By

Fausto Bucheli Jr

Updated

May 28, 2021

Edited By

John Davey
keys locked in car
Photo by Erik Mclean

Locked keys in the car? It has happened to almost everyone! It only takes a few seconds of inattention to lock your keys in the car, and it can really put a damper on your day. But there’s usually a way to resolve the problem fast.

There are many tricks to get in your locked car, so don’t panic! Just put it in perspective: Locking keys in the car happens a hundred times a day, everywhere from coast to coast. It won’t mean you have to pay more in car insurance, and your car insurance agent won’t laugh at you. It’s just one of life’s little dilemmas.

What to Do When Your Car Keys Are Locked Inside  

When you’ve locked keys in the car, here’s what you can do:

1. Consider Your Options Carefully

It might sound too simple, but the very first thing to do is check around and be sure you’re not overlooking anything important. Do you have a spare key you could use? Is your car a model that only fully locks when you click the button on the key fob? If so, you can probably get right back into your car.

2. Check All Your Car Doors

While it’s wise to lock all your doors when you leave your car, it doesn’t always happen this way. That can be a blessing in disguise! Check all the doors, including the passenger side and the back doors. Also try the trunk: You might have a spare key in there, even if you haven’t thought about it in a long time.

3. Get Your Spare Key, If You Can

Where is that spare key, anyway? If it’s at home, you might be able to call someone to bring it to you. If you don’t have a spare key, here’s a secret: A local car dealer might be able to provide one. Unfortunately, it has to be your car dealer – otherwise, it’s hard to really prove a locked vehicle is yours.

4. Contact Your Insurance Agent

A car insurance agent will be able to help you get roadside assistance if your policy includes that feature. Even if you don’t have standard roadside assistance, your insurer may be able to set the wheels in motion for you and then place a one-time charge on your account, speeding the process up nicely.

5. Call a Locksmith

Roadside assistance teams have special tools, and they know how to open a locked car with ease. But if even that doesn’t work, you’ll need to call a locksmith. Many locksmiths offer emergency service for when you’ve locked keys in the car. You could be back on the road, safe and sound, in just half an hour.

How to Open a Locked Car Door Yourself: One of the Best Tricks to Get in Your Locked Car  

Wondering how to unlock a locked car door? It can be difficult, but it isn’t impossible – usually!

Opening a locked car door yourself often takes special tools, but you might be able to find similar implements in the home or office. One of these is an inflatable device called a pump wedge. Although most people don’t have one in their garage, you can wedge a blood pressure cuff into the locked door to achieve the same effect.

These four steps might help you open a locked car door:

1. Start with a Deflated Blood Pressure Cuff

Start with the cuff completely deflated and any peripheral devices removed. All you need is the cuff itself and the handle used to pump it up. Pull the cuff taut and roll your hand over it to make sure that it is completely flat and free of air. Then lodge the cuff into the top corner of the driver’s side door.

2. Carefully Blow the Cuff Up

You want to blow the cuff up slowly and evenly, allowing it to create a small gap. Be careful not to overextend the cuff or expand it too fast, because you could damage the door or break the cuff. You will probably need the cuff to be fully extended before the gap in the door is wide enough for the next step.

3. Work an Object into the Gap

For the next step, you will need a long, skinny object that can enter the gap created by the blood pressure cuff. Don’t remove the cuff, as the gap could close. A wire coat hanger is both long and skinny enough to slip in through the narrow gap and help you manipulate the objects inside.

4. Unlock the Door

Your goal is simple: Poke the unlock button with the coat hanger. In many modern consumer vehicles, the button depresses straight down with just a tiny amount of force. If you have an older vehicle that requires more weight or uses a different kind of button, this method won’t work.

How to Break a Car Window in an Emergency  

Breaking a car window in an emergency is dangerous, since they are designed to resist shattering. Remember, the windshield is almost impossible to break! If you need to break a car window in an emergency, the side window is best. The best tool is the claw end of a hammer – not the blunt end, where force will be absorbed.

Strike the glass closest to the edge, where it is at its weakest. Never try to break the glass from the center. If anyone is in the vehicle, be sure to warn them about what you are doing and let them take cover if possible. Break a window on the side furthest from any passenger to reduce the danger of flying debris.

Will My Car Insurance Company Cover Locked Keys in the Car?  

Your auto insurance company may be able to cover services that help you get back into your car.

This usually comes in the form of roadside assistance or towing included within your current auto insurance policy. The right policies allow you to use these services a certain number of times each year for free or at a greatly reduced rate. Your costs out of pocket could be zero.

If you do not have roadside assistance or do not want to let your car insurance company know for any reason, AAA – the American Automobile Association – is another option. AAA and organizations like it give their members access to towing and other services to get a vehicle back on the road after a variety of mishaps.

If you can’t get covered right away, consider making the tow call and then filing a claim for reimbursement.

Sometimes, it’s simpler and faster to get reimbursed for covered services than it would be to go through your auto insurance company in the first place. Just bear in mind that if your claim doesn’t go the way you’d hoped, you will end up having to pay for the tow yourself. The total charge is often determined by miles towed.

Locking your keys in the car can really let you know if your insurer is there for you in a pinch! If you need new auto insurance, you can get started with Cheap Insurance and compare auto insurance quotes online right now.

Read our article: Different Ways to get out of a speeding ticket