Fast Facts Locksmith Vehicle Quick Reference Guide 12th Edition

Fast Facts™
12th Edition 2018
Please Note: How-to and Reference Books are not returnable.
Fast Facts™ Laminated cover and rugged Spiral Binding make it tough enough for the roughest service. For the busiest locksmith shop or mobile application, your Fast Facts will stay together. Giving specific information on specific car or motorcycle cylinders for years to come.

In its 12th edition, Fast Facts™ has become the "Go-To" reference of the working locksmiths around the world. Fast Facts™ is written by a working locksmith, for working locksmiths. One "look-up" convenience makes it indispensable for quoting jobs over the phone or working at the car or motorcycle.

No batteries required. No internet hook-up necessary. No laptop or electronic notebook can compare to the convenience of the Fast Facts™. Instant Facts at your fingertips. Indexed, Clear, Concise and easy to read.

The "Helps Section" gives pointers and many specific transponder programming procedures that have been tested and proven in actual use. GM VATS system information, key progressions and special notes on a number of autos gives you the benefit of nearly 40 years of "on the road" experience.

The motorcycle index is the largest listing of 2-wheeled vehicles anywhere.

6 x 11 spiral bound, 198 pages 

This is a page from the Fast Facts™ Index.
This is the heart of the "ONE LOOK-UP" technology. The information is organized, to save you time and frustration, and make money. Speed is everything, and Fast Facts™ will decrease your time spent on the job. Organized, Concise Facts, Easy to find, and Complete. No Fillers.

Covers all foreign and domestic autos manufactured for the North American market from 1965 to 2017, with some 2018 vehicles. There are 3,761 different auto models listed, with 638 different Key Plates.

This is a portion of the index. As you can see, if you know the Make, Model, and Year of the vehicle, you can instantly find:

The correct Code Series used on the vehicle
The key application, i.e., Ignition, Door/trunk, Ignition/Door, Master, Valet, & etc.
The number of tumblers in the lock system used
The ILCO Easy or Curtis key number for the key used
If the car uses VATS, Xponder, Alpha-Tech, PATS, ngsPATS, PATS III, PATS IIIC (CAN), Sentry, Fobic, PEPS, High Security (Laser Cut) or anything special, I will tell you in the index. Instant Heads-Up on Xpondrs. Instant Heads-up on OEM only keys.
The Key Plate number, that will contain all of the information for making the key.
Fits easily on your desk. Spiral binding allows the book to be folded back on itself for an even smaller footprint.

Stays open and lays flat. What could be better?

ONLY Fast Facts™ delivers this level of convenience.


This is Key Plate CH29. It was located by looking up the make, model and year of the vehicle in the auto index, at the front of the Fast Facts™ book.

This Key Plate shows all of the information necessary to make the 8 wafer emergency key. We see that the key is a FOBIK 6 button transponder. This information applies to many other current Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep models.

Key making is recommended by "reading door cylinder for cuts 2-8, then progressing the key in the ignition to find cut #1." The tumbler position block indicates that there is a rear deck (tnk) or hatch cylinder, and a locking glove box. Later year models will not have these cylinders but the information remains the same for the key specifications. In the bottom right corner of the Key Plate is the "sub." (substitute) recommendations for the non-FOBIK (plain head) key blank that will operate this vehicle. The recommendation is to "see CH29 for the POD key substitute. A Y159 is recommended as a "work key."

This is Key Plate FO45a. It was located by looking up the make, model and year of the vehicle in the auto index, at the front of the Fast Facts™ book.

The Key Plate shows the information necessary to make the 8 wafer key for a Lincoln MKX (with power lift gate). We see that the key is an IKTPATS 4 button transponder (IKT=Integrated Head Transponder / Remote). This information applies to many current Ford/Lincoln/Mercury models. The 2007-11 model year vehicles used the "CAN" protocol for key programming.

