What Do You Try First When Keys Are Locked in the Car Boot?
Try every door handle first when keys are locked in the car boot, since 1 unlocked door gives a way into the boot through the cabin. The boot release button and the folding rear seats are steps 2 and 3 of 7, and emergency vehicle unlocking opens the car in 10 to 20 minutes for £60 to £150 when the steps at the car fail.
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Boot Lockout Checker
Pick the type of car.
Best odds at the car. Find 1 unlocked door, fold the rear seats down and reach into the boot for the keys.
Treat an SUV as a hatchback. One unlocked door and the folding rear seats open the way into the boot.
Harder. Try the ski hatch behind the rear armrest. A saloon boot lockout usually ends with a locksmith.
The load area is separate from the cab. Call a specialist for keys locked in the back of a van.
A coupe has no rear doors to try. A folding rear seat is the only way into the boot from the cabin.
Check the phone app for a remote unlock first. Keys in a front boot go straight to a specialist.
Entry is non destructive. The price is confirmed before travel. The service runs 24 hours a day across Devon, Dorset and Somerset.
A boot lockout is a lockout in which the keys lie inside the closed boot of a locked car. A boot lockout seals the cabin and the boot at once, since the central locking holds every door when the boot lid shuts. The cause of a boot lockout is usually keys put down on the boot floor during loading. The fix follows 7 steps, and the first 4 steps use the car itself. The car type sets the odds, since a hatchback, an estate and an SUV open into the boot from the cabin, and a saloon, a van and a coupe do not. Emergency vehicle unlocking by a mobile auto locksmith is step 7.
Locked out right now in Devon, Dorset or Somerset? Call 07830249408. I tell you exactly what to try first, and I come to you with a confirmed price and an honest arrival time when none of the steps work.
Check every door before anything else. A large share of boot lockout calls end with an unlocked rear door or front door. Pull each handle, then press the boot release button in the cabin.
Which 7 Steps Free Keys From a Boot?
The 7 steps that free keys from a locked car boot are the door handles, the cabin boot release, the folding rear seats, the release inside the boot, the spare key, the breakdown cover and a mobile auto locksmith. Steps 1 to 4 take under 5 minutes at the car.
Try Every Door Handle
Pull every door handle on the car, front and rear. A rear door often stays unlocked on an older car, and a door left ajar does not lock with the other doors. One open door turns keys locked in the boot into a short reach through the cabin.
Press the Boot Release in the Cabin
Press the boot release button on the dashboard near the driver, on the driver door panel or on the centre console. The boot release button opens the boot lid with no key. The button stays dead on a deadlocked car until the car is unlocked properly.
Fold the Rear Seats Down
Pull the seat release on the top of the rear seat back or in the rear footwell. Fold the left seat, the right seat, then both seats. Keys in the boot are usually within reach from the folded rear seats.
Pull the Release Inside the Boot
Pull the release handle or tab inside the boot lining, where the car has one. The handle glows in the dark on some models. UK cars do not all carry a release inside the boot, so move to step 5 where there is none.
Fetch the Spare Key
Ask a person at home to bring the spare key. A spare key is the fastest fix for keys locked in the boot when a driver is free to deliver the spare key. Stay with the vehicle during the wait.
Check the Breakdown Cover
Call the breakdown provider and ask whether the policy includes lockout help. Note the arrival time, which runs to 60 to 120 minutes in rural Devon, Dorset and Somerset in busy periods. Compare the arrival time with an auto locksmith before choosing.
Call a Mobile Auto Locksmith
Call a mobile auto locksmith once the first 6 steps have failed. The locksmith confirms the price and the arrival time by phone before travel. Emergency vehicle unlocking then takes 10 to 20 minutes at the car.
Leave the boot lid, the doors and the windows unforced
A lever on the boot lid, a forced door or a coat hanger pushed past a window seal causes more damage than the boot lockout. Bent bodywork, torn seals and broken lock parts cost hundreds of pounds to repair. The 7 steps free keys from a boot with no force, and the car type decides how many of the 7 steps apply.
How Does Car Type Change a Boot Lockout?
Car type changes a boot lockout through 1 part, the folding rear seat. Two car types open into the boot from the cabin, 3 car types do not, and an electric car adds a front boot. The 6 car types below run from the best odds to the worst.
🚗 Hatchback and Estate
A hatchback or an estate gives the best odds in a boot lockout. The rear seats of a Ford Focus, a Volkswagen Golf and a Vauxhall Astra fold from the cabin, so 1 unlocked door puts keys in the boot within reach.
🚙 SUV and Crossover
An SUV behaves like a hatchback in a boot lockout. Folding rear seats are standard on a Kia Sportage, a Hyundai Tucson and a Ford Kuga, so the cabin opens straight into the boot.
🚘 Saloon
A saloon such as a BMW 3 Series, an Audi A4 or a Mercedes C-Class is harder in a boot lockout, since the boot is a sealed box behind the cabin. A ski hatch behind the rear armrest gives a narrow opening into the boot on some saloons, and the opening rarely reaches the boot floor.
🚐 Van
A van keeps the load area fully separate from the cab. The rear door locks of a Ford Transit, a Vauxhall Vivaro and a Mercedes Sprinter work independently of the cab locks, so keys locked in the back of a van are a job for a specialist.
