At RAXO Locksmiths in Winnipeg, I cut and program keys for every General Motors brand at your vehicle — spare keys from $90+, Smart Keys from $220+. All-keys-lost starts at $280+ plus tax for most transponder and remote-head keys, or $350+ for a push-to-start smart key. Written quote by text before I drive out.
By Leo — mobile automotive locksmith, Winnipeg · Updated September 2026
I'm Leo, and GM is GM — Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, and Cadillac all share platforms, so they share their keys. A Silverado 1500 key is the same as a Sierra 1500; an Escalade shares its key family with a Tahoe and a Yukon. That means one box of GM blanks covers the whole lineup, from the older sensor-in-lock trucks through the modern proximity Smart Key era, with dealer-level access on the platforms that need it. Pick your brand below — or if you lost every key with none to copy, that's a GM all-keys-lost job, and I still program those on-site.
Shared-platform pairings
Same chassis, same keys, same price tier — across GM badges.
Silverado 1500 ≡ Sierra 1500
Half-ton trucks. Identical key family by generation.
Tahoe / Suburban ≡ Yukon ≡ Escalade
Full-size SUVs. Denali + Escalade share the Tahoe key family.
Equinox ≡ Terrain
Compact SUVs. Same chassis, same Smart Key.
Traverse ≡ Acadia ≡ Enclave
Mid-size 3-row SUVs. All three brands, one key family per gen.
Pick your GM brand
Every GM brand is in scope at the same floor pricing. Jump to the page built for your badge — or keep reading for the shared GM key story.
Silverado, Tahoe, Equinox, Traverse, Malibu, Camaro, Trax. The volume of the GM lineup.
Chevrolet keys → GMCSierra, Yukon, Acadia, Terrain, Canyon, Hummer EV. GM's truck-and-SUV division.
GMC keys → BuickEnclave, Envision, Encore GX — plus older LeSabre, Lucerne, Regal, Verano.
Buick keys → CaddyEscalade, XT4/XT5/XT6, CT4/CT5, CTS, SRX, Lyriq. GM's premium marque.
Cadillac keys →GM key security, in plain English
GM's key security has stepped through four distinct eras since the 1990s, and the lineage is shared across every GM brand. The mid-'90s sensor-in-lock generation is the one a lot of locksmiths quietly stop taking calls on — it's the trickiest GM era to work on. I still take those calls. Here's the shape of it.
Era 1 · 1986 – 1995
Resistor in the key blade
GM's earliest key security — a resistor pellet in the key blade that the ignition lock has to read correctly to fire. Camaro, Corvette, Firebird, older Cadillac DeVille / Eldorado, older trucks. Mostly retirees in the call log now, but every once in a while a beautifully kept C4 Corvette or a classic Cadillac comes through and needs a resistor-pellet blank. Cheap and quick.
Era 2 · 1996 – 2007
No chip — sensor reads the lock
Big departure: no chip in the key — instead, a magnetic sensor inside the ignition lock cylinder reads the lock's signature. Silverado, Sierra, Tahoe, Yukon, Suburban, Trailblazer, Cavalier, Cobalt, Impala, Malibu. This era is famously fussy: the security light flashes, the vehicle won't start, and it takes a security-system reset I can run at your vehicle — sometimes that's all it needs, sometimes a new lock cylinder. I take the calls a lot of mobile locksmiths shy away from.
Era 3 · 2007 – 2013
Chip in key, CAN-based
GM finally moved to a proper transponder chip in the key head, with a separate fob for remote lock / unlock / trunk. CAN-based programming. Silverado / Sierra GMT900 (2007–2013), Tahoe / Yukon / Escalade, Suburban, Camaro 5th gen, Cruze, Equinox 1st gen, Traverse / Acadia / Enclave 1st gen. Mainstream, well-supported.
Era 4 · 2014 +
Proximity push-button start
Proximity Smart Key with push-button start arrives on GM trucks at the K2XX generation (Silverado 2014, Sierra 2014, Tahoe / Yukon / Escalade / Suburban 2015) starting at the higher trims and rolling down. Standard across the T1XX trucks (Silverado 2019+, Sierra 2019+) and most current Cadillacs. All current GM EVs (Blazer EV, Equinox EV, Silverado EV, Hummer EV, Cadillac Lyriq) share this architecture. Dealer-level access required for AKL on these — that's what I have.
