DIY Tips for Car Lockouts

If you find yourself in the unfortunate circumstance of having been locked outside your car, this list of do-it-yourself tips for re-accesing your vehicle might help a-lot. It should remain stated that any of these methods should be carefully reviewed before attempting, and may take a few repeat tries. It’s essential that when attempting these DIY entry methods that you do them correctly; otherwise you could cause extensive damage to your car. Read, and attempt carefully.

Make sure that you’re actually locked out.

It’s sort of silly, but maybe 20% of the time you’re not as harshly locked out as you might think. When you first feel like you’re locked out of your vehicle you may panic, and not calmly attempt all the entry methods that you can in order to get in the car. Make sure to breathe, and follow these initial steps to see if more advanced methods or entry tactics are even necessary.

Try all Doors

 

Although this might not please you from a security standpoint, it’s possible that not all of your car’s doors locked together. This is only a convenient circumstance when it seems that you’ve locked yourself out of the driver’s side door. Before doing anything else, check all of the car’s doors. If you’re lucky, one hasn’t fully locked and you can get in.

Try the Trunk

If you have a hatchback car, the truck is accessible from the cabin of the car – and there’s usually a way to get from the trunk into the back seat – usually a panel that opens out into the main container of the vehicle. If your trunk is unlocked you can get into the car this way and retrieve your key.

Remote Unlocking Services

If your car is subscribed to remote services like Onstar (either you signed up or it was included in your vehicle’s purchase you can have your car’s doors unlocked remotely with a single call. If you’re unsure whether your car is covered, call the dealer where you bought your vehicle to verify. It definitely helps to know.

B. Improvise Tools
Slipknots

 

You can make a slipknot out of a shoelace or piece of thin string. If your car has post locks (one of those upright vertical locks that can be pulled up to unlock or pushed down to secure) you can use a slipknot to pull it up. Just make sure that the string is small enough that it can fit between the car’s door and it’s frame. For leverage, make sure that the knot is positioned as close to the middle of the string as possible. Slide the string down between the frame and the door, keeping part of the string parallel to the roof and the other end perpendicular to the roof- try to catch the string’s loop around the lock, pull it closed tight, and pull the lock up – if it worked, you can get back into your car!

Coat Hangers

 

This can be especially helpful if your shoes don’t have any laces on them and you’re stuck in a somewhat populated area. If there’s a laundromat nearby (they are fairly common) ask to borrow a single hanger – make sure to mention that you might be unfolding it to help access your car. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a coat hanger – any piece of flexible, bendable, yet rigid material will work. Start out by straightening out the hanger, and bending the hook part to make it a V shape or a check mark shape. Slide the hanger between the door and the door frame, with the V shape going in first, and try to hook the post lock and pull it up and towards you.

Purchase Tools

 

If you don’t have access to shoelace, coat hanger, or the like, you might need to head to a store and spend a few bucks. If your keys are in your vehicle, have somebody watch your car in the meantime.

Wedges

 

Many car shops have rubber or air based wedges that are made specifically for vehicle lockouts – if you can’t find this, find a door stop. This could be made of plastic or rubber – using a hammer could also be really useful to get the wedge into the gap as well. Once you have a use-able wedge, you’re going to need to use a probe.

Probes and Plastic Straps

This is going to have to be somewhat similar to a wire hanger. If it’s slim, slender, and rigid it will work perfectly. If you’re using a plastic strap it should be made of a very long and very thin material – thin enough that it can slip between the car’s window and it’s frame when folded over. The goal is to use the probe to loop around the post lock and to pull it up towards you. If your plastic is too slippery to gain traction around the lock, fold a small piece of sandpaper in the crease of the fold to help you.

C. Get Professional Help

If the above methods don’t work, it’s wise to contact a professional. This is a smart choice whether your attempts fail, you can’t get the proper materials, or if you really can’t leave your car unattended. Before contacting any professional make sure that you have your location on hand, along with what your car’s make and model is, and the location of the keys.

Police

Most police officers are prepared to assist in these sort of situations. However if they are extremely busy they might not come out to help you. These services are most often utilized if there’s a child or animal locked inside the car. It’s certainly not the fasted entry method, but can suffice in dire emergencies.

Call a Reputable Locksmith

This is by far the safest and most convenient option you have. Even if it might cost a slight amount of money, the professionalism used by experienced locksmiths mitigates any risk of damage that you might inflict on your car with poorly handled improvised access methods. Nonstop Chicago is prepared to arrive on the scene within minutes of your initial call, making roadside locksmith service the most efficient and convenient option that you have available – there’s simply no other level of paralleled professionalism – we get the job done soon, and well.