My Jeep Grand Cherokee has locked itself automatically with the keys in the car. I don't have a spare key (it's a long story). I heard once that a car can be opened using a cell phone. Can anyone help me please!
Carolyn from South Africa
No problem if your car comes with a remote car opener, call home on your cell phone and have your spouse get the spare keys with the remote and by holding the your cell phone close to the door, and have your spouse just click the remote and the signal will pass thru the phone line and open the locked door.
By Charles
Editor's Note: Sadly I don't have a car with that type of lock to test whether this works. Anyone else tried this? (04/14/2005)
By ThriftyFun
The phone thing is an urban myth. There is no truth to it. (04/14/2005)
By Wendy
Our local radio DJ heard about this and decided to try it out on air. He had his wife, who was at home, test it while he was at work. Did it work, no! (04/14/2005)
By Cathy
Here's someone who wrote in by email to says it works:
I was doubtful that the Locked Your Car Keys In The Car? tip on 4-14-05 would actually work. My husband and I tried it and to our amazement, it worked! Just thought I'd let you know.
By punk88
(04/15/2005)
By ThriftyFun
After locking the keys in my car twice, I learned an expensive lesson. I invested in an inexpensive, but powerful magnetic key box, put an extra key in it and stuck it on a metal substrate underneath the car. Be sure to invest in a strong magnet box so you don't lose it on bumps. A $2 investment saves $40 to $60 in car opening charges. It's a "no-brainer."
(05/05/2005)
By Marty
It is sad to say, but car thieves have brains too. They know about the magnetic key keeper and frequently check in the tire well for the keys. Try keeping a set at work and at the house. (05/17/2005)
By Sandy
I always carry an extra door key in my wallet. You can tape it to a business card and slip it in with your photos. (05/20/2005)
By Ronda
I would recommend that you don't use a magnetic key box. The first thing any car thief will do is look for one of these for easy entry.
Have a few copies made and leave one at work, one in your home, and another with a nearby relative or trusted neighbor. It is much safer in the long run. (05/23/2005)
By Claudia
Have an extra key made and put on the bolt behind your license plate. If you get locked out of your car you can use a fingernail file or coin to remove the bolt and get your key. (06/19/2005)
By Dottie
If you're a women you do not carry a wallet on yourself; so I put a house key and car key on a decorative and inexpensive chain and wear it. I tuck it under my shirt. I started doing this since the birth of my daughter. (06/21/2005)
By PH
I locked the keys in the car last week and we finally managed to get the door open using a bit of hard plastic tape (the kind that you might find around a crate) and some superglue. Fold the tape in half and put a bit of super glue in the folded end. Pry the door open slightly using anything hard that works, then slide the folded tape through the crack. Maneuver the tape down so that it hooks over the button. Hold it there for about a minute so that the glue has a bit of time to set then pull hard towards you and up. This only works for old cars I guess (ours is an 89 Toyota Corolla) and you have to not mind having a bit of dried glue on your button! We did try it without the glue first, but the tape kept slipping off. (06/29/2007)
By Anna
Hi all, my husband and I locked our keys (and my purse and all our luggage) in our car when visiting out of town last weekend. We pay about $5.00 extra a month to have roadside assistance added to our car insurance with USAA, but I think many insurance companies off her this. It took about a half an hour to get a tow company out to the house, about 30 seconds to get the keys out and another 10 minutes for the paperwork.
I've used this service when my battery has died (dome light left on) and once when I ran out of gas. Everytime it has been painless. We got this service after a run of bad luck right after we got married. My husband locked our car with the keys in the ignition on New Year's Eve. I had lost my keys a couple of days before and hadn't gotten the spare key made. We called the locksmith and paid up the $35.00.
(06/30/2007)
By Jess
Call a locksmith.
http://www.atozlocks.com/ (11/19/2007)
By Noam
Use a stiff metal pry object such as a tire iron between the rubber seal at the top of your door. Have a wire coat hanger stretched out, you will either have to bend the end into a hook to hook the lock (if its an old fashioned mechanical lock, or you can just leave it straight at the end to push a power lock. Pry the door with the metal pry object far enough to slip your metal hook or poking object into the car. I've used this on a Ford Taurus, Pontiac Sunfire, and a Ford Escort (bad history of locking keys in my car). Just try and be gentle while slipping the pry bar into the door so you don't rip the rubber seal. Keep in mind the mechanics of the door and keep the pry bar as high and far from the door hinges as possible so you have the most play in the door while you pry it. If you have a difficult lock to reach, you can use some objects to keep the door wedged open and be able to set down your pry bar and use your other hand on the door. With the design of some doors, they can be pried far enough that you can slip your hand through and just use your fingers to open it. Good luck. (12/04/2007)
By Jack
Rare earth magnets taped to a coat hanger will pick up your keys if they're on the seat.You will need a second coat hanger to get the keys out of the seal. We used a screwdriver to jack the door open. (12/06/2007)
Using the remote works for unlocking door, but not cell phone to cell phone. Use a cordless phone to a cell phone on speaker phone. That works because my son and I just did it twice. I'll try it next time I am out of state. (01/16/2008)
By Alex
I have a 2005 minivan and I am always locking my keys in the car. Yes, I have bought extras and lost them.
I am classic ADHD. I'm a total spaz. I drive my teenagers crazy.
I also wore out my welcome with my roadside service so I had to figure out how to do it myself.
I had seen something like this from one of the roadside assistants that came once to help me, so I designed my own version. I made myself a door opener with a long piece of thin plastic (I took an old plastic notebook and cut the cover) about 12 inches long and punched four holes in one end, 2 on both sides about 5/8ths of an inch apart. I looped heavy thread through 2 of the holes. Then I wedged open the car door with a tire iron and a screw driver and shimmied the plastic in, looped the thread around the car lock, tightened and pulled. Viola'! I was in! I was so proud of myself!
It takes a little patience, but it works very nicely. I also had to stand on something to do this since I'm short too.
(01/23/2008)
By Maggie
We called the dealership with the vin number and they made us a key for 5 dollars. (07/16/2008)
By Susan
When I locked my keys in, I called a locksmith. Instead of the expected slim-jim, he used a blood pressure cuff. He made sure it was perfectly flat then slid it into the door seal and pumped it up. He then used a thin rod to pop the door lock. Cost me $45.00, but was worth it for the tip! (07/30/2008)
By Kerry
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