GM's truck & SUV division
GMC is the Chevrolet truck-and-SUV lineup with a different grille and a premium bent. Every GMC has a Chevrolet twin it shares a key family with: Sierra ≡ Silverado, Yukon ≡ Tahoe, Acadia ≡ Traverse, Terrain ≡ Equinox, Canyon ≡ Colorado. Denali and AT4 trims use the same key as the base trims of their generation — premium badge, regular key. Same dealer-level access covers GMC end-to-end, from the sensor-in-lock era through today's proximity Smart Keys.
Full GMC model list, key eras, and pricing live on the dedicated GMC key replacement page.
GM's premium crossover line
Buick is GM's quiet-luxury crossover division. Current lineup: Encore GX and the new Envista (compact crossovers), Envision (mid-size), and Enclave (3-row, shares the Traverse / Acadia platform and key family). Older Buicks — LeSabre, Lucerne, Park Avenue, Regal, Verano, Cascada, the original Encore — are all still in scope, usually the value end of the GM bracket. Buick keys are the same chip families as the equivalent Chevrolet or GMC of the same year.
Full Buick model list, key eras, and pricing live on the dedicated Buick key replacement page.
GM's premium marque
Cadillac is premium, but under the badge it's still GM — an Escalade shares its key family with the Tahoe and Yukon, and the sedans and crossovers use the same GM chip and Smart Key hardware as their Chevrolet and GMC counterparts by year. Escalade, XT4 / XT5 / XT6, CT4 / CT5, older ATS / CTS / XTS / SRX / DTS, and the Lyriq EV — all cut and programmed on-site, no dealer tow. Premium proximity Smart Keys sit at the higher end of the GM bracket for the fob hardware.
Shared key family
Escalade ≡ Tahoe / Yukon / Suburban
The full Escalade / XT / CT / Lyriq lineup — and a real Cadillac job photo — lives on the Cadillac page.
Cadillac key replacement →GM pricing
At RAXO Locksmiths in Winnipeg, I cut and program GM car keys on-site — spare keys from $90+, Smart Keys from $220+, all-keys-lost from $280+ (plus tax), with a written quote by text before I drive out.
Same bracket across Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, and Cadillac — they use the same key hardware. Older sensor-in-lock and transponder + remote trims sit at the floor; Smart Key proximity trims sit higher because the fob hardware costs more. Written quote by text before I dispatch.
Spare / extra key
$90+ transponder
$160+ remote head / flip
$220+ smart key
Cut and programmed at your vehicle. Every GM brand, every era from sensor-in-lock to CAN-based Smart Key. Older transponder trims at the floor; Smart Key trims sit higher. Full breakdown on the spare key page.
Lost all keys (AKL)
$280+ transponder / remote-head
$350+ smart key
A brand-new Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, or Cadillac key, cut and programmed on-site through dealer-level access after an ownership check. All-keys-lost starts at $280+ plus tax for most transponder and remote-head keys, or $350+ for a push-to-start smart key. A second key made the same visit costs less than coming back for it later — I put that number in your written quote. You skip the GM parts-order, the tow, and the service-bay timing. Details on the lost-keys page.
Fob programming only
$90+ you bring it
$90+ I supply
Bring a reputable aftermarket GM fob and the programming is labour-only at $90+; or I supply a basic remote — same $90+ floor. A push-button-start proximity Smart Key is a pricier part — that's the spare / AKL pricing above, not a $90 basic-fob job. Fob programming details →
If you want the plain-language version of every key style and service first, start at car key replacement, explained.
Most jobs add 12% tax (7% Manitoba PST + 5% GST); labour-only work — like a car lockout or programming a fob you already own — is 5% GST only. Free inside the Perimeter; $2/km beyond, up to roughly 150 km. Payment by e-transfer, tap, or cash — after the key works. Full pricing transparency on the pricing page. GM brand pages: Chevrolet · GMC · Buick · Cadillac. Full vehicle list on vehicles I service.
