Locked Your Keys in Your Car, Now What?

Everyone has those moments where they aren't really paying attention, or are having a bad day, or they are just forgetful and accidentally lock their keys in their car. If you have been in this situation you may know what to do to get your car open besides breaking a window or calling a lock smith, both of those are expensive tactics, but there are other ways to get back into your car. Here are some ways you can get back in your car to get your keys; hopefully all of you reading are honest people who will only use these tactics for good and justice!


The first thing you should do is check to see if any of the other doors are unlocked, or if any windows are down far enough for you to reach your arm into the car to open the door. As stated before, you can always call a locksmith to come and unlock your car for you. You can also call your insurance company to see if your policy covers locking your keys in your car and what they can do or offer to get you back in the driver seat. However, if your insurance doesn't cover lockouts, and you don't want to pay for a locksmith there are a few things you can do to get it unlocked.

You can always try the classic wire clothes hanger. To do this, you will need a long wire or hanger, a long screwdriver, and a rag or other type of cloth if you have one. You will need a long straight wire to do this, so if you are using a hanger, straighten it out as much as you can, but leave the end as a hook. Now, you will use the long screwdriver to pry the top of the door open just enough to put the hanger though. If you do have some type of cloth, you can use this to help prevent scratching the paint. Put the hook side of the wire through the gap and try to unlock the door, roll down the window, or get your keys. Hopefully this works for you. If not, don't panic, we have one more tip.

Another trick that some people are doing is using a tennis ball. Yeah, a regular tennis ball. This will work on electronic locking system. First, you will need to find a way to poke a hole through the tennis ball, about the size of your key or a screwdriver. Place the tennis ball over the lock on the car door with the key hole on the tennis ball facing the lock. Hold it there in place and then press the ball as hard as you can against the lock. The air pressure from the ball when you pressed on it should pop the lock and unlock your car. Of course this may not work with all cars, but if you find it does work, don't leave home without your lucky tennis ball, and by lucky I mean the one with a hole in it.

There are some things you can do to help you out of these situations. Most of the time, when you accidentally lock your keys in your car, you aren't in front of your home, so you may not have access to a wire hanger or a tennis ball, unless the tennis ball is still in your purse from the last time this happened. So, just in case this happens and you don't have access to these materials, you should prepare ahead of time. You can carry an extra key in your purse, you can sign up for roadside assistance programs, or make sure that your insurance policy cover's lock outs.

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