Locked out

Just supposing you locked yourself out of your car, or your home.
Do you have a plan for getting inside again?
(hopefully not a destructive plan)

Call the locksmith. :->

Call security forces, they have keys and slim jims

Keep a couple of extra keys on a neck strap, or in/on something you always keep in your pocket.

If you have a dog with a ruff, attach a door key to its collar, preferably between a couple of ID/rabies tags. And keep your mouth shut about it.

Sue

I use duct tape to attach a spare car key on the back of my license plate. it will NEVER come off unless specifically removed.

Spare car and home door keys in wallet and hidden outside in the yard. Also use combination locks where practical.

Trusted neighbors. We have a key to their house, they to ours. We have had to let each other in a couple of times. Good neighbors are a great resource.

License plates are stolen quite often so you just gave someone your key.

My truck: Spare Key in wallet and OnStar
DW's Jeep: It is a jeep. Soft Top, so unzip the top.
DS's car: Spare key in wallet.

House: Dog door. It is big enough for me to fit thru (at least for now anyway), and the GSD's keep everyone not a member of the family out.

The only way this happens is that the keys are locked in the truck -- BTDT. I take the spare key that's kept in my EDC Mission Wallet and open the door. Then I put the key back in the MC.

I bought magnetic "Hide-A-Keys":
http://www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Heavy-Duty-Hide-A-Key-Holder/dp/B002O71KXS
from a local locksmith
and position them on the steel vehicle frame behind the grill or inside a steel bumper. Of course I bought them AFTER needing them once: a consequence of not following my dad's example. They have since saved my and my kid's bacon on more than one occasion. They can usually be positioned on a more or less horizontal surface; the magnets are very strong.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to put in a house-key as well.

I like the duct-tape-behind-the-license-plate idea: cheap. works, creative. There's not a problem in our area with plates being stolen. Theft resistant license plate screws are means to make a thief move on to easier pickins: http://www.platelockers.com/

Well, I can't lock the door of my unit from the outside without a key, but I could theoretically be locked out of the complex. Then I'd start buzzing other units until I find somebody who's at home.

Playing along, though, if somehow my front door was locked and I didn't have my Primary keys:

1. Secondary keys in my EDC bag.

2. Call my landlady.

3. Call a locksmith and then make copies of the tertiary keys that are inside the unit.



Re: duct tape -- I've read that it's not very reliable for long-term use, especially in warm environments. Perhaps Gorilla Tape or something similar instead?

Speaking from experience,... I went around to my bathroom window and was surprised at how easily and quickly, without any damage, I entered the house, although it was pretty startling to the house cats.

I beefed up the security of that particular entryway, and stashed a key outside..

I have a key safe mounted outside of the house. It contains our keys and the neighbor's. The combination can be changed, so if we need to give it out to someone else (like a contractor doing work on the property) we can. It can also be given to first responders via 9-1-1 if they need to make entry.

For home use I have a keypad that opens the garage door (assuming no power outage). There's a key hidden in my garage.

For the car, if my keys were locked in the car I'd ask the cops to slim-jim it for me. If my keys were lost, I'd have to get the spare set from home. On longer trips the spare set is with another driver at all times.

Where I live I have to worry about car theft quite a bit, so the tradeoff I've made is that my car is harder to steal but I have to be very careful not to lose my car keys.

Based on too much experience:

I carry spare keys in wallet.

Also set in vest I wear 95% of the time.

Call AAA.

My father used to wrap or shrink wrap a key and hide it in the window washing fluid reservoir, may try that also.


Afraid if I had a locking license plate mounting screws I would need to be sure to have the special wrench on me to access my hidden key.

Yep, about it. BTW, I get to collect keys from my parents 2 neighbors next Wednesday, as we close on the sale of that house Thurday, 10:00am. Gad, there was a lot of survival useful stuff there - mostly moved to my place, but a lot of dupes in the tag sale (today and tomorrow)

For the car - the AAA provided me with the plastic key copy engraved in the credit card shaped piece of plastic when I've subscribed. Very lightweight and always on me along with the other cards.

A friend has a small plastic sealed Q-Tip box with a house key in it hidden under a certain rock. Since she decorates her yard with the large number of rocks from the garden beds, if a thief even knew that she was doing it, he would have to look under a LOT of rocks to find it, as it's away from the house.

