What to Do When You Are Locked Out of Your Car

First, check every door and the trunk

It sounds obvious, but people locked out in a parking lot often try one handle, see that it is locked, and start to panic. Walk all the way around the car and try every door, including the rear passenger doors and the tailgate or trunk. On many cars the trunk unlocks separately, and on hatchbacks and SUVs a rear hatch that opens gets you inside.

Check whether a window is cracked, even an inch. If you have a spare key at home or with a family member nearby, a quick call may solve this faster than anything else. Look through the glass to confirm where the keys actually are. Knowing they are on the seat rather than in the trunk changes what the locksmith needs to do.

Do not break a window, and do not let a stranger try a coat hanger

Breaking a window is almost never worth it. Even the small rear quarter glass costs real money to replace, you will be driving with glass in the seats and inside the door, and tempered glass shatters into sharp pieces that cut hands and arms. In Jacksonville heat you also lose your air conditioning seal until it is fixed.

The coat hanger trick you may remember from older cars does not work on most modern vehicles, and it causes damage when people try. Door panels now hold airbag sensors, window regulators, wiring harnesses and side-impact parts. A hanger or a screwdriver forced past the weather strip can scratch paint, tear the seal, bend the lock rod, or cut a wire. The repair can cost far more than a professional lockout.

A well-meaning bystander with a slim jim is a bigger risk than the lockout itself. If someone offers, thank them and say a locksmith is already on the way.

What to have ready when you call

A good dispatcher will ask a few questions so the right technician and the right tools show up the first time. Have these ready and the call takes about a minute.

Once you have called, stay near the car and keep your phone charged and the ringer on. If you need to step inside a store to cool off, tell the dispatcher so the technician knows where to find you.

• Make, model and year of the car.
• Your exact location: the street address, the store name, the parking deck level, or the nearest cross streets and a landmark.
• Whether the car is running. A running car with the keys inside is more urgent and changes how the technician approaches it.
• Where the keys are: on the seat, in the trunk, or lost entirely, which means you may need a key made rather than a lockout.
• A phone number the technician can reach you on, and whether you will be standing by the car.

What a legitimate locksmith does when they arrive

You should know who is walking up to your car before they touch it. At We Do Locksmith the technician arrives in a wrapped company vehicle and carries ID, and you will already have a flat price from the phone call. If the person who shows up is in an unmarked car, will not show ID, or announces a new higher price before starting, you are allowed to say no and send them away.

The technician confirms the price, checks your name against the call, and then opens the car with tools made for the job. For most cars that means a wedge and an inflatable air bag to make a small protected gap, then a long reach tool to press the unlock button or pull the handle. On some vehicles a specialized pick opens the door lock directly. None of this should mark the paint or damage the seal.

Once the door is open, the technician should ask you to confirm the keys are there and the car starts. Then you get an invoice with the company name on it. Keep it.

Push-to-start cars: locked out with the key in your pocket

Keyless cars create their own kind of lockout. The fob battery dies, the car stops seeing the fob, and the doors will not respond even though the key is in your hand. Before you call anyone, find the mechanical key hidden inside the fob: almost every proximity fob has a small release on the back that slides out a metal blade. The matching keyhole is usually under a plastic cap on the driver's door handle that pops off with the blade tip.

If the doors open but the car will not start, hold the fob directly against the start button or the marked spot on the steering column and press start. Most cars have a backup reader there that works with a dead battery. If that starts the car, you need a battery, not a locksmith. If it does not, the fob may have lost its pairing, which a technician can fix at the car.

Roadside assistance, insurance, and when a locksmith is faster

Many people in Jacksonville have lockout coverage through their car insurance, a credit card, or a motor club and do not know it. It is worth a look, because it can turn the cost into a reimbursement. The trade-off is time. Roadside programs usually dispatch a subcontracted locksmith from a national queue, and forty-five to ninety minute waits are normal, sometimes longer at night or in bad weather.

Calling a local locksmith directly gets a technician moving now, with a price you agreed to on the phone. Ask for an itemized invoice with the company name on it; most roadside and insurance programs will reimburse a direct call if you submit the receipt afterward. If you are somewhere safe and not in a hurry, the program is fine. If you are in a dark parking lot with groceries melting, call directly.

How long a car lockout takes, and the trunk problem

The drive is usually the longest part. Once the technician is at the car, a standard lockout is a matter of minutes for most vehicles. Some newer cars with tight seals or deadlocking take a little longer, but the work is still short compared with waiting for a tow.

Keys locked in the trunk are a special case. On many cars opening the door is enough because there is a trunk release inside. On some vehicles the trunk release is disabled while the car is locked, or the keys are in a trunk that cannot be reached through a folding seat. The technician may need to pick the trunk lock or work through the interior. Tell the dispatcher up front that the keys are in the trunk so they can plan for it.

If you lost the keys entirely rather than locking them inside, the job is a car key replacement, not a lockout. A mobile locksmith can cut and program a new key or fob at the car for most makes, which is usually faster than a tow to a dealership.

Child or pet inside the car: call 911 first

If a child or an animal is locked in the car, especially in Jacksonville heat, do not wait for anyone. Call 911 first. A closed car heats up fast even on a mild day, and first responders will break a window if they need to. Then call a locksmith if you still want the car opened without damage, but the priority is getting them out.

Roadside assistance is a fair question too. If you have it through your insurer, your car maker or a motor club, you can use it. Be aware that many roadside programs dispatch a contractor from a network, so the wait can be long and the person who shows up may not be a locksmith. If they cannot open the car, they often recommend a tow.

A dedicated locksmith opens the car on the spot and can make a key if yours is lost. Many people call both and cancel whichever is slower. If your policy covers lockouts, keep the locksmith receipt and ask your insurer about reimbursement.

Rental cars, work vehicles and cars that are not in your name

A locksmith will open a car for the person who is authorized to use it, and that is not always the registered owner. For a rental, show the rental agreement in your name and your license; opening the door is routine, but making a new key for a rental needs the rental company's authorization, which the technician will explain. For a company vehicle, a call or message from the fleet manager is enough. For a borrowed car, the owner should confirm by phone.

If you cannot show any connection to the car, a legitimate locksmith will not open it, and you should be glad of that. It is the same rule that keeps someone else from having your car opened.

Once you are back in: three things that prevent the next one

Make a spare while you still have a working key. A duplicate costs a fraction of an all-keys-lost job, and it can be cut at the shop counter or at your car. Keep it somewhere that is not the car: a wallet key, a keyed lockbox at home, or with someone you trust. Magnetic boxes under the bumper are the first place a thief looks.

Save the locksmith's number in your phone now, while you are calm, so the next search does not happen in a panic. And if your car has a manufacturer app, set it up: many can unlock the doors remotely, which turns a lockout into a two-minute annoyance.