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Just read SLO76's annoying holiday experience of this. Nearly thirty years ago (when cars were easier to break into) I was undisturbed in broad daylight on holiday in Switzerland as I eventually gained access to our VW GL5 estate with a borrowed screw driver, pliers and wire coat-hanger. Since then I have always carried a spare key externally well secured in a secret place. How many other back-roomers do this?
Edited by John F on 29/07/2019 at 11:45
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I cannot say that I copy your current cunning plan John, but 46 years ago, whilst working for a motor finance company that was affiliated to the RAC, I was taking advantage of the hospitality offered by that organisation at the RAC Rally in York, when a distraught motorist entered the m******.
He had locked his keys in his Jaguar and, although not a member, asked whether they could help. I went to my car to dig out my trusty Repossession Kit, comprising a stout screwdriver and a suitably contorted wire coat-hanger, and opened the door for him within 20 seconds. Those were the days!!
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I know on older vehicles you used to lock the car inside and hold the handle up when clsoing the door to lock it so you didn't need the key - a recipe for locking keys inside, but getting in was easy.
Since remote locking I think the last car I had where you could lock the doors with them open and potentially lock the keys inside was my X type.
Since then every car I have owned has needed the doors to be shut before they can be locked using the remote.
Edited by daveyjp on 29/07/2019 at 13:12
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It was a regular occurrence while starting the cars in the yard when I was a young saleslad. Ford’s with central locking were particularly prone to locking when the keys were in the ignition and the engine was running. Easy enough to break in back in those days though, a big screwdriver and a big bit of wire was all you needed to flick the interior door handle or lock.
It was much more of a challenge for the poor RAC gent (and he was a very nice gent) who spent the best part of an hour with it. We could get a hook in and round the door handles but once locked from outside they won’t allow you to open it from within. Fortunately the keys were in a door pocket and after much struggling (and surprisingly no swearing) he managed to get hold of them.
On holidays and trips away I also tend to carry the spare keys but stupidly this time I left them in the car. Idiot.
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Yep - locked myself out of my 1990s Micra as I was about to go and change to play cricket for my firm - I'd left my rucksack (with the second key in it) in the boot and stupidly put my main key down in the boot whilst chatting with a colleague, then by force of habit shut the boot, which automatically locked (the rest of the car was already locked - no central locking back then).
Luckily, I had my wallet (RAC card with the phone number), mobile phone and called the RAC, who employed the wire down the driver's window technique to gain entry, about 30 mins later (it took him 5 mins to gain entry, not so good for security for that car, but I mean, what thief would want to steal a 54bhp 1.0 Micra? I managed to still play cricket that day (luckily we were batting first, so I just went in down the order) as well, and we won!.
No problem on my current car - central locking only via the blippers or key turn, and the boot doesn't lock when it is shut. Thank goodness.
Edited by Engineer Andy on 29/07/2019 at 14:50
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A Vauxhall Firenza (blimey, that's going back a bit!) was my pride and joy at one point and, while away from home (and therefore with no chance of using the spare key) I left the car keys in the boot and slammed it shut. The car doors were unlocked, fortunately.
It was the devil of a job to loosen one of the back seats to get access to the boot, but somehow I did so. Somehow I think that the grandparents of my girlfriend at the time were not impressed.
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Had a major battle with our Suzuki with keyless locking. It utterly refused to lock from outside - tried the door button, tried the key fob, checked all doors were fully shut. Then realised the other key was still inside, in a handbag concealed in the boot, and the car was looking after us very well.....
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I didn't see the original thread, but at my son's wedding in 2017 my sister in law turned up with her husband in their new car, parked up in the hotel car park and they couldn't lock the doors. Tried everything, assumed it was a fault (not least because they'd already had a number of niggles with the vehicle) and rather than sit down for the wedding breakfast and deal with the problem later, her husband drove from Stoke to Warrington to ask the garage to deal with the problem. Turned out the car wouldn't lock because my sister in law's handbag, containing the spare set of keys, was still in the car boot.
My wife actually put her finger on the issue, but her helpful advice was ignored and as a result my sis in law's hubby had his dinner in his hotel room rather than with the wedding party..
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Back in the early 1970s I hired a Mark 1 Ford Escort Mexico, & my wife & I took a road trip to Beachy Head. Locked the car (holding the handle up as per daveyjp’s post) and walked up to the cliff-top to peer down at the sea over 500’ below and enjoy an afternoon stroll.
On getting back to the car I couldn’t find the key & wondered where it had been lost … all the car doors were locked but then saw key on the seat inside the car. No-one offered to break in for me, but a kind motorist offered to drive us down to Eastbourne where we could find a Ford dealer and offered to wait to drive us back up again (those were the days!).
We found a dealer and explained our predicament, “No problem … where’s the car?” said the service assistant and started walking to the door to the street. I explained again that we hadn’t locked the car in Eastbourne but on the top of Beachy Head … “Oh – that’s different” he said, thought about it for a minute or so & then produced a ring holding 60 or so different keys “Take these, one of them should open the door for you” he said.
Our Good Samaritan took us back up to Beachy Head, we were able to find a key that opened the door, retrieve “our” keys and then drove back into Eastbourne to return the ring of keys. How innocent we all were in those days!
