ARG!!!

[makattak]

3 tools:

- A good, stiff coat hanger.
- A blood pressure cuff.
- A plastic or wooden wedge.

Insert the wedge in the top corner of the door, get enough leverage to insert the pressure cuff.  Inflate the pressure cuff.  Drive the wedge deeper.  Inflate the cuff.

Do this with the wedge/cuff  about a foot apart, and they create a big enough gap to insert the stiff coat hanger.  Push the electric lock button to open the lock.  Remove tools.

Why a coat hanger? Wouldn't a simple dowel rod work better in this operation?

[mgdavis]

I have several coat hangers laying around the house. I don't have any dowel rod on site, and it's inconvenient to run to the hardware store when I'm locked out of the car.

Unless by dowel rod you mean a wooden dowel, which wouldn't probably work at all for this.

[AZRedhawk44]

Why a coat hanger? Wouldn't a simple dowel rod work better in this operation?

You may still need to bend it to reach the button.

[AmbulanceDriver]

I disagree.  If it gets the door open without damaging anything else, it's worth $30 IMO.

Yes, I have called a locksmith twice before - once for my wife, once for myself.  You pay for the service, but if they screw anything else up, they are on the hook for fixing it.

That may not always be the case.  There are certain cars that the locksmith will come out, look at it, and hand you a form that says, essentially, "These cars are way too full of crap in the doors for me to guarantee getting you in without breaking anything, and if anything gets broken, we're not liable."

[Physics]

I sprang for the locksmith.  Took him all of 2 seconds to get it open.  The wife is off making copies right now.  At least from now on I have a key, so I know it won't happen again.  $30 for a life lesson isn't bad I guess.

3 tools:

- A good, stiff coat hanger.
- A blood pressure cuff.
- A plastic or wooden wedge.

Insert the wedge in the top corner of the door, get enough leverage to insert the pressure cuff.  Inflate the pressure cuff.  Drive the wedge deeper.  Inflate the cuff.

Do this with the wedge/cuff  about a foot apart, and they create a big enough gap to insert the stiff coat hanger.  Push the electric lock button to open the lock.  Remove tools.

That is pretty much how the locksmith did it.

[Nick1911]

That may not always be the case.  There are certain cars that the locksmith will come out, look at it, and hand you a form that says, essentially, "These cars are way too full of crap in the doors for me to guarantee getting you in without breaking anything, and if anything gets broken, we're not liable."

Interesting.  Guess I'm glad that I was only locked out of a base model Saturn and an old Accord.    Both of those took the locksmith under 30 seconds to get into.

[RoadKingLarry]

I managed to lock myself out of my company van a few months ago. Our fleet people called a local wrecker service. guy shows up with a big ring of keys and on the third try opens the door.
On a side note, I got one of the car dealership (Chevy) flyers in the mail a few weeks ago. It had one of those cheap keys taped to it.
It kind of looked like my Jeep key. I now have an extra spare key for my Jeep .

[RevDisk]

I managed to lock myself out of my company van a few months ago. Our fleet people called a local wrecker service. guy shows up with a big ring of keys and on the third try opens the door.
On a side note, I got one of the car dealership (Chevy) flyers in the mail a few weeks ago. It had one of those cheap keys taped to it.
It kind of looked like my Jeep key. I now have an extra spare key for my Jeep .

They're called "Try out keys".

Ah.  Not that I own any of those.

[Balog]

Of course.  It's not like it's encrypted or anything.  The more upscale locksmiths can usually do it for you.

course...  Nothing says you need to copy your own remote fob.   

I was actually wondering something about this. The other day, some dude appears to have locked my car with his fob. Is there a practical way to get remote access rewired to be secure, or would that just be a huge hassle?

[RevDisk]

I was actually wondering something about this. The other day, some dude appears to have locked my car with his fob. Is there a practical way to get remote access rewired to be secure, or would that just be a huge hassle?

Off the shelf?  No.   

Custom?  Sure.  It's possible. 

[Silver Bullet]

I keep a spare key in my billfold.  It's just a plastic key that came with the car when I bought it new, but good enough to open the door a few times.

Some key fobs cost several hundred dollars from the dealer.   

[sanglant]

i ended up here when my key less system stopped working. didn't end up having to order them, and they are still high.

the fobs can be replaced with secure ones, but it will cost you and i have no idea which company makes the best system, i just know that viper makes/made 4 or 5 different named systems so you can't compare from one installer to the next

oh and the key in the wallet trick works, but it ruins any pictures you're carrying

[mgdavis]

I used to lock my keys in my Ranger and F-150 on a semi-regular basis, usually when I was screwing around with something before getting out I'd just forget them in the ignition. The Ranger had a rear slider that didn't lock at all, so I could just crawl in that way. The F-150 gave me some practice with the wedge-and-rod system.

Now, with my FJ, I only lock the doors via the key fob. That way I know I had the key in hand when the doors got locked. Haven't locked myself out in almost two years. Using the remote to lock it up turns off the headlights too, so I haven't killed the battery yet either.

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

course...  Nothing says you need to copy your own remote fob.    

I know a guy who built a remote "fob listener" gadget just for giggles.  Set the thing up in a busy parking lot, it would record any remote keyless entry signals anyone sent out and duplicate them.

I don't know if this is still the case or not, but it used to be that the only difference between the "lock" signal and the "unlock" signal was a few well-defined bits.

[RevDisk]

I know a guy who built a remote "fob listener" gadget just for giggles.  Set the thing up in a busy parking lot, it would record any remote keyless entry signals anyone sent out and duplicate them.

I don't know if this is still the case or not, but it used to be that the only difference between the "lock" signal and the "unlock" signal was a few well-defined bits.

Still is.  Even the COTS "secure" keyless fobs are not very secure.

[Perd Hapley]

I always have a spare key in my wallet.  The wife just hadn't gotten around to making my copies of the key yet.  We've only had the car for a week.  Next time we get a car, I'm making her do this the minute it's in our possession. 

Yeah, I know the feeling.  Like the time I had to give my emergency key to someone who was going to pick up my car later that night; then locked myself out that afternoon.   

[Physics]

Yeah, I know the feeling.  Like the time I had to give my emergency key to someone who was going to pick up my car later that night; then locked myself out that afternoon.   

Doh!  It never fails, just like the wife locking the keys in the car we don't have spares for yet.  She couldn't do it in the old car, which I did have a spare to.   

[Balog]

In all fairness, there is a brand new tiny person to distracted her... 

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

i recently locked my keys in the car  along with a 2 year old. the fire dept did the wedge trick and opened the door

[Gewehr98]

What did they use to open up the 2 year old? 

[Silver Bullet]

oh and the key in the wallet trick works, but it ruins any pictures you're carrying

Not a problem; I only carry pictures of keys.  It actually enhances the pictures, gives them an embossed look.


 

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

What did they use to open up the 2 year old? 

thev lil heathen can and will get outa the carseat and open the door.  if she wants to.  this time she didn't want to. preferred to join mom in wailing