Locked my keys in my car... best way to open it

reply to post by jstanthrno1


I lock myself out quite often. I have lojack for this reason (I don't care if I am tracked) and they are very good about opening doors.

A locksmith can make a new key from a blank if the key does not have a chip.
A tow driver will pry open the door slightly and use a coat hangar to open the door.


Call a locksmith, get a new key made and duct tape it (securely) somewhere inconspicuous under the car

I actually was able to pick up a slim jim kit from a very unusual store once. I use it in such cases. However, most insurance companies cover the locksmith charge, so that's your best bet. You may already be paying for it, so why risk damage? My kit uses wedge shaped plastic pieces to wedge the opening between the door and frame, allowing for the other tools to slip in and hit the lock.

Most modern vehicles are immune to the coat hanger trick, because the window goes much more into the door frame, preventing access this way. Of course, having a spare key handy (I keep one in my wallet) is the best solution. It doesn't even have to have the chip, just to get you in the door, so can be copied anywhere...even Walmart.

All very awesome suggestions and tips that will work in most cases. However, I speak with loads of experiences in lockouts (I tend to lock myself out a lot) when I say that they happen when you least expect them to and more often than not happen in the weirdest places. Chances are you may not even have cell service to contact anyone to give you a helping hand, you might be stranded in the middle of nowhere or the locksmith that you call for help is over an hour away. I'm not being pessimistic, I am merely pointing out the fact that you need to be prepared for any eventuality.

What I did, after going through a few lockouts and not being very fond of those memories, was learn a few handy DIY tips and tricks that can help you escape a car lockout in no time. Another thing I did was to employ a system of spare keys. Essentially, I had a few duplicates made and I keep them at locations where I mostly have some form of accessibility. I keep one with a close friend who will be willing to drive just about anywhere for me if I'm ever locked out, she's awesome. I keep one hidden in my desk at work and one in a separate location at home. That way if I lock myself out i have options in case DIY tips don't work out so well for me.

I put a loop strap on my keys.

Trained myself to never shut the door until I check to see if "strap & key" are on my wrist. It worked.

Except that time my grandson was about 4 and shut the door for me.

AAA if available in your area.

I found a place i could get a new electric lock fob to unlock the doors and i wrapped in plastic and wired it under the front of the my car.
Now if i lock my self out i just reach under the front of the car and push the button.
on another car i had i jumpered the drivers electric door lock and ran wires to a water proof switch under the front of the car.

The way it's usually done, is a balloon slides in between the door where the latch is, and air helps to pry it apart slightly, while another tool goes in to unlatch the door.. A tow truck driver would likely have this kit.. So if you have AAA or something, or know one, that would work.

This is pretty much the way the locksmith will do it.

Of course, hard to get these tools (once, I was lucky enough to stumble upon a kit, so picked one up)

a reply to: ANNED

A 9v battery, extended alligator clips (6" is generally sufficient), and $10 usb slim camera.

You can open any powerlock equipped vehicle in about 10 seconds.

This post is 5 years old so I'm sure he's gotten in his car by now...
I found most police will still handle lockouts, also tow and cab companies, tow truck drivers have pretty nifty lockout kits too. If you have the key code most locksmiths or the dealer can cut a new valet key (the non-chipped key). If your interior door lock is not too far from the window you can in some cases twist a wire in past the door or window gasket to push the unlock button.

I always keep a spare key in a magnetic key holder tucked up under the body of the car just for this reason. Just be sure not to leave that hidden key on the car if you take it into a shop, no sense tempting fate. (an unscrupulous employee will know your car, your address and where you hide a spare key...)

Yes this is really old, I'm only replying since I used methods not mentioned yet.

Had a Mazda pickup, always was locking the keys in. I had a slim jim in the bed, but when the bed is full of snow it's tough to find. Keys were in the ignition, crawled underneath and popped off the rubber thing around the shifter. Coat hanger thru the hole & pulled out the keys, slid down the wire into my hand.