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About 25 years ago on holiday in the Shetland Islands with my MK2 Fiesta diesel, i decided i'd climb to Shetland's highest point, Ronas hill. There was an access road to a building (something to do with electric) at the top of an adjacent hill, so i drove up there to start. Went up Ronas hill, took many pics, came back down only to find i did not have my keys on me. I was about to retrace my steps to look for them (as i assumed i'd dropped them), when it occured to me that i'd sat in the boot to change into walking boots after parking. Sure enough, peering down the gap between parcel shelf and window, i could see the keys. But i was literally miles from anywhere and there was nobody else around. Scouting around for insperation, i found a length of fencing wire about a foot long, which i then fashioned into a hook using a couple of rocks and used it to successfully break into the Fiesta!. Doubt it would be that easy these days.
On that point, i remember while working in a body repair shop in the late 80's, being shown just how easy it was to break into an Opel Manta or Vauxhall Cavalier Coupe. Unclip the B piller trim on the outside (flat screwdriver or similar), remove the two screws holding the hinges for the (side opening) rear side window, let the window pivot on the rear catch and hang down enough to get your arm in and pull up the lock button on the door card. Replace screws, pop the trim back in place, Bob's your uncle! (this could be done in a couple of minutes without damaging the car in any way!).
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I've had several keyless cars and they have all done this. I can confirm the current Suzuki Swift and Vitara both do not allow the car to lock if it detects a key within the vehicle. Simple feature but great to have.
Edited by Ethan Edwards on 29/07/2019 at 23:23
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I've had several keyless cars and they have all done this. I can confirm the current Suzuki Swift and Vitara both do not allow the car to lock if it detects a key within the vehicle. Simple feature but great to have.
Both our Suzuki and Nissan ate like this
But back to the original question. Many moons ago when we were in holiday my father locked the keys in his Austin montego. With the help of a wire coat hanger I remember he hot the door open.
Try doing that now with modern vehicles.
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I remember a friends MK I Ford Escort where an average coin of the realm could open the car
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Many years ago while I was at a main dealer chatting to the workshop manager who I knew, over in the far bay the young apprentice had been tasked with replacing a battery on a customers car.
Young lad comes over & interrupts us, turns out the car locked itself when he connected the new battery & the keys where in the ignition.
Workshop manager sends the young lad to go fetch all the courtesy car keys to try, none worked.
Then he sends him of down to the parts counter with the VIN & says get a basic key cut for it. While the lad is out of ear shot a call is made to the parts counter & a request to keep the lad there for a while.
While the lad is away a mechanic gets his lockout kit out, opens the door in about 20 seconds, retrieves the key, locks the car again then puts the rescued set of keys is his pocket.
About 15 minutes later the young lad returns with a freshly cut standard key, we all stood there watching as he opens the door then looks puzzled - the mechanic shouts across " looking for these " holding the rescued keys in the air.
Workshop manager says to the young lad " you have learnt a valuable lesson today, don't leave the keys in the car when you reconnect a battery "
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I've had several keyless cars and they have all done this. I can confirm the current Suzuki Swift and Vitara both do not allow the car to lock if it detects a key within the vehicle. Simple feature but great to have.
Not so great if you want to keep a spare key secreted somewhere in the car in case you lose the first - I tried enclosing the spare in a tin / Faraday bag / and other improbable containers but couldn't lock the car with the spare hidden either inside or under the bonnet.
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“Not so great if you want to keep a spare key secreted somewhere in the car in case you lose the first - I tried enclosing the spare in a tin / Faraday bag / and other improbable containers but couldn't lock the car with the spare hidden either inside or under the bonnet.”
Not sure why you’d want to. I did this purely by accident and a spare key is no use to you if it’s locked inside the car.,
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Not sure why you’d want to. I did this purely by accident and a spare key is no use to you if it’s locked inside the car.,
When travelling I reckoned there might be someone with the skill to open the door, but I would still need a key to start the car & operate the electronics - but maybe I've been deluding myself!
Edited by Theophilus on 30/07/2019 at 19:34
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Edited by Theophilus on 30/07/2019 at 19:19
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Similar story to others. When our youngest was a baby (he’s 40 in a few months’ time) we were with other family members at a picnic spot somewhere near Canterbury. Plenty of other families were enjoying the sunny summer afternoon too.
At some point a chap comes up to our group, explains that he’s locked himself out of his car, has noticed my Ford Capri and asks if he can try my key as his car is also a Ford. Like the Cinderella story, he’d been trying all the Fords in the park in the hope that one would have the same key as his. Mine worked and he was mightily relieved. I felt good at having done somebody a good turn, but at the same time a bit uneasy about the security of my car. In my naivety, I hadn’t realised that car keys were not unique.
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Like the Cinderella story, he’d been trying all the Fords in the park in the hope that one would have the same key as his. Mine worked and he was mightily relieved. I felt good at having done somebody a good turn, but at the same time a bit uneasy about the security of my car. In my naivety, I hadn’t realised that car keys were not unique.
If you had spent any time in the seventies driving a Ford in the Liverpool area, you would know all about this situation. Friends of ours parked in Liverpool once, wife returned to car and surprised some local scallies trying to get in. They scarpered so fast they left their master key in the lock. The usual target was alloys from the upmarket models, tho you didn't need a key for that unless there were locking nuts - only a jack and some bricks.
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Spare key kept with a trusted relative who can get a replacement to me quickly if I'm local, or couriered next day 9am delivery if i'm a long way away.
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