Car Lockout Service in Ottawa

A lockout is the one roadside problem that is purely frustrating rather than mechanical. The car is perfectly fine. You just cannot get into it. We fix that, usually quickly.

How we open the vehicle

We use proper automotive lockout tools designed for the job, the same category of equipment a dealership or a locksmith uses. The aim is to release the lock from the inside without touching the paint, the weather seals, the window glass or the door handle.

What we will not do is use a coat hanger or a screwdriver. Improvised entry is how people end up with a scratched door, a torn weather seal, a bent frame or a damaged window regulator, and it frequently sets off the airbag sensors in the door on newer vehicles. The repair costs far more than the lockout call did.

Keys locked in the trunk

Most vehicles have a route through from the cabin: a folding rear seat, a ski hatch or an interior trunk release. We open the cabin first and work through from there.

Some models have no pass-through at all. Tell us the year, make and model when you call so we know what we are dealing with before we arrive.

If the keys are genuinely lost

A lockout tool gets you into the vehicle. It does not create a new key. If the key is gone rather than locked inside, you will need an automotive locksmith or your dealership to cut and program a replacement, and modern transponder and proximity keys have to be coded to the car.

We can still help in that situation by towing the vehicle to the dealership or locksmith, which is usually cheaper than having a mobile programmer come to a parking lot.

Frozen doors and locks in winter

In an Ottawa cold snap a door that will not open is often frozen rather than locked. Water gets into the seal, freezes, and glues the door shut. Pulling harder tears the rubber seal off.

Try the other doors first, including the hatch. Often only one is frozen. Never pour hot water on a frozen door or windscreen; the temperature shock can crack glass and it refreezes worse than before. If you cannot get in, call us.

What we need from you

We will ask you to show that the vehicle is yours before we open it. Ownership, insurance, a licence matching the registration, or something equivalent is normally enough.

This is not us being difficult. It is the reason you would want us to ask if it were someone standing beside your car at two in the morning.

Before you call

• Check every door and the hatch: people lock the driver’s door and forget the others
• Check for a spare key at home or with a family member; that is often the quickest fix
• Check your phone app: many newer vehicles unlock remotely through the manufacturer’s app
• Have ownership ready, since we will ask you to prove the vehicle is yours
• Know the year, make and model, especially if the keys are in the trunk