Smart locks
House lockouts
Re-keying
Deadbolt upgrades
Schlage
Kwikset
Car keys & fobsNon-destructive entry first, always - and we re-key Schlage, Kwikset, and Baldwin locks on the spot while you watch
You get a price before we start. It does not change when we arrive. No surprises.
Get your free estimateLocksmith in Tempe, AZ
Rekeying is the most common locksmith job we handle in Tempe, and the rhythm of this city shapes how we do it. Between ASU’s August move-in wave, the May move-out rush, and landlords turning units on Mill Avenue and University Drive, we rekey hundreds of Tempe locks every year. The desert heat adds its own layer: sun-baked deadbolts, swollen door frames, and keypads that quit after one too many 110-degree afternoons. If you need a lock changed, rekeyed, or a car key replaced in Tempe, call Parkway Lock & Key at (877) 824-1139 and we’ll walk you through exactly what it takes.
Why Tempe Homes Are Different
Tempe’s housing stock splits into two worlds, and each has its own lock problems. The older core around downtown and the 85281 and 85282 ZIP codes holds mid-century ranch homes from the 1950s through the 1970s. Many of those doors have settled over 60 or 70 Arizona summers, which means deadbolt strikes that no longer line up and latches that bind when the wood swells in late July. We regularly see doors along 5th Street that will not close cleanly in August, not because the lock is broken but because the frame has moved a quarter inch and the deadbolt cannot seat.
The other half of Tempe is rental stock, and a lot of it churns every 12 months or less. Roughly half of ASU’s 80,000-plus students live off campus in apartments, condos, and shared houses concentrated in 85281 and 85282. Those units are dominated by builder-grade Kwikset and Weiser knobs that get swapped constantly as tenants move in and out. A property manager near the Mill Avenue corridor might need six or eight units rekeyed in a single morning during the mid-May turnover, and every minute of that morning is scheduled against a lease deadline.
Heat is the third factor. Tempe summers routinely push past 105°F, and direct sun on a west-facing door bakes the lock cylinder, dries out the internal lubricant, and warps the door slab itself. Sun-facing strike plates and electronic keypads fail at a higher rate here than in almost any other metro in the country. A lockout in Tempe in July is not just an inconvenience; standing on hot asphalt for an hour is genuinely dangerous, so response speed matters more here than in a mild-climate city.
Styles & brands we work with
Our Main Tempe Services
Most Tempe calls come down to two situations: someone needs a car key replaced without waiting a week for a dealership, or someone is locked out and needs a professional on site without delay. Here is what each involves in Tempe.
Car Key Replacement in Tempe
Tempe is a car-dependent city with dense apartment and garage parking, which means car key problems repeat with predictable frequency. Transponder keys and key fobs get lost, locked inside vehicles, or damaged by heat and daily use. Garage parking at complexes near ASU compounds the problem because a failed fob can leave a vehicle stuck behind a gate or in a numbered stall. We replace car keys and fobs for most major makes on site, programming them to your vehicle without a tow and without dealership lead times. If you have lost your only key or need a spare before a trip out of town, call us at (877) 824-1139. For the full breakdown on what we cover, see Car Key Replacement in Tempe.
Emergency Locksmith in Tempe
Lockouts in Tempe follow the weather. The late-August and mid-May student turnover brings a wave of apartment and house lockouts as roommates change, keys get shuffled, and hundreds of people move on the same weekend. Mid-summer brings another spike: people locked out in 108-degree heat, locked out of cars in sun-baked lots, or locked out with a door that has swollen shut from weeks of high temperatures. We respond to residential, commercial, and automotive lockouts across Tempe, and when you call we will give you a real arrival window and a firm price before anyone gets dispatched. Details on response and coverage are on our Emergency Locksmith in Tempe page. When you’re standing in a parking lot at noon in July, every minute matters. We respond accordingly.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees — you reach a local pro.
- 2
You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
- 4
You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Rekey Locks in Tempe
Rekeying in Tempe is often the smarter move than replacing hardware, especially in rental properties where the same Kwikset or Schlage deadbolt gets rekeyed two or three times in a single school year. The August-to-May tenant churn means a landlord near University Drive may have us rekey the same unit every August for years, and the lock itself is still fine; it just needs new pins and new keys. Tempe’s heat makes rekeying a better choice than full replacement in another way: older hardware in mid-century homes near downtown often works fine mechanically and only fails because the door has shifted. Fixing the alignment and rekeying the cylinder costs less than pulling and replacing lock hardware that has decades of life left. Our full rekeying service is outlined at Rekey Locks, or call (877) 824-1139 to schedule a Tempe rekey.
Lock Rekey
Signs you need it
You have moved into a new Tempe rental or home and do not know who still holds copies of the old keys, or a roommate, tenant, or contractor has moved out and you are no longer certain every key is accounted for.
What it costs in Tempe
Rekeying a standard door lock in Tempe typically runs $75 to $160 per lock cylinder, with the final number depending on brand and whether we come to you during normal hours or on an emergency call.
How we do it
We disassemble the cylinder, swap out the internal pins and springs to match a new key, reassemble and test the lock, and confirm every old key stops working before we leave.
Rekey Door Lock
Signs you need it
A key has been lost, a relationship or roommate situation has changed, or you simply cannot account for every copy of your current house key and want certainty about who can get in.
What it costs in Tempe
Rekeying a door lock in Tempe generally falls between $75 and $160 for the first lock, and multi-lock jobs are quoted per cylinder at the time you call.
How we do it
After confirming the lock’s brand and condition, we set it to a fresh key code, cut the new keys, and test the deadbolt and knob through a full open-and-close cycle.
Rekey Service
Signs you need it
You are a Tempe landlord or property manager turning over one or more units on a tight deadline, or you want multiple locks on a property to operate from a single key without replacing the hardware.
