How to Unlock Your Car Doors in Case of an Emergency

Blessed is the driver who has never ever accidentally left the car keys inside the car. If you count yourself among the unlucky ones, then you know how frustrating it is, especially if you left the engine running, home is a couple of cities away, and it’s rush hour.

That can literally feel like hell on earth.

Now, you’ll have enough time to fetch your spare key if you weren’t in any kind of an emergency, but what if that wasn’t the case? What if you have to be somewhere fast, or God forbid, you locked a pet or an infant in the vehicle, and it’s a warm day? To prevent any unwanted mishaps, here’s how you can unlock your car without a key.

Use a slim jim

If you’re near a mall, rush to a home depot or auto center and see if they sell slim jims. A slim jim is ruler-like strip of metal specifically for unlocking car doors. Use the slim jim on one of the passenger doors, because the driver door has a complex wiring system that you don’t want to damage. Insert the slim jim through the weatherstripping and use its hook end to grip the locking mechanism right below the locking pin. Once you can feel that the hook has grabbed the locking mechanism, pull it up.

Use an inflatable wedge tool

Like slim jims, inflatable wedge tools are also sold at home depot and auto stores. They can be easier to use than slim jims, so if feeling for the locking mechanism inside the door sounds complicated, use a wedge tool instead. Simply insert the wedge tool between the door and the door frame. You may have to remove some weatherstripping to get the wedge in. Once it’s through, keep pumping until you have enough space to put an improvised wire hanger in.

After you create sufficient space, fashion your wire into a hook and use it to pull the lock open through the separation between door and frame. You may also use a shoestring for this purpose. Make a noose with your shoestring, hook it around the lock, tighten the noose, then pull the string up. If you have an automatic lock, use any lengthy thin material to push the button that unlocks the doors.

If all else fails, call for help

There’s no shame in asking others for assistance. Try to check if there’s a car dealership near you. One of their technicians may be able to unlock the doors for you. Of course, you can always break the glass as a last resort. Just make sure you are breaking the one farthest away from people or pets.