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Car Lockout Service in Chicago and Suburbs
Keys on the driver's seat, doors locked, engine sometimes still running. It happens to careful people, usually while they are doing something else — loading shopping, taking a call, dropping a child at the door. We open cars for a living and we do it without breaking anything.
- from $65 · Non-destructive entry. No damage to door, glass or trim.
- 25–40 min city · 30–50 min suburbs
- Licensed & insured
Non-destructive entry means air wedges and long-reach tools working through the door seal, not a slim jim scraping past the wiring and airbag sensors that live inside a modern door skin. Most cars are open in five to fifteen minutes.
Included as standard
How we open a locked car
Inflatable wedge at the door frame
A soft bladder opens a gap of a few millimetres at the top corner of the door — enough to work through, not enough to deform the frame.
Long-reach tool through the gap
A coated rod reaches the interior handle, lock button or unlock switch. Nothing touches the glass edge or the weather seal.
Protective padding throughout
The paint and the seal are protected at every contact point. A lockout should leave no evidence it happened.
Proof of entitlement
We ask for ID and something linking you to the vehicle before we open it. Anyone who does not ask is a problem for the next owner of your car.
Know before you call
Special cases, and one that is not billable
- Child or pet locked inside — call 911 first, then us. Emergency services will force entry immediately if there is any risk, and in a hot or freezing car there always is. We will still come, and we will not charge for it.
- Engine running with the doors locked — common with remote start and push-button ignition. Tell dispatch; it is treated as urgent because of fuel and exhaust.
- Keys locked in the boot — usually solvable through the cabin once we are inside, depending on whether the car has a boot pass-through or an interior release.
- Keys genuinely lost, not locked in — we cannot cut or program a key. That is an automotive locksmith or the dealer. We can tow the car to either.
- Broken key in the lock or ignition — also a locksmith job. Opening the door will not help you drive away.
Step by step
How the call goes
- 1
Tell us the car and where the keys are
Make, model, year, and whether the keys are visible inside, in the boot, or lost entirely. That last one changes the answer completely.
- 2
Say if anyone is inside
A child or pet inside makes this an emergency. Call 911 first — we will still come and we will not bill you.
- 3
Driver arrives and verifies
ID plus registration, insurance card or anything else linking you to the vehicle.
- 4
Open, check, done
Five to fifteen minutes for most vehicles. We confirm the door still seals and locks correctly before leaving.
Where Chicago lockouts happen
Our lockout volume concentrates in three places. Late-night entertainment strips — Hubbard and Clark in River North, Milwaukee Avenue through Wicker Park, Randolph in the West Loop — produce a steady weekend run. Large retail lots such as Woodfield in Schaumburg and Old Orchard in Skokie produce the daytime version, usually with a car full of shopping and a phone at four per cent.
The third is petrol stations and drive-throughs, where people leave the engine running. Those get handled quickly because a locked, running car is burning fuel and venting exhaust, sometimes in a covered forecourt. Whatever the location, the two details that speed things up are the exact make and model year, and whether you can see the keys.
Transparent rates
What a tow costs in Chicago and the suburbs
Starting rates for standard passenger vehicles. Your exact total is confirmed on the call, before a truck is dispatched. No after-hours, weekend or holiday surcharge.
| Service | Starting price | What's included |
|---|---|---|
| Local tow (hook-up) | $89 | First 5 miles, loading, strapping, unloading |
| Each additional mile | $4.50 | Charged pickup to drop-off only |
| Jump start | $65 | Boost + charging-system check |
| Lockout | $65 | Non-destructive entry, no damage |
| Tire change | $75 | Your spare fitted & torqued |
| Fuel delivery | $65 | Plus fuel at pump price, up to 3 gal |
| Winch-out / recovery | $110 | Single-line pull, up to 30 minutes |
| Heavy-duty | $350/hr | Portal to portal, 1-hour minimum |
Straight answers
Car Lockout Service — your questions
Will you damage my door or window?
No. We use inflatable wedges and long-reach tools, which is the non-destructive method, and every contact point is padded. We do not break glass and we do not use slim jims, which on a modern car can damage wiring and side-airbag sensors inside the door.
My child is locked in the car. What do I do?
Call 911 immediately, then call us. Do not wait for a tow truck when a child or a pet is inside — police and fire will force entry within minutes if there is any risk at all. We will still attend and we do not charge for these calls.
I lost my keys completely. Can you help?
We can get you into the car, but we cannot cut or program a replacement key — that is an automotive locksmith or your dealer. What we can do is tow the vehicle to whichever of them you choose.
Can you unlock a car in a parking garage?
Yes, anywhere. A lockout does not need truck clearance, only the driver and the tool kit, so garage level and posted height make no difference.
Related
Often needed at the same time
Coverage
Car Lockout Service where you are
We run this service across the whole coverage area — Chicago and every suburb within about 40 miles of the Loop.
Need it now? Call and we roll.
Live dispatcher, honest ETA, price agreed before the truck leaves. 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.