A child or pet in the car? Call 911 first
This comes first because time matters. A closed car parked in the sun heats up fast, even on a mild day, and young children and pets cannot cool themselves the way adults can. If a child is locked in a car, call 911 right away, before calling anyone else. Emergency responders can get into a car quickly and bring medical help with them.
While you wait, keep talking to the child, try to get them to press the unlock button if they are old enough, and shade the windshield if you can. If the child seems distressed, overheated or unresponsive, tell the dispatcher immediately and follow their instructions. A window can be replaced. For a pet in the heat, the same urgency applies; call 911 or local animal control if you cannot get in fast.
Things to check before you call anyone
When the only thing at stake is time, a few minutes of checking can save a service call. Plenty of lockouts end with a door that was not locked after all.
- Try every door, plus the trunk or rear hatch. Some cars lock the doors but leave the hatch alone.
- Check for a carmaker app on your phone. Many newer vehicles can be unlocked remotely if the account was set up and the subscription is active.
- Think about a spare key: a partner at home, a drawer at work, a magnetic box you forgot about.
- If your roadside plan through insurance or a credit card covers lockouts, check the terms before you call.
- On a push-button car, a weak key fob battery may be the real problem. Most fobs hide a mechanical key that opens the driver's door.
What not to do
The coat hanger trick comes from an era when cars had simple rod linkages inside the door and no electronics. Today, the space inside a door holds wiring harnesses, window motors, lock actuators and, in many cars, side-impact sensors for the airbag system. Pushing a wire down past the window seal can scratch the glass, tear the weatherstrip, bend a linkage or pull a connector loose, and you may not know until the window stops working or a warning light appears.
Prying the top of the door frame with a screwdriver can bend the frame enough that it whistles at highway speed or leaks in the rain. Breaking a window is the most expensive choice and leaves glass in the seats, the tracks and the carpet. Save it for an emergency where someone inside is at risk.
Calling a general handyman or a friend with a set of picks is another gamble. Modern locks and door modules are not designed to be forced, and a broken lock cylinder or damaged actuator turns a quick fix into a repair shop visit. The cheapest lockout is the one handled once, with the right tools.
How a lockout service opens the door without damage
A trained technician uses tools made for the job. The usual method starts with a thin, flat inflatable bag called an air wedge. It slides into the top corner of the door, between the frame and the body, and is pumped up gently to create a gap a fraction of an inch wide. A long-reach tool then goes through that gap to press the unlock button, pull the inside handle or lift a lock knob.
Plastic or coated tools protect the paint and seals. The gap closes once the wedge deflates, and the door should seal exactly as before. On most cars the whole job takes only a few minutes once the technician is on site.
Before handing over the car, we ask to see ID and something tying you to the vehicle, such as the registration in the glove box. That step protects you as much as it protects us. Our car lockout service page explains the job in more detail.
Keys locked in the trunk, and other odd cases
Keys in the trunk are trickier on some cars, because the interior trunk release may be disabled when the car is locked, and folding rear seats sometimes lock from the trunk side only. Once a door is open, the technician can often reach the trunk release button or the fob itself. Older cars with no interior release may need a different approach, so mention it when you call.
Another common case: the battery dies with the keys inside, and the power locks will not respond. Opening the door is the same process, and then the car will need a boost. We can handle both on one visit with our jump start service, and when a battery has reached the end of its life, we can discuss battery replacement. Cold mornings make this more likely; our guide on why batteries fail in cold weather explains why.
Push-button cars, fobs and phone keys
Keyless cars were supposed to end lockouts, and they did make them rarer. Most push-button cars sense the fob inside the cabin and refuse to lock, or they chirp a warning. Lockouts still happen, though. A fob with a weak battery may not be detected, a fob left in the cargo area can fall outside the sensing zone, and some cars will lock automatically after a set time if the doors are closed and no one is moving around.
Phone-as-key systems add another layer. If your phone dies or loses its connection, the car may not recognize you. Most makers that use a phone key also supply a backup key card; keep that card in your wallet rather than in the console.
If you have the fob in hand but the car will not respond, replace the coin battery inside it before assuming the car is at fault. If the car still ignores the fob, the 12-volt battery may be flat, which makes this a jump start call rather than a lockout.
Making the next lockout less likely
A lockout is usually a habit problem more than a car problem. Small changes help.
- Keep a spare key somewhere you can reach within an hour: with a family member, at work, or in a secure lockbox at home.
- Set up your carmaker's app while you have time, and confirm that remote unlock actually works.
- Make it a rule never to set the keys down inside the car, even for a second while loading groceries.
- Replace fob batteries every couple of years, or as soon as range seems shorter.
- Save our number in your phone so the call is quick when it happens.
What it costs and how to request it
A lockout with us is part of our $75 flat roadside rate, listed on our rates page along with the surcharges for highway, overnight (10 PM to 6 AM) and weekend calls. Veterans get 10% off with ID. You can call dispatch any hour or submit the details through our online request form, and the dispatcher will confirm the total and give you a live estimate of the arrival time.
We dispatch from our yard on the southwest side of Columbus, and lockout calls come from all over the metro: grocery store lots, apartment complexes, office parks and stadium parking. If you are in a parking garage, tell us the level and the clearance height if it is posted, so the right truck is sent. Where a door simply will not open, or the key turns out to be broken in the ignition, we can still bring the car on a flatbed to a dealer or a locksmith shop.