Sue

For the house, I have a set of keys hidden in an outbuilding, inside an electrical box. If someone finds it, they've earned their reward, which is a close encounter with the Great Danes that live indoors.

Standard procedure for cars is a spare key in my wallet and a spare key in DW's purse.

I've always been leery of the magnetic box thing; prospective joyriders are known to troll parking lots and check bumpers for these.

But I may need to reconsider. A couple of days ago, DW managed to lock her keys in a running car, and the spare key had migrated somewhere else (south for the winter, presumably). I therefore went for a drive -- can't resist a damsel in distress.

So: where's a good place to hide a key/magnetic box that's not readily found by vandals on a fishing expedition?

["For the car, if my keys were locked in the car I'd ask the cops to slim-jim it for me."]

The cops may want proof that you own the car BEFORE they slim-jim it for you.
My 2 cents
Adventureboy

Spare key in my wallet and one hidden on the vehicle. The neighbours have a spare key to my house and kids have a hidden key outside.

If you are ever in a remote location and need to get through a gate in an emergency just look under the closest rock or behind the nearest tree, lots of hidden keys in the bush.

Almost every remote camp has a hidden key, check on top of the door frame and in the outhouse first.

Mike

I use the one way screws on my plate...the type that can't be unscrewed without a LOT of hassle and time spent. A thief would simply go on to another car after seeing those.

Would a metal detector help?

"So: where's a good place to hide a key/magnetic box that's not readily found by vandals on a fishing expedition?"

The same as when on a car camping trip: dump the box and put the key on a cord around your neck.

Sue

I used to keep a car key wired to the frame of my old car. Almost impossible to spot or feel.

For the house, there's a key inside a film can and buried about 4" deep by a landmark. It would take a messy minute or two to dig it up.

They have ways of finding out. :->

Good idea, but not so good in winter in Canada. First you would have to dig through the snow, then through the ground frozen like concrete.

The film canister hidden above ground would work better here.

Mike

I carry a spare house and car key, and have the garage door opener in the car that will let me in the house. As a backup, a friend has a spare house key. Worst comes to worst I could break into the house.

The car, other than the spare key, is more of a problem. The car has one of those *&^&^ computer chips, so the car won't work without the special key. This will be the last car I own that has that, unless I have no other choice. Ideally I'd have push button start and keyless entry. This is 2009, why should I need a metal key to operate my car? That's like 11th century technology.

I like your thinking about keyless entry and starting Tom, but how well would it work in the cold or with minimal battery power?

Mike

I think the limiting factor is going to be the energy required to turn over the mechanical starter--same as with a keyed ignition.

A few years ago I looked into a remote starter for my car, but didn't end up buying one. The installer said that he needed a "chipped" key so the remote would work, without my key in the ignition. My impression--and I should have asked--was that he was going to put the chip next to the ignition switch, so that the car would recognize its presence and that, once that was satisfied, if I wasn't using the remote control, I could use an unchipped key.

Edit: anyone tried this?

I'm actually fairly adept at slim-jimming cars, usually with a coat hangar. Not that most people have those handy.

And I've certainly locked myself out of my house once or twice. Sometimes I throw a spare key on my dog's collar if I'm out for a run (she stays home). The house I live in now is much harder to get into without breaking a window than the last several. I'll have to think about that.

UncleGoo, I was thinking more about getting into the car with the keyless entry. If I can get into the vehicle then I have access to all my stuff, including a 12v PowerBox that I can boost the vehicle battery with. Do vehicles with keyless entry also have a back-up keyhole?

Mike

AuntGoo's Prius has keyless entry and ignition. Inside the fob, there's a traditional key. The only keyhole is in the driver's door. It's kind of spooky to walk up to the car, and have the dome light come on, before you even touch the car.

Cool! Does the Prius system detect the remote fob or do you have to press a button on the fob?

If someone stole or found your keys it would be easy for them to detect which vehicle in a parking lot was yours by pressing the key fob auto-start, lock/unlock (lights flash), or even distress horn button.

I never thought of this before because I do not carry a remote vehicle starter, I have too much stuff on my keyrings now.

