This seems to have a very low probably of working. Anyone ever done it?
I was at Atlanta raceway one weekend in the infield. The driver of a new Camaro had locked his keys in the car. The guy was trying to break the windshield with a large rock to get the keys. Lucky for him the windshield wouldn't break. He went around to the driver side and broke the drivers' window.
I worked for about ten years on the Las Vegas Strip as a parking attendant. We had lots of people locking their keys in the cars. We'd give them the spiel of, "Well, we can give the locksmith a call, but it will cost you $100 or more, but we MIGHT be able to get it open........................ Mind if we try?" Except for Mercedes, RR, and Corvettes, I didn't have a problem with most of them, and a lot were very very easy. Governor Miller was the worst. He'd say, "I did it again.........", and we'd just wave him on. "Don't worry, we'll take care of it." Lincolns take about five seconds to get into the back door. Most are surprisingly easy with a slim Jim, or a piece of precisely bent SS filler rods. If you don't panic, and use logic, it takes a real doofus to use a rock to enter a lockout. A couple of wood shims are the most valuable items.
Steve
I was dumb enough to lock myself out of mine 2 days ago. The window was down about an inch.
Tried the string and it failed. A coat hanger with a loop, allowed me to roll the window down enough to get my arm in. Yes I don't have power windows!
Colbyt
One vehicle I have will not let me lock if the key is still in the ignition switch. The other vehicle I have a extra key in my billfold that will let me unlock the door. WW
If that is a true story, that is one of the biggest morons I've ever heard of of. And what do you mean by "lucky for him the windshield wouldn't break"?
Just carry a cordless drill with a 1 inck bit, and a stick of dynamite in your wallet. Drill a hole in any door, inset the dynamite, light it, and the door will come off in seconds. :)
Seriously, carry a spare key in your wallet....
Very clever.
If one is going to break in with a slim jim, and probably by breaking the window, it's better to do so on the passenger side. A friend locked his keys in the car in Cambridge Md. and the cops there are nice enough there to break in with a slim jim. But in doing so he unhooked the rod inside the driver's door, and my friend had to go in through the passenger side all day. He had passengers during the day, so we broke even, but when he went home, until he fixed it, it woudl have been better if the pasenger door lock didn't work and his door did.
(I fixed the lock before he left. )
I wonder if the string was coated with something that has a little tack, rosin or maybe bees wax. Or instead of string, use a piece of thin insulated electrical wire, probably not the Teflon variety.
I pulled into the lot where I was cutting wood a few years ago. Guy sitting at the entrance "can I tryi your key? I locked mine in hte cab". No go, locksmith showed up finally. I showed him my spare in the billfold.
Harry K
Well, generally the windshield is the most expensive piece of glass on any car, and the hardest to replace (at least on a late model car, as they're typically all glued in now.) On a car with a large glass hatch, I suppose that might be more expensive, but still. Oh, and how are you gonna drive home with a bigass hole in the windshield, unless you happen to have a pair of goggles in the glovebox? seriously.
If you're gonna bust something, bust a door window or quarter window (assuming the latter is the gasketed type.) Also those will shatter cleanly and not spiderweb but stay in place like a windshield.
nate
We do real estate reserve studies, which are a professional analysis of properties where HOA dues are collected. I have a set of slim Jims, picklocks, and various specialty wires to evaluate the level of protection offered by the lock systems. Understandably, it goes from 0-10 on a scale. I must admit that I need to put a car slim Jim in there so that I can help out the occasional hapless driver. I can pick a Quickset lock, or some lower quality locks with two paper clips. At times, they do not provide us the keys to the pool pump rooms due to incompetence, so we just let ourselves in, wearing our badge and state issued IDs.
Steve
"Bob F" wrote
Yup. Just something to give you a little air space between the glass and gasket so you don't leave marks or damage.
Steve
Actually, the rear doors are the easiest way to get in, particularly if the buttons can be seen. Bend a piece of stout wire in two L's, making a boxy looking J. Put a couple of shims between glass and gasket. Make one L about 3" long, the other 2". You're trying to go under the bottom part of the window and come up under the button with the tip of the wire. You can also do it with a slim Jim, just feel around in there, and when you see the door button move, you've hit a component.
Be very careful when pulling or pushing, as a lot of the pieces are held together with just a plastic keeper. Lincolns take about two seconds with this wire. Stainless steel filler wire is the best, as it doesn't bend easily, and will stay stiff when you hit the right component. Slim jims should have different ends, one with a J, the other with a V. That way, whether you have to push or pull, you have the right configuration.
Sometimes the slim Jim has to be repeatedly curved so it gets over to the mechanism. It ain't very hard once you've done a couple of hundred of them. On the front door, you keep your finger on the outside of the lock so you can feel when you touch the component inside. After that, it's just mentally visualizing what's in there, and bending the slim Jim to catch what you need. Trips to the local junk yard are a good thing, too, if you're going to seriously get into this, as you can see the mechanisms exposed. It is surprising how very simple some of them actually are.
Steve
$92 per year, when you could get a spare key made for $1.92 to put in your wallet and it will last the lifetime of your car....... Some people just dont get it!!!!
Of course if they help with other things such as flat tire, towing, etc. then it's not a bad deal....
Some people just dont understand..... Spare car door key goes in wallet. spare ignition key goes inside of car in a hidden place, and includes a spare key for your garage. Inside your garage, there should be a hidden spare key for your house. If you have trouble remembering stuff, put a note in your wallet telling you where all these keys are located, but write it in a code that another person wont understand, if your wallet is lost or stolen.
The only problem now, is where to hide the key for your wallet :)
Talk about "don't understand..."
Most cars only have one key that operates both the door and the ignition. I haven't had a 2-key car since the 1988 Chevy.
I've never owned a car that had a different key for the door and ignition. Different key for the trunk on a few cars.
Mine chimes at me, and that's enough to get me to put the keys in my mouth.
Jon
my 96 vette has 2 different keys: one for the door, one for the ignition. a 95 zr1 has 3 different keys: one for the door, one for the ignition, and one to turn on the extra bank of injectors. you don't give the last one to the valet...
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