The Wedge Tech: A Locksmithing Tutorial
So you’ve locked your keys in your car and you need to get to work, but you don’t feel like paying a locksmith $100 dollars to do it and you don’t feel like smashing your window and having to pay for a new one later. What do you do?
If you owned a slim jim, you could use that, but slim jim’s are unreliable at best. Most of the time they just damage the mechanisms inside your door. Here’s the way professional locksmiths do it.
The parts you need
- One or two solid plastic wedges
- One 3-4 foot sturdy heavy gauge wire or coat hanger
- One rubber tip for the end of wire (a rubber band works fine)
You’ll need one or two solid plastic wedges (either one small wedge and one door stopper, or just the door stopper – wedges that are one solid piece of plastic are always better) and a long 3-4 foot sturdy heavy gauge wire or even a straightened coat hanger with a 90 degree angle about a half inch from the end and a bit of rubber on the tip. The rubber tip is important, don’t forget it; you can wrap a rubber band around the end and get the same effect. They sell kits with these things, but they’re generally massively overpriced.
How To Break Into Your Car In Less Than 1 Minute
How to do it
Just slide the small plastic wedge into the gap at the side or top of where the door meets the body, and pry it slightly so you have a place to put the larger door stopper wedge, or just start off with the larger wedge if you can. Either way, once you get the door stopper in there, you’ll have an opening big enough to slide in your tool. Yes, I said “slide in your tool”. This is a filthy locksmithing tutorial. Whatever.
So once you have the opening, its just a matter of getting the wire in there and reaching the unlock button. This is the point where you’ll realize the importance of that rubber tip; you won’t get any grip on the button unless there’s a rubber end on the wire, you’ll be there for hours just sliding off to the side every time you try to hit it. Again, I realize this sounds filthy.
Anyway, if you do have a rubber end on the wire, it shouldn’t take long at all, from the time you start to the unlocking of the door, 10 minutes tops. If you know what you’re doing, you can get your car open in less than a minute. Easy.
honest ossifer, that’s my ferrari!
Words by jonson roth on July 26, 2008 at 12:27 pm | #
This is great for you automatic-lock types. How about us all-manual folks? No love?
Words by Ken on July 27, 2008 at 3:22 am | #
this only works on cars with electronic door locks. this still wont work on my manual locking car door.
Words by nathan on July 27, 2008 at 3:48 am | #
I don’t understand where you put the wedge and how you can see the unlock button. Can anyone post a pic?
Words by jReynolds on July 27, 2008 at 3:55 am | #
why not just use a bubble like AAA? you’ll get a much larger hole to stick the rod in (more filthy inuendos ftw).
Words by Pete on July 27, 2008 at 5:07 am | #
What if I don’t have an unlock button?
I have the old lever which you need to pull up…
What do you do in this case?
Words by Alon on July 27, 2008 at 5:50 am | #
this way fully works, ive broken into about 7 cars this weekend
Words by timtheterrorist on July 27, 2008 at 5:57 am | #
Uh yeah what if you don’t want to carry that with you everywhere you go not to mention how.
Words by Gooch on July 27, 2008 at 6:29 am | #
Breaking into and old pull up lever lock is even easier. First you get some of that stiff blue packing tape (the stuff that is wrapped around larger boxes). You then fold it in half to a length need to reach the lever. Pinch the fold so its nice and sharp. Line the inside of the fold with fine sand paper and staple it secure. Slide it in parralell with the window ledge (becuase of the stiffness of the tape you should be able to force it through the rubber door seal). Get the end with the sandpaper level with the lock and while holding the outside section of the tape, push the inside section forward. This makes a loop and pushes the tape close to the window. You may need a few attempts to loop around the lever. Once you have the lever looped, slowly close the loop around it and slowly pull back on the tape without pulling up. The sand paper should stop it slipping off any of the newer levers that arent bevelled. Always keep it the tape parrallel and resist the urge to pull up. It may initially slip off, but keep trying and it will eventually pop up
Words by Aristide A on July 27, 2008 at 6:55 am | #
For those wondering about manual locks – all you need is the space in the door and the wire. shape the wire and use it.
Words by unlocker_pro on July 27, 2008 at 7:04 am | #
I guess you’d keep these tools in the car, in an easily accessible place.
Words by Gary the K on July 27, 2008 at 7:04 am | #
“this way fully works, ive broken into about 7 cars this weekend”
sif carry a coat hanger around thats dodgy as
SCREW DRIVER FTW .. same sh**t just f’s the locks most the time but ALOT faster
Words by Blachhkman on July 27, 2008 at 7:06 am | #
my sweet 320d BMW would instantly start crying aloud when you start sticking that thing inside her. Later you will start crying, too…
Words by marco on July 27, 2008 at 7:56 am | #
HA
Words by james on July 27, 2008 at 8:40 am | #
Most cars that do not have power locks are easier to use a slim jim. They do less damage becaues there are no power locks to mess up
Words by Steve on July 27, 2008 at 9:06 am | #
Doesn’t work in a corolla, the buttons won’t unlock the door. have to use the wedge and hook to pull the keys out through the crack
Words by erick on July 27, 2008 at 9:10 am | #
here’s a better method, always use your keys or key chain button to lock the door and you won’t have this problem…. unless its not your car..
