Power locks are one of the more convenient inventions of the last few decades. It can be a huge relief to know you can lock and unlock all the doors on your car without having to check every door. Car doors with power locks contribute to security and general peace of mind. With the addition of remote locking fobs, making it possible to lock your car from a distance, locking and unlocking your car is more convenient and secure than it has ever been.
Yet, no technological gadgetry has solved the problem of forgetfulness. We still lock our keys in our car sometimes. True, the newest cars have gotten better and better at remaining unlocked when their fobs and keys are inside of them. Advances in fob-signaling technology make it less likely. Still, it sometimes happens. Or, sometimes it’s just that you lose your keys completely and you can’t get in.
As a result, you need to know how to unlock a car with power locks. No matter how far we get, weird stuff sometimes happens. It’s, therefore, valuable to know how to get keys out of locked cars with automated locks. Full disclosure, we have our favorite way to do it. There’s a surefire way, one that works every time. We’ll explain that method in a second. But in the meantime, here are a few other ways people unlock a car door with electric locks.
How To Unlock A Car With Power Locks
Spare Key
It’s sort of obvious, but it’s good to start with the obvious. If you have a spare key or key fob somewhere, go get it, and use it to unlock your car door. Some people get hide-a-keys that they hide somewhere under their car. Hide-a-keys for cars are built on the backs of strong magnets. People hide their hide-a-keys inside wheel wells, under fenders, and even stuck to solid panels on the underside of their cars. The downside of this method is the risk of someone finding it.
Check Doors and Windows
It might also seem obvious, but when you might have locked your keys in your car, it’s possible that you didn’t lock every door. Or maybe you left a window open. It’s a fast, easy thing to check, and it might save you from trying to implement a more costly solution. So try this first.
Jimmy the Doors with a Shoelace, a Coat Hanger, or a “Slim Jim”
Depending on the design of your car’s locks, you might be able to jimmy the locks open. With a shoelace or another kind of string, it might be possible to grab the locking mechanism inside the car through the top edge of the window. You may be able to ease the shoelace or string through the top edge of the window. If you can, it might be possible to loop the string around the lock and pull it open.
Alternatively, something like an uncoiled coat hanger may slide between the window and the door. With the coat hanger, you might be able to hook the locking mechanism inside the door and pull it open. A Slim Jim is a tool designed to do exactly that, so it might be even more successful than a coat hanger. (DrivingPress)
The problem with jimmying a car’s locked doors, either with a string, a coat hanger, or a Slim Jim, is the design of many car doors. Many car doors are specifically designed to prevent break-ins through jimmying by simple expedients. The switches to lock and unlock cars are often low-profile, preventing them from being easily looped with a string. And the locking mechanisms in modern cars are often blocked by a barrier of plastic, preventing hangers and Slim Jims from working. Not to mention, jimmying is not as easy in practice as it may sound.
Air Wedge and Rod Method
One of the tools locksmiths keep on hand is an air wedge. Air wedges are inflatable sacks sort of like balloons that can gently ease open the top corner of a locked door. They can create just enough space to allow you to reach through with a rod and unlock the door.
While air wedges might be effective ways to unlock your automated locks, they aren’t the best way.
Unless you know how to use an air wedge, you risk bending or otherwise damaging the door of your car. It shouldn’t be your first choice unless you know how to use the tool. (FamilyHandyman)
Break a Window
It should be kept as a last resort, but in a real emergency, you might find that you have to break your car’s window. (VehicleFreak) One example is if a child is locked in a hot car.
This will definitely solve the problem for you, although at the cost of causing a new problem. It should be avoided unless absolutely necessary.
Calling a Locksmith
Professional locksmiths know how to unlock a car door with electric locks. By far, the most effective way to get into your car when you’ve locked your keys inside is to call a locksmith. While there are other possible methods of getting into a locked car, a locksmith will do it safely, without damaging your car or locks.
If you are located in the Atlanta area and need to get into your locked car, Crown Locksmith’s mobile technicians can help you out. In the long run, you end up spending less on repairs and insurance when you hire a professional to safely get into your car.
Crown Locksmith stands by a 4.8 rating and has a strong reputation for providing Atlanta locksmith service excellence. If you’re locked out of your car, contact us. We will come help you as fast as we can.
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