How to unlock your car door with a hanger

Your day is packed with work, errands, and family responsibilities. As you get ready to head into the office, you shut the car door, and start to panic. How could you lock the keys in the car on a day like today? The fact is that we’ve all been in similar situations such as this. Many of us may start searching online for quick ways to unlock the car. Using a coat hanger remains one of the top solutions. In this blog post, though, we will explain the pitfalls that come with this method.

How to unlock your car door with a hanger

The majority of drivers don’t realize that coat hangers only work in certain lock mechanisms, and they typically don’t work at all on locks of newer model cars. One strategy you may run across involves shoving a wedge into the seam at the top corner of the door. From there, you’re supposed to snake the hanger into the vehicle and try to pull the button to open the door. The problem with this is that you may cause significant damage to the door. Our mobile locksmith has seen cases in which folks scratch the paint or even wedge the door open too far and shatter the window or break the door.

Another method consists of inserting the hanger between the weather stripping and the window at the bottom corner of the door. The next step entails fishing around the door itself to try to pull up the metal latch mechanism. What are the potential risks here? Well, you could scratch the paint, tear the stripping around the window, or even cause damage to wiring should you have electric locks or power windows.

Why Call an Auto Locksmith?

Upon realizing that you’ve locked your keys in the car, countless thoughts run through your mind. It’s no secret that you want to get back inside as quickly as possible, recover your keys, and move on with the rest of your day. But why cause what will likely be costly damage to your vehicle in the process? At Safeway Lock and Key in central Maryland, we don’t recommend these dangerous methods.

Instead, when you find yourself locked out, be sure to contact your local locksmith. For years, we’ve been relied on by folks to get them out of what seems like impossible lockout scenarios. Regardless of the time of day, we treat your problem with urgency and arrive at your location as quickly as possible. You can feel comfortable knowing that we will treat you and your vehicle with the utmost respect. Our 24-hour locksmith is proud to offer the following services:

  • Emergency door or trunk access
  • Broken key extraction
  • Car door lock fixing/replacement
  • Ignition key replacement
  • Transponder key chips
  • Keyless entry programming
  • Lost key recovery    

If you find yourself locked out, it’s imperative to get to a safe location while our auto locksmith is on the way. Don’t resort to tactics that may just frustrate you even more. Just stay calm and let our emergency locksmith find a solution. Call Safeway Lock and Key today.

How to unlock your car door with a hanger

car by the door image by Furan from Fotolia.com

If you have locked your car keys in the car or misplaced them and find yourself locked out, you can use a coat hanger to unlock your car. It requires a little patience and a relaxed mental attitude, but it's not difficult to do.

Step 1

Straighten out the coat hanger but leave the "hook" end intact.

Step 2

Insert the hanger under the rubber molding on the left side of the passenger side window, and attempt to locate a pin inside the car door's frame. The pin is located toward the center of the door in most vehicles.

Step 3

Tug lightly and pull up on the hanger when you find the pin.

Step 4

Reinsert the metal coat hanger from the top of the window if you can't find the pin. Maneuver it through the rubber molding around the window's edge.

Step 5

Guide the metal coat hanger onto the lock and carefully push it to unlock the car.

Tips

  • Proceed slowly and with care throughout the entire process. A relaxed mental attitude and patience will go a long way.
  • Listen intently for any sounds as you maneuver the metal coat hanger inside the frame of the car door. Try to determine if there is any movement that will tell you that you have located the pin in the door frame.

Things You'll Need

  • Wire coat hanger

Warnings

  • Use caution when attempting to locate the pin in the door frame or position the metal coat hanger on the lock to avoid scratching the car or hurting yourself.

Writer Bio

Giselle Diamond is a freelance writer and has been writing since 1999. Diamond is experienced in writing in all genres and subjects, with distinguished experience in home and garden, culture and society, literature and psychology. Diamond has a Master of Arts in English and psychology from New York University. Diamond has articles published on both eHow and LiveStrong.

What is the easiest way to unlock a car door?

Get Your Spare Key. ... .
Load Up Your App. ... .
Unlock Manual Locks with String or Fishing Line. ... .
Unlock with a Wire Clothes Hanger. ... .
Unlock with an Inflatable Pump Wedge. ... .
Unlock with a Strip of Sturdy Plastic. ... .
Call AAA or a Locksmith. ... .
Call the Police..

How do you unlock your car with keys inside?

Using a Wire Coat Hanger.
Straighten out a wire coat hanger. ... .
Bend one end of the coat hanger into a "V" shape. ... .
Slide the "V" end between the window and the weatherstripping in the door. ... .
Wiggle the coat hanger around until you feel the locking mechanism. ... .
Snag the locking mechanism in the "V" and pull to unlock the car..