Words by danvitt on July 27, 2008 at 9:35 am | #
whoa! I tested it and it works! great article
Words by chumpman on July 27, 2008 at 10:04 am | #
This is bogus. I drive a 94 Ford Thunderbird and the unlock button is in a really hard to reach place. I agree however about the crappiness of slim-jims. A cop used one to open my door the last time and he f*cked it up and now the driver’s side door won’t open from the inside. I have to roll down the window to get out.
Words by Mbryant on July 27, 2008 at 10:33 am | #
This works just fine with manual locks, I have a 2000 sunfire with manual locks and have used this technique about 5 or six times over the past three years, you just us the rubber tip at the end to get on the lever part of the lock and pull and then
Words by Leland Taulbee on July 27, 2008 at 10:43 am | #
@danvitt sorry, some of us don’t have the luxury of one of those key chain buttons. -_-
Words by Leland Taulbee on July 27, 2008 at 10:45 am | #
*Cough*SlimJim*/Cough*
Words by CyberPrime on July 27, 2008 at 11:01 am | #
I’ve done this multiple times before with just the coat hanger as that’s generally the easiest thing to find (few times at a friends house, once at a hotel).
Maybe the other tools do help speed it up, but they aren’t needed.
Words by Liam on July 27, 2008 at 11:31 am | #
Won’t work on my bmw with double-lock. I don’t think there is any way to open the door from inside or outside with double-lock engaged.
Words by zlem on July 27, 2008 at 11:48 am | #
Since I don’t know what I’m shooting for when I get it inside (!) it might be helpful to post a cutaway of the door lock mechanism inside the door if you have one.
Otherwise I’m just poking at it in the dark, and I’ve never gotten anywhere with that.
Cool tutorial though, thanks!
Words by Laminarcissus on July 27, 2008 at 1:15 pm | #
I’ve had to do this with my manual locks. You have to bend the coat hanger into a loop at the end and try to hook it around the lock and pull it up. It’s a lot harder especially if you have manual locks that don’t have a anything to hook on to.
Words by Splicerslicer on July 27, 2008 at 2:17 pm | #
Inflatable wedges are the way to go.
You can break into just about any car without doing damage just slip the thing in there and then pump it up and it pries the door away enough to get a coat hanger or such in there and unlock the car.
Just be careful on frameless glass doors.
Words by Matt Everett on July 27, 2008 at 3:01 pm | #
this site is really taking off, it’s on digg and it’s just blowing me away everyt ime I read it.
thanks vito and suzanne
Words by bret on July 27, 2008 at 9:00 pm | #
Ever since I owned my first car, I’ve concealed an extra key somewhere under the car, in a concealed place. This is WAY simpler than ANY rigging device.
Lose your keys? Jimmy-ing your way into your car won’t help there! Just hide a key somewhere on/under your car!! Duh!
Words by Lance on July 27, 2008 at 10:23 pm | #
Interesting. All depends on the shape, length and girth of your knob I guess.
Words by Pajero on July 28, 2008 at 1:08 am | #
[...] -How To Quickly Break Into Your Car A simple how-to locksmithing guide for breaking into your car when you’ve locked yourself out. [...]
Pingback by Monday Morning Links Serving: The July 28th Edition on July 28, 2008 at 4:07 am | #
–Mbryant –
If some idiot uses a jimmy stick to open your door and screws it up… you will need to spend some time in your garage. Remove the inside door panel (screws are around the bottom) and pull gently (there are some plastic clips holding it in place.) Under the panel there will most likely be a plastic film with some black glue, just peel that back carefully and try not to rip it.
Look to where the door handle is… there are a series of heavy gauge wires and come clips that make it all work. If you locks or handle dont work, then the clips mostprobably have come out, or they got broken. Your dealer can have those, and its less expensive to fix than the entire door.
Words by Tora on July 28, 2008 at 9:33 am | #
Darn, I could have totally used this when I locked myself out of my car… because that’s exactly what the Pop-A-Lock guy did and charged me $35 for! Oh well…. at least now I know!
Words by Geek's Dream Girl on July 28, 2008 at 11:43 am | #
You know… you could always call the cops, who will do it for free. Also, couldn’t car thiefs use this trick as well?? I actually wrote a blog on my website (www.motorcarscleveland.com) about safegaurding your car against people who use tips like this to steal a car.
However, it is a good tip to know for personal use when you lock your keys in the cars… just make sure you don’t have these tools locked in the car as well!! LoL
Words by Dee Mullen on July 29, 2008 at 4:20 pm | #
I work for AAA and the cops don’t open car doors anymore unless there is a child locked in the veh even then they just might break the window.I had someone in the parking lot of a police station and they wouldn’t open up the door!!.This advice is unrealistic unless your locked out at your home or by a hardware store.Thiefs just break the window with a screwdriver faster and quite.They broke into my nieces car in my Driveway and I didn’t even hear it!!Bstrds got caught though later
Words by Benny on August 4, 2008 at 2:56 pm | #
I love the one about keeping these break-in tools in the car in an easily accessible space. Right!!!!
