How we verify key data

Every number on this page is computed from the data files behind KeyAssist as of 2026-10-16. Nothing here is typed in by hand; when the data changes, the page changes with it.

What a case is

A case is one vehicle generation: a make, a model and the model years built with the same key system — for example a Honda Civic 2016–2021. KeyAssist holds 1,126 cases across 44 makes. A case changes only when the key system changes, not with every model year.

What a variant is

A variant is one physical key inside a case: its FCC ID, OEM part number, transponder chip, blade, radio frequency and battery. A case usually has more than one — a bladed transponder key and a smart key, or an Americas fob and a European one — so 2,457 variants sit under those 1,126 cases. The part number is what a locksmith orders, so each variant is checked on its own.

Where the evidence comes from

Each variant carries its own list of source links. A link is stored with the page's domain, what it confirms; the variant as a whole carries the date it was last verified. Links are ranked in four tiers:

1. Tier 1 — FCC filings — the exhibit documents on fccid.io (label, photos, user manual, test report) — and manufacturer documents. 9,754 links.
2. Tier 2 — Dealer parts catalogues that publish the OEM part number and the vehicles it fits. 4,050 links.
3. Tier 3 — Product pages of locksmith suppliers and retailers. 32,526 links.
4. Tier 4 — Marketplaces, forums and other pages — the weakest tier. 237 links.

The direct rule

A link counts as direct only when the page address itself names this variant's exact FCC ID or part number. A page that is merely about the right car, or that names a sibling key, does not count. 39,301 of the 46,567 stored links are direct (84%).

The 20-direct target, and the ceiling

The target for every variant is 20 direct links. 1,652 variants are at or above it. Some keys cannot get there however long we look: FCC filings made before 1999 carry no exhibit documents, a key sold only in Europe or Japan has no FCC filing at all, and a plain mechanical key has no radio to file. 849 variants are marked as having reached their ceiling. For those the page shows the real count instead of pretending the target was met — we would rather show eleven honest links than pad to 20.

Together, 2,454 of 2,457 variants are either at the target or at their documented ceiling; the remaining 3 are still being worked on.

Dead links are retired, not deleted

Links rot: suppliers restructure their catalogues and listings expire. Stored links are re-checked in full sweeps — the most recent ran in August 2026 — and a link is retired only after it fails twice on separate probes, so a page knocked over by our own traffic is not mistaken for a dead one. A retired link is moved aside with the date and the HTTP status it failed with. It stops counting as evidence, but the record of what was checked, and when, survives. 736 links have been retired so far: 714 because the page died, and 22 because a second check showed the page was evidence for a different part or vehicle. The most recent retirement was on 2026-08-10.

Second-pass checks

Large batches of changes to key data are re-checked by a separate pass that opens the cited pages again and tries to prove the first pass wrong. Across our own audits of the key-data programme, between 16% and 30% of a batch's edits were overturned — a wrong chip, a part number that belonged to a sibling model, a year boundary off by one. We publish that range because it is the real one. Overturned edits are corrected, and the rate is written into the brief of the next batch so the same mistake is not made twice.

The most recent verification date on any variant is 2026-10-15; half of all variants were last verified on or after 2026-08-09.

What we do not do

• No templated addresses. A link is stored only after the page was fetched and read. We never build an address from a pattern and assume the page exists.
• No new auction or marketplace listings as evidence. Listings are designed to expire, so an item page is not a durable citation and we no longer add them. 4,532 such links are still in the data and still counted; each is retired when it dies.
• No placeholder part numbers. If the OEM number is not confirmed, the field says so. "Family" or "to be confirmed" never stands in for a number.
• No invented quotes. If we did not read the words on the page, they are not put in quotation marks.
• No padding. A variant that cannot reach 20 direct links shows its real count.

Found an error?

Wrong data costs a locksmith a wasted call-out, so every report is read. Use the Report data error button inside any case in the app, or email support@keyassist.app with the case ID and what needs correcting.

Month-by-month changes are on the Updates page.

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