That was years ago. Had Saturns lately, which are notorious for bad door locks. The key broke off in the ignition at a thruway rest stop, bashed the thing apart with a hammer & screwdriver, & the screwdriver became the key. Had 1 key left for the doors & trunk (which stopped opening from the interior). I lost the key someplace (at home with the car unlocked). So now I can't lock the car or get in the trunk. I took a key from another saturn and ground it with the dremel, trying as I went, until I could at least use it on the trunk. It wouldn't work on the door though. This means the trunk lock is much more forgiving, and you can probably grind a key to get in the trunk in a jam. YMMV with other cars obviously.

I have long ago taken to keeping a spare in my wallet, the above only happens when I lose the main key, get lazy and use the spare for a while.

a reply to: Gazrok

A blood pressure cuff works great too that end. I've used that a couple times with great success.

Just break the car window! Like this dumbass that doesn't
know the first thing of what he's even talk'n about.

Used to be a lot easier in 1980's and older cars. You could just jimmy a bent coathanger into the linkage between the lock on the inside door handle and the actual door latch. Was possible to get it down to 5 seconds with some practice. Sometime in the 1990's they got a bit clever on that, and decided to put stuff inside doors that interferes with that trick. Now you have to try to go around the window edge to operate the interior door lock (Sometimes easier if there electric door locks, if you can push the button) or need fancier kit to get around the added metal part that blocks access to the linkage.

Funny to see this thread, since just yesterday, I locked my keys in my minivan, and when I came back to my car and saw the keys in it, I just grabbed the side glass and reefed on it till it shattered into a thousand pieces.

Now it's just a matter of 275.00 to replace that..

Spring loaded centerpunch to the side window.

By far, the easiest is the rubber pie-shaped wedge you can get at Walmart.
Slip it up and over the top of the window under the rubber seal and pound it in slowly until you get an inch of door separation. After that, it depends upon where your keys are. If they are in the ignition, a stiff copper wire with hooked end can twist and pull it out. If it is on the floor or seat, the easiest is to use a small hard drive magnet taped to the end of the stiff wire. The copper wire comes from a 4 or 5 foot piece of building electrical wire that you strip off the outer insulation. No need to strip the insulation off of the individual wire, or use the ground wire, which is already stripped. Additionally, if a newer car, you can attempt to push the door unlock button on the key or the door with the wire.

originally posted by: peck420
a reply to: ANNED

A 9v battery, extended alligator clips (6" is generally sufficient), and $10 usb slim camera.

You can open any powerlock equipped vehicle in about 10 seconds.

After you've turned the 5 volt USB camera into a piece of smouldering plastic with the 9 volt battery,you'll still need to find a way to get into your car won't you?

Like a moron I once locked my keys inside my car with the engine running. I facepalmed myself I felt so stupid.

A call to AAA had a guy out to my driveway within an hour and he was able to open my car. He wedged some kind of inflatable thingy into the crack of the door to pry it open enough to stick a coat hanger down into the car and lift the door lock.

I haven't locked myself out since, thankfully. It's a pain in winter because I have to warm it up for a while sometimes before I can drive - I wish I had a remote starter.

originally posted by: IkNOwSTuff
Saw a really cool trick on a movie called 3 days later last night.

U heat a key and poke a hole in a tennis ball so the size is about the same as the keyhole on your car, you put the hole on the tennis ball over the keyhole and whack the tennis ball a few times.

Dont know if this actually works or not but it looked cool and convincing.

P.s how do we know you arent gonna use this info to break into others peoples cars?

No it's total bull poop,there's no known central locking system in the world this would work with.

originally posted by: peskyhumans
I haven't locked myself out since, thankfully. It's a pain in winter because I have to warm it up for a while sometimes before I can drive - I wish I had a remote starter.

In this country remote starting is illegal,it will invalidate your insurance and it's as bad for an engine to let it idle when cold as it is to thrash it when it's still cold.

a reply to: jstanthrno1

Easy Solution once you do get it Opened for it to not happen Again . Make a Copy of your Door/Ignition Key , then get a Small Metal Container with a fairly strong Magnet attached to it and stick it out of sight onto the cars frame under the real Axle . It will always be there for you in an Emergency .