Welcome to the Tradelocks guide on to picking and decoding the new Ford Jaguar HU198 lock using the Genuine Lishi pick and decoder.
As you can see from the above picture, this guide relates to the new Ford lock introduced on models from 2017. The first vehicle this was seen on was the Ford Fiesta mid to end of 2017.
You will notice that it is still the HU101 key blade, but despite being the same HU101 key blade, the cut is very different. Ford have moved away from the old external track key and have moved to an internal track key.
Lock and Key Details
As has been mentioned, as Ford have now moved to an internal track lock and key, a new key cutting card and Lishi tool is required despite being the same HU101 key blade. The lock still houses 10 cuts in the lock, and still uses five key cut heights numbered one to five, with one being the highest cut and five being the deepest cut.
This lock uses Instacode cutting card 1434.
The new lock series is 0020001 – 0032003.
All locks house all 10 wafers and the Lishi tool can pick door, ignition and boot. It’s worth mentioning that cut to code machines cut this key more accurately using a 1.5mm cutter and tracer.
Site Reading the Ford Jaguar HU198 Cut Key
There’s not a huge difference in site reading the key; with the key bow to the left and tip to the right, you only need to site read the top track of the key. For site reading purposes, we are only interested in reading the top track of the key. However, as it’s now an internal track key, the correct opposite cut value will always sit opposite on the cut opposite on the bottom track of the key. This is a useful double check for you when site reading a worn key.
A cut value on the top track will always have its opposite cut sat opposite it on the bottom track, so:
1-cut will always sit opposite a 5 cut
2-cut will always sit opposite a 4 cut
3-cut will always sit opposite a 3 cut
4-cut will always sit opposite a 2 cut
5-cut will always sit opposite a 1 cut
This is a useful cross-check when site reading.
We are only concerned with site reading the top track of the key as in the below photo:
So, with bow to the left and tip to the right, our site read of the top track gives a key from bow to tip of “5433433112”.
This means that the bottom track should read as “1233233554”. The below photo confirms this:
Buy checking both sides of the key we can confirm our top track decode. Simply enter the direct cuts from the top track into your cut to code machine of “5433433112” to cut the perfect key.
For those of us with aging eyes, the calliper and vernier measurements for each cut are as follows:
1 cut measures 3.1mm
2 cut measures 2.5mm
3 cut measures 1.9mm
4 cut measures 1.3mm
5 cut measures 0.7mm
Advice When Using the HU198/Ford 2017 Pick & Decoder
I have had a play with a number of bench locks as well as a number of locks on live vehicles with very mixed results. On one lock, everything will read bang on the line, and on the next lock, one side will read on the line and the opposite side will read up to a cut too far (i.e. a two-cut reads as a one-cut). This only affects some locks and not all. Therefore, it is important to know your tool and the lock you are working on. To get around this, I tend to treat this as an issue with every lock and decode the lock twice with the tool inserted the opposite way.
Once I have picked the lock open, I make note of the positions that I did not need to pick at all. I know these will be number five key cut values, so the first thing I do is check these positions to confirm they are reading as a five-cut value. Where the arrow reads these indicates how my tool will read all positions on this lift arm. If it reads bang on the line, then I know each position on that arm should do the same. If it reads just above or just below the line or a full cut past the line (i.e. it reads a four), I know that each position on that arm is likely to read the same distance out and compensate for this in my decode.
When only one of the two lift arms is reading out, as is the case when this happens normally, I spike the lock, then remove the tool and turn it over and reinsert. Now the good arm reads the opposite side and will give me an accurate decode of that side as well.
It is not just the five cuts you can perform this on, but the one cuts also as these are easily felt. If you’re reading a full cut distance past the one line, then I know it’s reading a cut too far for the rest and you can compensate for this.
Stay tuned for Vol.2 of this guided series on picking and decoding the Ford Jaguar HU198 lock.
Make sure to check our Genuine Lishi Guide Series Page for more Lishi Guides.
