Imagine having to carjack your own car because you've been locked out of it. It happens. We're all only human.
Maybe you've left your keys in the car and locked them in. Perhaps you lack car key duplicates. Or you don't want to go to the dealership and order duplicates for your vehicle. How should you go about unlocking your car without its key during emergencies exactly?
Luckily, there are multiple ways to go about this embarrassing situation that, to be honest, is a lot more common than you think. People just don't want to admit that they've been locked out of their own car once or twice upon a time!
Methods of Keyless Entry
- Pass Through the Trunk: One of the ways you (or car thieves) can get into your car is to pass through the trunk because manual locks for many cars lock the doors but not the trunk. If you're lucky, the trunk is open even though your car isn't. You can access the inside of the car through your trunk by pushing the rear seats forward to create space for you to pass through. From there, you should be able to open your car from within by manually unlocking the doors.
- Unlock with a Slim Jim: A Slim Jim is specifically made to unlock car doors and it's also incidentally a thin strip of metal with a hook-like end. It works by grabbing the locking mechanism located under the locking pin. In order to open doors with this tool, you need to practice first to avoid tearing your door apart. Practice with the passage door first because it has fewer wires than the driver's door. Just slip it in the crevice and pull to disengage the lock after the hook grips firmly on the mechanism.
- Unlock a Manual Lock with a Locksmith Wedge: Aside from a Slim Jim, you can also pick car locks and doors with a locksmith wedge made of plastic, metal, or vinyl. It works like a Slim Jim in that you need it to create space between the door and car body. You'll then need a thin metal strip to help reach and pull the pin. You can also use a clothes hanger for the job. The beauty of a locksmith wedge is that while it doesn't unlock the door per se, it's more effective in avoiding damaging your vehicle's weather stripping.
- Use a Wedge Tool for Automatic Locks: There also exist wedge tools for automatic locks if you lack the key to open them. Such devices carefully create the space between the door and car body, just like with the manual lock locksmith wedge. The only difference here is that they're specifically made for auto locks and allows you access onto the driver's armrest, where a mere press of it with a metal rod is enough to activate it and unlock your vehicle.