Once in your vehicle a thief could also then usually determine your home address from the ownership/insurance papers and access your house with the keys on the keyring or with the garage door opener in the vehicle.

Mike

The fob doesn't do a remote start on this car. It does however have a panic button, like any other fob, so it would be easy to locate the vehicle. You don't need to press any buttons to unlock the car, but there is one, if you want to use it. If you walk up to either of the front doors, or the hatch, and place your hand on the handle, the door unlocks. Starting the car is similar: the fob stays in your pocket, and you just press the on/off switch on the dash. To lock the doors on exit, you can use a button on the fob, or you can press a button on the exterior doorhandle. When I use her car, the fob goes into the watchpocket of my jeans and stays there. This car took some time for me to get used to: I drive a 20 year old truck with auto-nothing.

Smart Car. I also am the owner of an older not-so-smart truck.

Mike

My belt is a "money belt" with a small concealed zipper compartment. I keep a spare car key in there.

For my house, I've installed a keypad lock on the garage door. So, in order to get inside you have to first key in a combination to open the overhead garage door. Then, enter a combination to open the man door to let you inside. As long as I remember the two combinations I don't have to worry as much about getting locked out.

I used to keep spare car and house keys in my wallet, but then I realized if someone ever mugged me, not only am I handing them my identification (with my home address on it), but I would also be giving them the means to get to my address before I do (the car key) and a way to enter the house unopposed (the house key). I figured that wasn't too smart.

One of the problems with the just need a key fob cars is if you place the key on top of the car. The car can start, you drive off, key falls off of car, and you get to your destination turn off the car and it will not re-start because you don't have a key fob. Don't know if it works on all cars with the fob only start but i have heard of it happening.

Do know that if you place the key fob in the trunk of a Corvette the receiver will not see the fob and when you close the car everything locks and you will be calling onstar to unlock the car. And no i didn't do this one, i was out with a friend of mine in her new Corvette and she locked us out of the car.

I have my ways. All already described here.

It's becoming very common for a car to require a chipped key for the ignition. The nicer the car is, the more likely it is to have this technology.

My car has remote start and keyless entry, but I still need to put the chipped key into the ignition and turn it on before putting my foot on the brake pedal, or it cuts out.

Some cars are truly keyless and work on RF technology. You stick the key in your pocket and the car unlocks when you walk up to it, and the start button works when you're inside the car. That's pretty neat, but it doesn't make solving the spare key issue any easier.

How about storing spare keys in an unused power outlet ?

OK you may think that someone could find out if they plug something in it and find no power. But what I mean is that you have two power outelts side by side in your backyard or tool shed ..etc . One with real 110v and the other one empty and covered (looks like a spare outlet if you need to wire it in the future). Inside, there is no wiring, only the keys.

Some folks have tried it and they are still lucky no one found out.

there a million places to hide a key.the trick is to make finding it take time,which the bad guys don't want.things like under a rock by the sidewalk or in a power box are easy finds.under a rock in a pile of rocks in a garden,painted brown with parts of it filed down so it does not shout out "key" and hid behind a tree or green and hung deep inside a bush.in a bit of phony trash inside the garbage can,slipped under a shingle on the side of the house..those are all time wasters and the in and out gang won't work those..plus all those key hiders sold in catalogs are just targets.

And I'm not worried about getting locked out of this baby:


Obligatory link back to flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/civex/4185678147/

I know. But what people don't realize is that it's a step backwards in technology. Without having to have a key, I can access any of my work computer systems, from anywhere in the world. Why should I have to continue to carry hardware to operate my car? Why isn't my car smart enough to recognise my password, my fingerprint, or my voice? To me it's just because people haven't demanded it, because they're so used to carrying things around.

They've been too busy making cars stupid-proof.

Even though you have a chipped key, that key may be sitting on the seat when you locked the door. Many times, you just need to get past the door lock, not past the ignition lock.

Sue

I have had a couple of these chipped keys in my last two vehicles. As I understand it, w/ my models, you don't need a chipped key to open the door only turn the ignition.

Let’s see … keep spare keys for home, office and car on person. Keep spare keys for home and cars hidden outside home. Garage door opener in cars so can get in that way (but carry and hide spare keys to house in case door inside garage is locked or the garage door itself is locked). Of course wife and I both have keys to each other’s cars. Select neighbors, friends and family members also have house keys. Am I missing anything important?

