Try every door, the spare and your car's app first, lean on BCAA or ICBC cover if you have it, and have a Vancouver locksmith confirm the total before they drive over.
Locked your keys in the car in Vancouver? Try every door and the trunk, track down the spare, open your car's app if it does remote unlock, then call BCAA or your roadside cover, and a locksmith if you have neither. The locksmith confirms the total on the call before anyone drives over. If a child or a pet is inside, skip all of that and call 9-1-1 now.
It happens to careful people. You hop out for a coffee, the door swings shut, and there are your keys, winking at you from the passenger seat. Work through these in order; the first few are free.
While you wait, pin down exactly where you are (the cross streets, or the parkade level and stall number), and if you're at a city meter, top it up in PayByPhone so a parking ticket doesn't join the party.
If a child, an elderly person or anyone who can't get themselves out is inside, call 9-1-1 and say exactly that. E-Comm, which answers 9-1-1 for Vancouver, says the line is for emergencies where someone's health, safety or property is in jeopardy and immediate action is required. A person sealed inside a car qualifies, grey sky or not.
For a dog, the BC SPCA notes that the temperature inside a car in direct sunlight can more than double in minutes. Call local animal control, police, RCMP or the BC SPCA Animal Helpline at 1-855-622-7722, and don't smash the window yourself: only police, RCMP and BC SPCA special provincial constables can lawfully enter a vehicle to help an animal in distress. Once help is on the way, call a locksmith too and say there's an animal inside. Whoever reaches the door first wins.
Before you pay anyone, check what you've already paid for.
Every BCAA roadside tier includes up to four roadside calls a year, and a lockout counts as one. The membership plans page lists the Basic, Plus and Premier tiers and their annual rates. BCAA or one of its contractors comes out and tries to open the car. If they can't, or the key is lost or broken and the car won't run, you get a set amount, depending on your tier, towards a locksmith. So if you're a member and want that money to count, call BCAA first.
The membership terms hold the fine print. You have to be with the car and carry your membership card, government photo ID and valid insurance documents, and those insurance papers are probably in the glovebox you can't reach, so keep a photo on your phone. The locksmith reimbursement is once a year, claimed within 60 days. And joining on the sidewalk isn't free: a new member who needs service within 72 hours of joining pays a one-time "Join on Arrival" fee.
If your car is from the last several model years, check your phone before you check your wallet. Toyota's Remote Connect locks and unlocks the doors from the Toyota app on select models, as long as the car's data communication module is active, which it is during the connected-services trial or on a paid subscription. Honda's HondaLink Remote Package includes remote lock and unlock on compatible models, with a one-year free trial and a paid subscription after that. The Ford app unlocks from the Vehicle screen, provided the car has been added to the app and has a modem that's been activated.
The catch for all three: the account has to be live before you're standing in the rain in a Kitsilano parking lot, not set up from the curb with a trial that quietly ran out two years ago. Most other carmakers offer something similar, so if you've never opened your car's app, tonight's the night.
Basic Autoplan doesn't include roadside help; ICBC's optional packages do. The Roadside Plus package reimburses emergency roadside expenses up to a set limit, "locking your keys in your vehicle" included, with a limit of two claims per policy term. ICBC's optional package comparison shows RoadStar doesn't include emergency roadside expenses at all. Both packages cover lock rekeying (with no deductible on Roadside Plus, with a deductible on RoadStar), but that's for stolen keys, not keys lounging on the passenger seat. For a lockout, pay the locksmith, keep the receipt and file afterwards.
Knowing who won't come saves you a few awkward phone calls.
Police. The VPD's guidance is to call 9-1-1 for a life-threatening incident or a crime in progress, and 604-717-3321 for non-emergencies. Keys locked in an empty car is neither, so don't expect a patrol car to roll up with a slim jim. With a child or pet inside, the picture flips, and officers can get into the vehicle.
ICBC. It insures the car; it doesn't send anyone. The Roadside Plus money is a reimbursement, paid after the fact against a receipt.
Tow trucks. Plenty of tow operators do lockouts, usually with a wedge and a long-reach rod: fine on an ordinary door, less fine on frameless glass or deadlocked doors. If the car won't open, the next offer tends to be a tow to the dealer.
