself. Our customer had been experiencing intermittent starting issues, where the car would only start occasionally. This was caused by the antenna struggling to read the poorly positioned transponder chip.

She told us the issues began after visiting a key cutter at a popular shopping centre. They reportedly had trouble cloning the key, ultimately deleting her original in the process and leaving her stranded in the car park.

The key cutter was then forced to arrange someone else to program her original key back in and according to our customer they carried out this so called repair. The shear off bolts had been removed and had slots cut in them so they could be reused. This makes it easy for thieves to remove the steering lock with ease.

If the original transponder had remained glued to the key reader, the car could have been easily stolen, as the immobiliser was effectively bypassed, potentially voiding the owner’s insurance. We’ve also seen similar cases misdiagnosed by mechanics, leading to unnecessary and costly part replacements.

I’m not here to scare anyone, just to share what I see out on the job every week. These stories are real, and they’re happening far too often. My goal is to help people make informed decisions and avoid the stress and cost that comes with dodgy and unqualified locksmith work.