Been there, done that. Not a nice place to visit and definitely don't want to go back. See previous post.

The Toyotas with this system won't let you lock the key inside. If you try, they emit a long, distinctive beep and won't lock the door.

Happened to me. I was in the yard, doing X, wife went out to store, locked house, nobody home but the cat, and that cat hates me, so it wouldn't open the door. It was about 30 degrees out.

There is NO non-destructive way to get into my house, and, unfortunately in this case, there was no way for me to get in. I thought about it for a while and decided to keep working outside for a while, and if I needed to get in, I'd break a window (and set off the alarm...oy).

Fortunately, she came home within the hour, but after that, I hid a key outside - no it's not under a "rock like" thing or under the door mat. In fact, it's not even near the house at all. But it's there if I ever need it. Kids know where it is too.

I noticed on a recent cold morning our frail neighbor lady trying to scrape the ice off her windshield. She is very short and was having a hard time. I went over to help out. She was using a metal kitchen spatula. I took over and she got in her car to warm up. When I was almost done she got out and said I had done enought and she wanted to finish herself. She really did not like me being away from home since I don't get home often. Reluctantly, I went back home to get her a large reach scaper and a warm gloved scraper I had as spares. When I approached, she said she had a problem. She locked herself out with the engine running with all her keys even her spare keys, including her house keys, in the car. Her car was designed to be theft proof. Even with my Chicago backround, I could not open her door locks with a coat hanger wire. But I did the next best thing, I was able to open her electric windows which allowed me to easily reach in and unlock the doors.

We always have had a spare key for her house but we now have a spare to her car and she keeps a coat hanger in her shed just in case.

Often keys for remote buildings and gates are hidden somewhere near the structure, like behind a tree or under a rock, etc.

The problem comes when there is snow on the ground, you just follow the tracks of the person before you to the key hiding site, simple.

Mike

Both my truck and my wifes SUV have chipped keys. I had a non chipped key cut for each vehicle and wired inside of the frame rail on the passengers side of the vehicle. If the keys are locked inside (as has been done on a couple occasions) the non-chipped key allows access to the interior of the vehicle.

I also have hidden a chipped key in the vehicle compartment of the vehicle in the event that a key is lost. The non-chipped key is used to gain access to the vehicle and then the chipped key is retrieved to operate the vehicle. I hide the chipped key behind the glove box so someone would have to know where to look and then disassemble the glove box to retrieve the key. This way, even if someone finds the key wired to the frame, they could take the contents of the vehicle but not take the vehicle.

They'd have to be lucky to find the nonn-chipped key and extremely lucky to find both.

I also have a house key hidden outside, but you gotta go into the backyard to get it and even then if is not obvious where it is.

As far as cars go,if you use a wooden wedge between the door and frame it makes it far easier to slide in and use a coat hanger.

Also if you tie a fish line tight so it does not slide a few inches from the working end of the coat hanger and hold onto the other end outside the car , you can pull the line to make the coat hanger bend and move to where you need it to hit a button etc.

That fish line idea is awesome!! I always manage to get close and then pull the wire out to try to re-bend . . . lot of wasted time.

Dental floss works for that as well. I find that having two ends of floss strung back from opposing angles is ideal for repositioning/contorting the end of the hanger.

Years ago a good ziplock with a housekey, buried under the dirt at the water meter box was popular. Then it was in a valve box for the sprinklers. Didn't even drop the garage door or lock the doors, vehicles, etc. Heck, we had a tractor that had no key, it was push button start.

Then I moved into town.

Now I suggest a keybox,I personally like the Supra S7..with the rubber cover, looks like a somewhat typical outdoor outlet cover.
I wired mine to the alarm, in case someone knocks it off with a sledge hammer. and there's a tamper switch inside that goes off when it's opened. Just in case someone acquires the combination..they still need a code for the alarm company.