A Chevrolet, a GMC, a Buick, and a Cadillac — cut and programmed at the customer's vehicle. One box of GM blanks, four badges.
Five stars on Google — early but real. Here are three.
"I was very impressed. He was on time and set up both key fobs and cut both keys for my car and it only took about an hour. He really knows his stuff and I really appreciated it."
— Glenn Buckboro · Google review
"Great service! He quickly made a copy of my car key, and it works perfectly. Friendly, professional, and fair price. Highly recommend!"
— Oleh Vashchenko · Google review
"Precise, polite and punctual."
— Dominic Ibeme · Google review
5.0 average · all verified on the Google Business Profile. No padding, no buying.
These cover the whole GM family. For your exact model and price, jump to your brand: Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, or Cadillac. General service questions are on the full FAQ page.
Yes — all four. Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, and Cadillac are all General Motors, they share their platforms, and (the part that matters for me) they share their key blanks and programming flows. A Silverado 1500 key is the same key as a Sierra 1500; an Escalade shares its key family with a Tahoe and a Yukon. So when you tell me the GM vehicle you've got, I'm picking from one box of GM blanks — the badge on the grille doesn't change the job. Every GM brand is in scope at the standard floor pricing.
This page is the overview for the whole GM family and where the shared-key story lives. Each brand also has its own page for the model-specific detail: the Chevrolet page or the GMC page or the Buick page or the Cadillac page covers your exact model, key era, and price. Use this page to understand how GM keys work and pick your brand.
GM's mid-'90s-to-late-2000s security uses a magnetic sensor in the ignition lock cylinder instead of a chip in the key. Most Silverado, Sierra, Tahoe, Yukon, Suburban, Trailblazer, Cavalier, and Impala from that era use it. This setup has a few well-known quirks — the security light blinks and the vehicle won't start until it's reset — but I keep the right hardware to read, reset, and re-key these on-site. Newer GM vehicles (2014+) moved to a CAN-based immobilizer with a proper chip-in-key transponder and Smart Key proximity on premium trims.
Spare GM key: transponder $90+, remote-head/flip $160+, Smart Key $220+, plus tax. All-keys-lost starts at $280+ plus tax for most transponder and remote-head keys, or $350+ for a push-to-start smart key. A second key made the same visit costs less than coming back for it later — I put that number in your written quote. Fob programming alone starts at $90+. It's the same bracket across Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, and Cadillac because they use the same key hardware — older transponder trims sit at the floor, and premium Smart Keys (common on Denali, High Country, and most Cadillacs) use the smart-key tier.
Yes — that's the all-keys-lost (AKL) job, and across Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, and Cadillac it's usually the same GM key family for a given platform year. Using dealer-level access — the same information the dealership works from — I cut a fresh blade and program a new transponder or push-button Smart Key into your GM immobilizer right at your vehicle in Winnipeg, no tow required. Before I start I verify ownership — photo ID matched to your registration or proof of insurance in your name — and if your papers are locked in the car, I run the lockout first so you can grab them.
Yes. The GM Ultium-platform EVs (Blazer EV, Equinox EV, Silverado EV, Sierra EV, GMC Hummer EV, Cadillac Lyriq) use the same proximity Smart Key architecture as the gas trucks and SUVs of the same era. The EV powertrain doesn't change the key/immobilizer side of things. Bolt EV / Bolt EUV (older platform, discontinued 2023) run the standard CAN-based Smart Key family. All in scope at the standard floor pricing.
Across the GM family the clock is set by the key your vehicle uses, not by the badge on it. An extra key copied from one you already hold is usually finished in five to ten minutes. A chipped or push-to-start key has to be created and matched to the vehicle on site, which is the thirty-to-forty-minute part. The long case is an all-keys-lost call: budget one to three hours, because I confirm ownership and build the key up from nothing before any programming starts. Your written quote carries the real number for your car.
Quote in writing before I dispatch. Sensor-in-lock era through modern Smart Key — every GM platform in scope. Pay after the key starts the engine.
