What do you do at a time like this?
After a hard day at work or a busy day of shopping, what can be worse than getting to your car, only to discover you’re locked out of car? Maybe if it’s pouring down rain, snow, or at night would make it even worse. Either way, being locked out of car is a pain. If your keys aren’t in the ignition, then you’re wondering, “Where’s my car keys?”.
Besides screaming to nobody in particular, some of may cry and kick the tires. It may not even be you that left the keys in the car or lost them altogether, causing you to be locked out of car. As a parent, I have firsthand experience in being locked out of car by one of my kids. Just an FYI: Unless there is a child locked in the car, you won’t get any help from law enforcement.
Let’s take a few minutes from this nightmare scenario, and answer a few questions that you may, or maybe not, have thought about, like,” How do you open a car when the key is locked inside?” We offer you a few workarounds that will get to help you with what do you do if your locked out of your car:
- Method One: A tennis ball – We don’t blame for being skeptical about this one, and it takes some prep time, so maybe have a tennis ball prepared and handy for future lock outs. Put a hole in a tennis ball then placing it over the keyhole, push on the ball. This forces air from the ball into the keyhole and should unlock the door.
- Method Two: Shoelace – If you’re in a hurry, and most of us are when we’re in this predicament, this may not be the solution for you. Take your shoelace, make a small loop with it, and then gently push it into a door. Work it to get that loop around the lock, then pull the lock up.
- Method Three: A coat hanger – This method is for cars with horizontal locks. Take a wire coat hanger and untwist it so that you have a long wire. Make one end a hook and work that end into the car door. Wiggle it around until you have that hook around the lock then pull the lock up.
- Method Four: Rod and screwdriver – This method could damage your car’s exterior or interior if you’re not careful. Take the screwdriver and make some space at the window top, then slide the rod in and push the lock open with the rod.
- Method Five: A spatula – Insert the door lever and wedge open the door big enough to fit the spatula inside the door and lift the lock.
- Method Six: An inflatable wedge – This is something you’ll want to buy at your local auto parts store, and it can be a little costly, but an investment if getting locked out of car is a common issue in your household. Using the same screwdriver method described above, but this devices uses air to open the door.
- Method Seven: A strip of plastic – Bend the strip of plastic and insert in through the door jamb then lift the lock. Easy.
- Method Eight: A lock picking tool – You can purchase these online and you can watch videos on how to use one.
- Method Nine: Call locked out car service or the auto club – Either of these is a good option and they will have the skills and proper tools for getting you into your locked out of car.
How do I unlock my car door without a key?
If you have a newer model car, most of them have power locks with a remote controls that opens the door. An older car, and some lower priced newer cars, only open manually. With the manual lock, some cars have a locking handle on the windowsill with a knob on top – these are the easier ones to unlock using the methods we listed above.
Some of them, however, have a slim, straight handle. These were designed as anti-theft and unfortunately, if you have gotten locked out of car, it is going to be almost impossible to get inside without professional help. The same with cars that have the lock on the interior of the door, flush with the door handle.
How much is pop a lock for a car?
If you have to call a professional lockout service, aka, locksmith, you can expect to pay around $150.00. Some areas of the country maybe less than that, some are higher. This is why having an auto club service is a good idea. They offer a certain number of times per year where they don’t charge you to help you when you’re locked out of car, and the same with bringing you gas.
If you’ve lost your keys, and you’ve locked yourself out of your car, do you know where to get car keys cut once you’re inside it again? If you have a spare key or somebody else has a key to your car, you can take it to any locksmith or anywhere that makes keys to get a copy made.
However, if your car key is a security key, meaning it has a chip inside that is just for your car, you’ll need to take it to a dealership or a locksmith that can duplicate the key and the chip. This type of key is called a key fob can cost as much as $150 or more, depending on the make and model of the car. Call __PHONE__ today fo your pop a lock needs in Festus, MO.