Dealers. They don't do house calls. If every key is locked inside, the dealer route means a tow plus a replacement key, which is a lot of money to get into a car you already own. If you truly need a new key, car key replacement covers when a mobile key beats a trip to the dealership.
The total depends on the car, the door and the hour, and Fast Locksmith Vancouver confirms it on the call before anyone drives over. Roadside cover from BCAA or ICBC Roadside Plus can offset part of it, and the dealer, once towing and a new key are added up, is the priciest possible way back into your own car.
Be suspicious of a lockout quote that sounds too good. The Better Business Bureau has warned about very low phone quotes that end up far higher once someone is standing next to your car. Ask for the total before anyone drives over, and again before any work starts. In BC, a locksmith needs a security worker licence from the province, so asking to see it is completely fair.
isn't the thrifty alternative either. Side glass usually costs more than the lockout would have, and you drive home with a garbage bag taped over the hole.Keyless cars are supposed to refuse to lock with the fob inside, and usually they do. They stop refusing when the fob's battery is nearly flat, when it's buried in a bag in the trunk beyond the car's antennas, or when a second fob in your pocket did the locking. The result is a car locked tight with its only working fob inside, which feels a lot like being pranked by your own vehicle.
One trick worth knowing before it matters: most smart fobs hide a small metal key blade, and most push-start cars hide a keyhole under a cap on the driver's door handle. If the fob dies in your hand rather than inside the car, that little blade gets you in for free. The owner's manual shows where both are hiding.
When the fob really is inside, entry works like any other car, but these doors are often deadlocked and need more care, so push-start lockouts usually take a little more time and care. Once the door opens, the fob starts the car as normal. If a tired battery started it all, a car key battery replacement takes minutes; if the fob is lost rather than locked in, that's a key fob replacement. The car lockout service page has more on specific situations.
| Option | Cost | Typical wait | Damage risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| A local locksmith | Confirmed on the call; see our locksmith prices | Arrival window given on the call | Low: wedge and long-reach tool, or decoder pick |
| BCAA roadside | In the membership; a set amount towards a locksmith if they can't get in | Depends on call volume and weather | Low to moderate: wedge and rod |
| Car app remote unlock | Free with an active trial or subscription | Immediate if the account is live | None |
| ICBC Roadside Plus | Reimbursed up to a set limit, two claims per term | Someone still has to open the car | None; it's a reimbursement |
| Police (VPD) | Free, emergencies only | Emergency response only when a life is at risk | Glass may be broken to reach a child or pet |
| Dealer | Tow plus a replacement key | Business hours | None to the car, plenty to the wallet |
| Coat hanger | Free | Immediate | High: paint, seals, wiring, glass |
Once a locksmith is at the car, a standard door is usually open within about a quarter of an hour of work. Deadlocked and frameless doors take longer, because the job slows down to protect the glass. The drive is the unpredictable part, so a good locksmith gives you an arrival window on the phone rather than a promise in minutes.
Yes. Expect a locksmith to ask for government photo ID before opening anything, and to check it against the registration or insurance papers once the door is open. If the car isn't yours, the owner needs to be on the phone or on site. It feels like a lot when you're cold and annoyed, but it's the same check that stops a stranger driving off in your car.
Quite possibly. On many cars, opening a door from the inside without the fob nearby sets off the factory alarm. It stops when you press unlock on the fob, put the key in the ignition or start the car with the fob inside. Expect a few seconds of honking, and keep your ID handy for the neighbour who wanders over to see what's going on.
A locksmith opens a door first, then uses the interior trunk release or folds the rear seats down to reach through. Cars with a valet lockout, or a trunk sealed off from the cabin, need the trunk lock itself picked or decoded, which makes it a bigger job than a plain door. Mention it on the phone so the right tools come along.
Standing beside a locked car right now? Fast Locksmith Vancouver opens locked cars anywhere in Vancouver, day or night, including push-button start and deadlocked doors, and confirms the price on the call before anyone drives over. Call 604.227.9083 with the make, model and where you're parked, or book online if it can wait until morning.
Car lockout service, fob fixes and more reading for Vancouver drivers.