What it costs in Tempe
A multi-lock rekey service in Tempe starts at the per-cylinder rate of $75 to $160, with a service minimum for very small jobs.
How we do it
We work through each unit or property systematically, rekeying whichever cylinders you specify and delivering labeled keys so every unit is ready for the next tenant.
What Rekey Locks Costs in Tempe
| Item | Typical range in Tempe |
|---|---|
| Per-lock rekey (standard cylinder) | $75 – $160 |
| Keyed-alike setup (multiple locks, same key) | $75 – $160 per cylinder, plus key cutting |
| Multi-unit rekey for landlords/property managers | $75 – $160 per cylinder, minimum service call applies |
Prices assume we come to you during normal business hours and the lock is in serviceable condition. Tempe’s older doors sometimes need strike-plate realignment before a rekey will work smoothly, and that small adjustment is quoted on the phone before we start.
How long does a rekey take in Tempe?
A single lock rekey typically takes 20 to 40 minutes once we arrive. Multi-unit Tempe turnovers, like an eight-unit apartment building near ASU, usually run half a day when scheduled in advance and quoted as a flat per-cylinder job.
Is rekeying better than replacing my Tempe locks?
In most cases, yes. If your existing hardware is mechanically sound and you just need to control who has keys, rekeying costs significantly less than new locks. We will tell you honestly which option fits your situation, including whether Tempe’s heat has damaged a cylinder enough that replacement is the better call. Call (877) 824-1139 for a straight answer on your specific hardware.
Brands We Service in Tempe
From Kwikset to Medeco, we know every level of the lock. In Tempe we work on Schlage and Mul-T-Lock hardware most often, including the Schlage deadbolts found throughout older Tempe homes and the Sargent and Abloy cylinders used on some commercial doors near campus. Parts for these brands can typically be matched the same day, which matters when a property manager needs a rental unit secured before a tenant walk-through. See our brands for the full list of hardware we are certified to service.
Pricing for Locksmith in Tempe, AZ
| Service | Typical range in Tempe |
|---|---|
| Rekey, standard lock cylinder | $75 – $160 |
| Standard deadbolt rekey with new keys | $75 – $160 |
| Lock swap plus rekey to new key | $75 – $160 per cylinder (labor) plus hardware |
| Keyed-alike setup, multiple locks | $75 – $160 per cylinder, plus key cutting |
| Lock change, parts and labor | $75 – $160 per cylinder (labor) plus hardware |
| Car key replacement (non-fob) | $150 – $350, vehicle-dependent |
| Car key replacement (fob or transponder) | $250 – $650, vehicle-dependent |
| Emergency lockout service | Quoted on the phone before dispatch |
In Tempe, the biggest price variables are the lock brand, whether the hardware is original to a mid-century home and needs alignment work, and whether you are calling during the late-August or mid-May turnover rush when we are booking multiple jobs per day. Whatever the number, we quote the full price on the phone before anyone is dispatched, and that is the price on the invoice; there is no call-out surcharge added when we arrive.
Neighborhoods We Serve in Tempe
We cover all of Tempe, including the ZIP codes 85283, 85284, 85285, and 85287. Most areas are reachable quickly because the city is dense and the road grid is straightforward, though the campus area gets congested during ASU move-in and move-out weeks.
- Downtown Tempe and the Mill Avenue corridor
- University Drive and the rental blocks around ASU
- South Tempe, including 85283 and 85284
- The 5th Street and bungalow districts near downtown
- Apache Boulevard and the complexes east of campus
Service Area – Cities Near Tempe
Parkway Lock & Key has served Tempe since 2014, and our service area reaches the surrounding communities where Tempe residents often move or manage property. We regularly work in Guadalupe, AZ, Tempe Junction, AZ, Ahwatukee Foothills, AZ, and Central City, AZ, with the same upfront phone pricing and brand coverage we offer in Tempe.
Serving Tempe, AZ — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Tempe area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage — if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs About Locksmith in Tempe
We schedule same-day service across Tempe and prioritize lockouts because of the heat. In summer, a person locked out mid-afternoon in 108-degree weather is a medical risk, not just a schedule item, so we route those calls first. Call (877) 824-1139 and we will give you a real arrival window before you hang up.
Most Tempe apartment leases require that management retain a key, so tell your landlord or property manager before rekeying a rental unit. For a home you own, no permit is required for rekeying or lock replacement in Tempe. If you are a tenant, we can coordinate directly with your property manager during turnover season.
We cover all of Tempe, including 85283, 85284, 85285, and 85287, plus the neighborhoods around ASU and downtown. The city is compact enough that we can route efficiently across the whole area in a single day, which helps when landlords need multiple units done during turnover week. Call us for a same-day schedule.
If you need a lock rekeyed, a car key replaced, or help getting back inside, call Parkway Lock & Key at (877) 824-1139 for a free estimate over the phone. We will quote the full price before anyone heads your way. From Kwikset to Medeco, every level of the lock is our job, and we know Tempe’s locks better than anyone.
What happens when you call
- 1A real person answersNo phone trees — talk to a local locksmith pro.
- 2You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched. No surprises.
- 3We come out and measureLicensed & insured, at a time that suits you — the visit and the quote are both free.
- 4You get the price in writingLine-itemed, yours to keep, and nothing starts until you say go.
What Tempe Customers Say
"Quoted a price on the phone and honored it. After the last locksmith I called, that alone is worth a review."
— Terrence Carter"Got me back in and the price was fair for the hour. He did arrive closer to 45 minutes than the 20 he estimated, which felt long standing outside, but he was honest that traffic was the problem."
— Katie Gallagher"Installed a smart lock and actually set up the app and the codes with me instead of leaving me to figure it out from a leaflet."
— Steve Kowalski