For the vehicle: if you have a good hitch..there's the hitchsafe product.
The following description is probably is not a good idea for those RFID chip type keys.
Using some soap and water, clean up a frame rail top, dry thoroughly, with a hot glue gun, or epoxy (lightly)..glue a key to the top of the rail,
wait for it to dry, cover/blend in with paintable silicone sealant.

then paint with matching(typically black) paint. add dirt for effect.
Pick a couple of drywall screws or nails and hide strategically where you know where they're at, and will not fall out and blow someones tire.
My last truck had 270k on it, and the key was still intact. (and the key was there for 260k of those miles)

My house i am not worried about, we have a spare hidden around here somewhere.

my truck has a hide-a-key inside my frame, It's c shaped and opens to the inside, nice lip up. So if you don't know its there it takes a long time to find, plus my truck is a '98 with the bottom part of my front bumper missing. (air dam) so theft is not a really big worry of mine.

IIRC some LEP will not slim-jim a car. The LEP's in El Paso, Texas won't (personal experience). Liability. Some lady locked her baby in the back seat of her car, with the windows up, engine off, in the El Paso sun. Frantic she flagged down a passing cruiser, he slim jim'ed her door open, she was happy until she went to leave. a wire had come loose and apparently shorted out her door. She sued and won. Now the El Paso LEP will not slim-jim. They sometimes might help you with what you are doing, will call a locksmith, or if it is an emergency break out your window. but that might just be there. I would not bet on LEP's slim-jim-ing my car though.

I used to have a hide-a-key, then I went 4 wheeling without warning one day. never saw it again..it was inside the frame as well. I figured some brush or palmettoes got up in there and swept it out somehow as I went chasing down a (sorta)dirt trail. That's when I decided to epoxy on to the top of the frame, above the spare tire area..remarkably after that, I never lost my keys. go figure.

Since I have two dogs that go almost everywhere with me, I normally don't carry a purse (need both hands) but carry a small nylon billfold in my pocket with a car door key inside. However, I've got myself in the habit of always using the remote to lock and unlock doors and haven't locked my keys inside the car in years. I live in a semi-rural area on acreage so I do have a hiding place for a house key, that's not too close to the house and doubtfully would be found by anyone else.

"The Toyotas with this system won't let you lock the key inside. If you try, they emit a long, distinctive beep and won't lock the door."

Most of the newer cars are like this, I think.

HOWEVER... that can only be depended upon IF THE KEY IS IN THE IGNITION. Drop it on the floor, set it down on the seat, etc, and the car will think you have it in your hand and lock the door.

That's why I always carry a $1 door key (unchipped).

Sue

I have a spare housekey hidden near my residence, but not actually on the property. This idea I got from geocaching.
What I did was take a standard metal coathanger, snip & straighten it, hammer one end flat, and form that end into a hook. So, it resembles an upside down J. At the straight end, I taped a set of spare apt keys to it. I then went to a storm drain on my street, up a little ways from my apt, and dropped it in, with the J part of the hook over the grate. It blends in perfectly, and no one EVER looks in the storm drains. I check on it when I go for a jog, and pull it up once a month or so to ensure its still attached. Even if someone finds it, they would have to figure out who it belongs to then which door inside the complex. The downside is that there is always a potential of losing the keys-but, this is a relatively small price to pay I suppose.
I cannot lock myself out of my apt, as the door has to be locked via key. My jeep is a softtop, so locking myself out is a non-issue. However, the backup keys are in the event I lose my keyring-I have dupes of my apt, jeep, & gun safe on there. The gun safe may be an issue to have another dupe made, as I have to contact the manufacturer directly.

"Man Severely Injured by Drunk Driver While Fishing In Storm Drain! More news at eleven!"

Sue

Not cheap ($70) but there is one solution available for vehicles with a towing kit. It's called a HitchSafe - combination lock insert for a 2" hitch receiver. Besides keys, you can include currency or a credit card! Follow the link for the pictures. The following text is from the website. NO, I do not own one - my hitch receiver is only 1 1/4" sq. (Class 2)

http://the-gadgeteer.com/2006/09/01/hitchsafe_key_vault/
The HitchSafe measures approximately 5" long x 3" wide on the combination end, and it weighs one pound six ounces. The HitchSafe’s body is made of metal with a black finish. It will fit into any standard 2" receiver, and the included EVA foam inserts make the HitchSafe adjustable for pin hole variances. According to the specifications listed on the site, "the maximum hole reach from front of receiver to middle of pin hole is 2-9/16", and the maximum body depth into receiver is 4-3/8.".