Key making is recommended by "reading door cylinder for cuts 1-6, then progressing the key in the ignition to find cuts 7-8." Some models may contain door tumblers in positions 2-7. If this is the case, a simple progression of position 8 will find the ignition key. The tumbler position block indicates that there is no rear deck (trunk) or hatch cylinder, but there is a glove box, which will contain tumblers in positions 6-8. The OEM (Rotunda) part number for the IKT key is shown, along with the Strattec part numbers for the Ford and Lincoln IKT's without remote start. In the bottom right corner of the Key Plate is the "sub." (substitute) recommendations for the non-IKT (plain head) key blanks that will operate this vehicle. Note that the new 80 Bit Ford keys cannot be cloned at this time.

There is a great deal of information contained in this small space. Fast Facts has 526 different Key Plates, covering over 3300 makes and models of Foreign and domestic autos. Some key Plates apply to more than one make or model auto, so it is imperative that you always use the index to locate the correct Key Plate.


This is Key Plate TO16. It shows the information necessary to make a mechanical key for a 2002-04 Lexus (and many others). The code is found on all cylinders. The "XpndrP" block shows us that a key can be cloned, if a programmed key is available, or a first key programmed using the TKO or T-Code device. This key configuration and code series is also used on the keyless PROX, or "Push Button" start vehicles, as an emergency key. Tumbler location and mechanical specifications are also shown. This is the Lexus "short" configuration, with 5+5 tumblers.

The "Helps Index" directs the reader to the helps pages which give more specific information on the auto or key system he's working on. The Helps Section contains expanded instructions on key making, transponder procedures and insights that are too large for the Key Plate section to accommodate.

This Helps page begins the section on programming transponder PK3 keys. The section includes OBP (onboard programming) procedures, definitions and other helps and insights.

This same format is found for Ford PATS, GM PK3+ and PK3(+) (circle plus) and Chrysler Sentry domestic vehicles, with additional sections for most foreign auto manufacturers.

This is a page from the Fast Facts™ motorcycle index. The Motorcycle section of the Fast Facts™ book is printed on yellow stock. This makes the section easy to locate. Notice that the Make Model and Year format is similar to the auto section.

The manufacturers names are in alphabetical order. To find a Honda motorcycle, we would look up Honda, then find the model, and then the year of manufacture. At this point we would find the "Code series, Application, Number of cuts, Key Number and the correct Fast Facts™ motorcycle key Plate to turn to for more key-making information.

There are two other motorcycle indices. There is a "comprehensive "model" index, which contains over 1100 motorcycle models, arranged by manufacturer (make), model and year. Models are listed alphanumerically under the Manufacturer name, and indicate the years of manufacture, code series, number of tumblers in the series, the Ilco and Curtis key numbers, and the appropriate Key Plate in the motorcycle section of the Fast Facts™. Some models will show more than one key because the code series determines the key.

There is also a separate 15-page index of Chinese and Korean motorcycles, mopeds, scooters and handicap electric chairs.

I believe this to be the largest index of 2-wheel and recreational vehicles to be found anywhere.

Here we see four Key Plates from the Suzuki section. (Key Plates SZ01a to SZ04) All information necessary to make these keys will be found on these key plates. There are over 200 different motorcycle Key Plates.

Just like the auto section, the key plates will show:

• Code Series

• Baxter, National Locksmith and Reed Code book Pages

• The 1200CM Code Card

• Curtis "Clipper Cam-Carriage-Cutter requirements

• Curtis Code "Book" which will have the Code Series

• Guide Keys (D & S Keys)

• ITL Number

• Code Max DSD Number

• Framon "Space-Block-Increment" information

(for Framon #2 Code Machine users)

• Code location, if any

• Suggested key making method

• Depth & Space information

• Tumbler Locations

• Key Numbers

• Illustration of the Key and the Key Profile

If you make keys for Motorcycles, the Fast Facts™ motorcycle key reference is indispensable.