🏎️ Coupe
A coupe is the hardest boot lockout among the petrol and diesel car types. A coupe such as a BMW 2 Series, an Audi TT or a Toyota GR86 has 2 doors, no rear doors to try and a small folding rear seat as the only way into the boot from the cabin.
🔌 Electric Car
An electric car adds a front boot on some models, such as a Tesla Model 3, a Tesla Model Y and a Ford Mustang Mach-E. A front boot has no mechanical release on most models, so keys locked in a front boot go to a specialist.
A car type with no way into the boot from the cabin ends with emergency vehicle unlocking.
How Does Emergency Vehicle Unlocking Open a Boot?
Emergency vehicle unlocking opens a boot by opening a cabin door first, and the boot lid is never forced. Emergency vehicle unlocking uses non destructive entry tools on the door lock, so the locks, the seals and the bodywork stay undamaged. The work takes 10 to 20 minutes at the car. The car locksmith cost for a boot lockout is £60 to £120 in the daytime and up to £150 out of hours.
Deadlocking is a second stage of locking that disconnects the inside door handles and the cabin boot release. Deadlocking stops a thief who breaks a window from opening a door or the boot from inside. The trigger of deadlocking on a Ford is 2 presses of the lock button within 3 seconds. Deadlocking is the reason step 2 fails on a car locked on the remote. A door lock turned by the locksmith releases the deadlock, the boot release button works again, and the keys locked in the boot come out through the boot lid.
The price covers the visit, the door opening and a test of the lock. A replacement key is a separate job, and a replacement key applies only when the keys are lost and not locked in the boot.
Frequently Asked Questions About a Boot Lockout
Call 999 at once when a child or a vulnerable person is locked in a car in warm weather. The police and the fire service open a vehicle faster than a locksmith in an emergency, and minutes matter in a hot car.
Call 999 when a dog locked in a car shows signs of heat distress, which is the advice of the RSPCA. Call a locksmith straight away when the animal is calm and the weather is cool.
A boot locks with the keys inside for 3 reasons. The keys were put down in the boot during loading, the central locking locked the car after a set time, or the lock button was pressed out of habit. A keyless car normally refuses to lock with the fob inside, and a weak fob battery stops that check.
A locksmith charges £60 to £150 to open a car with keys locked in the boot. The price is £60 to £120 in the daytime and up to £150 out of hours. The boot is not a separate job, since the locksmith opens a door and the boot opens from inside. The car locksmith cost guide lists the price of all 8 jobs.
Open a Mercedes boot with the key inside from the phone app first, where the car has connected services with remote unlock. A Mercedes with keyless entry normally refuses to lock with the key in the boot. A Mercedes that has locked anyway is opened at the door by an auto locksmith, and the boot then opens from the cabin.
A key that breaks in the boot lock leaves the blade inside the lock, and the boot stays shut. Broken key extraction removes the snapped blade with no damage to the boot lock. Broken key extraction is completed at the car, and a new key is cut in the same visit.
Yes, many keyless cars open the boot with the key inside. A keyless car senses the smart key within about 1 metre of the boot lid, so a press on the boot lid button releases the lid. The phone app from the car maker also unlocks the car on models with connected services.
Yes, most modern cars open the boot from inside the car. The boot release button sits on the dashboard near the left knee of the driver, on the door panel or on the centre console. The button stays dead on a deadlocked car until the car is unlocked properly.
A pass through armrest helps only when the keys lie close to the rear seat wall. The opening is a ski hatch, wide enough for long thin items and too narrow to reach the boot floor. Keys at the back of the boot stay out of reach.
No, a professional auto locksmith opens the car with non destructive entry. The tools work through the door lock and leave no marks on the paintwork, the window seals or the locks. The same tools open the door when you are locked out of your car with the keys on a seat.
No, breaking a window is not cheaper than a locksmith. A locksmith opens the car for £60 to £150, and a replacement window or tail light costs more than £150 before fitting. Broken glass also leaves the car unsafe to drive until the glass is cleared.
Prevent a boot lockout with 4 habits. Keep a spare key at home or with a trusted person. Hang the keys on a hook by the front door. Switch on the key in boot alert, where the vehicle handbook lists one. Pocket the keys before loading the boot. Spare car keys cost less than 1 late night call out, and spare car keys are cut and programmed at your location.
A breakdown provider or a mobile auto locksmith opens a car with keys locked in the boot. The breakdown provider is the first call when the policy includes lockout help. A mobile auto locksmith is the first call when there is no cover or the wait is over 60 minutes, and the locksmith frees keys locked in the car boot in 10 to 20 minutes at the car.
Dean answers in plain words
What is the first thing you ask on a boot lockout call?
I ask if you have tried the back doors. It sounds daft, but a good share of these calls end right there on the phone.
Why does the boot button inside the car do nothing?
Because the car is deadlocked. When it has been locked on the fob, most cars kill that button. Once I have unlocked the car properly, it works again.
Is it worth smashing the little window?
Please do not. The glass costs more than I do, and you still have to sweep it out of the seats.
Mobile service at your location, with non destructive entry, an upfront price and an honest arrival time.
Available 24 hours a day across Devon, Dorset and Somerset.