The HitchSafe is the perfect gadget for people with unused or seldom used hitch receivers. Never again will a magnetic key box of mine be lost on a bumpy back country road, and never again will I have to smash a window to get inside my locked vehicle. Well, never again after I order an additional HitchSafe for myself; this one went on my 16 year old daughter’s truck. Now I have peace of mind that she will not only be able to get into her truck if she loses her key, she’ll also have access to the emergency $20 bill that I’ve tucked inside. If your or someone you care about has a vehicle with a hitch receiver, I can highly recommend this ultra-secure method of carrying extra keys and cash.

If you cannot get out of the way of a car barrelling at you, well, you deserve to get hit

Not that it couldnt happen, but the likelihood of it on my street is small. The geography and layout of the street is in my favor. Small town, not a lot of traffic, little used road.

I have a combo box next to the back door. Its not hidden. If someone wants to get in my house, they're just going to break a window elsewhere on the house instead of using a crowbar and sledge on the lockbox.

You don't have to go to elaborate measures, just enough effort to make it so they'll find some other way in, or move on. Typical American houses built in the last 20 years are defensive nightmares so chances are they'll find another way in without much effort.

Everyone's situation is different of course. But you have to think about the most likely course of action. Don't be too smart for your own good.

Those asre some astute, common sense "observations", and I agree with you!

I lived in a neighborhood in SoCal where every single house was burglarized except mine and one other... both of us had barking dogs IN THE HOUSE.

Sue

I have carried a spare key inside of the gas cap lid of my Chevy for a long time. There is some sheet metal supports in there that will hold a key securely. The truck is black, and I covered the key with black duct tape. It is practically invisible even when the lid is open, and it can't be lost.

I use a single key for the car and carry another on the set for the house. And yet a third key in a magnetic key box on top of the car frame. Difficult to get to but not impossible as a last resort.

Great idea!!!! I think that I will share it around to family. Normally I keep both house and spare vehicle keys on me.

here's another "lock out"--your gas cap,does it have a lock? does everyone who drives that car have a key or know where it is hidden in the car..i say this because--ya...i took off all the extra keys on my ring before i went on a two week canoe trip to cut down on the stuff i would have tucked away in my pack--id,cell phone,credit card,all the "real world" things..and yes when i swapped off keys onto another ring i just put on the car and house key..250 miles on the road i pulled in to top off the tank before heading down the trail to the canoe landing and no gas cap key....
well i ripped the cap off with a screwdriver explaining to some folks gassing up there powerboats what a dope i was to forget the key--so on--lucky that little town had a place to get a new cap..

I have a code lock on my tool shed and a house key well hidden inside there. Just recently I asked a good friend and neighbor to go inside and check out a fire alarm in our house. Worked like a charm.

We're a group of close friends that live fairly close together. We're probably going to implement that we don't stash our own keys in some hiding place on our property - we stash EACH OTHERS keys. Friend A has the key to friend B, friend B has the keys to friend C and so on. Any burglar who finds a set of keys in any of these hiding places will be though out of luck trying to find the house it fits to.

Of course the hiding places will be hard to find - but let's be realistic, there are not that many possible options (dry, out of sight but possible to reach etc) and a thorough search by anyone who's not totally dim witted will probably turn up some keys.

you didn't get that idea from MY geocache, did you? i have had a micro hidden in a storm drain like that for a few years...haven't seen it replicated anywhere, though.

i've been meaning to hide a set of keys ala GCing for a while now, but have yet to make the effort - despite having locked myself out at least twice since deciding i need a back-up plan.

dolt.

Our garage door can be opened with a keypad next to it. Just inside is the spare housekey we've got hidden.

As for my car the spare key is in my wallet pouch.

Locksmith or break cheapest to replace piece of glass in a pinch. =)

I have a spare car key attached to inside engine bay with a neodymium magnet, no way it's going to fall off. It doesn't have the remote for the ignition kill system but I know how to bypass it.

As for house key, I have key to the shed hidden in the yard, then house key hidden inside the shed. Chance of someone finding both is simply astronomical.