Or you could be sure to take these tools out of the car and with you … whenever you plan to lock yourself out.
OK, no more suggestions from blondes.
Words by JB on August 8, 2008 at 7:20 am | #
Thanks for the suggestion. I lost my keys over the weekend and I’m strapped for cash. My mate lost his keys for his car which has a similar lock setup to mine and I remember him telling me RACQ (a car service thing in Australia) got into his car in a similar way. I am certain this will get me access to my car so I get to my get to my door and ignition cylinder codes. Halve the price of a mobile locksmith in one easy move!
Words by Hertz on August 11, 2008 at 5:29 am | #
“here’s a better method, always use your keys or key chain button to lock the door and you won’t have this problem…. unless its not your car..
Words by danvitt on July 27, 2008 at 9:35 am | ”
Idiot, what if the keys are locked inside? Go fuck yourself you unhelpfull cock.
Words by m on August 31, 2008 at 8:14 am | #
Worked great. Trick is to find a really thick gauge wire. Coat hangers sometimes don’t have the strength to do it.
Words by Jdog on September 14, 2008 at 5:55 pm | #
“I guess you’d keep these tools in the car, in an easily accessible place.”
Why the hell would you do that? Then what happens when you lock yourself out?
Words by Doug Mellon on October 6, 2008 at 12:16 pm | #
That’s absolutely awesome. seems like a no brainer when someone shows you how to do it.
Words by Cool on November 26, 2008 at 10:09 pm | #
acctually all you need is the wedge and some rubberbands because an antenna off the car it’s self works much better than a coat hanger, who the hell carries a coat hanger?! Anyway just twist the antenna off at the base of it where it meets the car put some rubberbands around it, wedge the door as above then use the anntenna, and tada!!!!
Words by johndoe on December 8, 2008 at 9:16 pm | #
This tool is great for certain model cars, but not all! I carry a bag with over 50 different tools and three books the size of telephone books. I only use the recommended method and tool for opening vehicles. Preventing unwanted damage that can get quite expensive if you don’t know exactly what you are doing.
Unless you really don’t care about messing anything up, Call a locksmith! The cost is petty compared to the cost of taking your car to a dealer for repairs. If you want to save even more money, join AAA or some other auto club. For under $100.00 a year you won’t have to worry about paying for a locksmith. Plus you get a lot of other useful services included with your membership.
Words by Pete Schmidt on December 10, 2008 at 12:56 am | #
Just wanted to say, I don’t mean any disrespect to the author or anyone else on here. Just sharing my input on the subject. Also wanted to point out that if you do call a locksmith, try to get a recommendation from someone that has used one for unlocking a car. I have showed up on a call after the person called someone else first and discovered that the person before me had broken all the linkages in all four doors before giving up. Not a pretty picture for the owner!
Thanks
Words by Pete Schmidt on December 10, 2008 at 1:06 am | #
In a pinch, often times, you can unscrew the antenna off of a car (or another nearby car), and bend it slightly before sticking it in through the door. If the front door lock isn’t accessible, try the backdoor. Also, it may not be obvious that you have succeeded, so try the door handle periodically as you do this.
Words by Excalibur on December 19, 2008 at 1:01 pm | #
I opened my car even easier. I used just a curtain rod. I have manual roll down windows. I just pushed the window down with my hand and stuck the curtain rod in and BAM i got it open.
Words by Megan on January 26, 2009 at 7:28 pm | #
let’s be honest thieves here and get real!this is really all about ways to steal cars or just break into them.i do both and i use homeade jiggler keys or i just flex the glass to get in or if i really need to get in i use a piece of ceramic from a spark plug,shatters the window silently(nearly)hate to do it that way but all i can say is don’t leave valuable items out for me to see….good luck and always keep your 360 radar detector on while prowling late at night,it has saved me many times. 2FAST4U
Words by 2fast4u2catch on February 1, 2009 at 2:39 pm | #
Yes 2FAST4U what you say is true. There are all kinds of tools for breaking into cars and many thieves have probably viewed this page. the fact is that most thieves do it till the get caught or beat up bad…
“Can there really not be any justice on stolen land?”
Words by RowdyBurms!!!!! on February 3, 2009 at 8:49 pm | #
Look. This is really easy to avoid. My wife locks herself out of her car almost every month. I got her an all metal lock box that has a magnet on it to keep on her car. It uses a code to unlock it if someone happens to find it. She just keeps a spare key in there and avoids the locksmith. I know you guys are going to say “thats stupid, someone could find it and break into your car with it” but think about it. If a guy wants into your car, he’s gonna break a window or something simple instead of looking for the possibility of your spare key. In fact I keep an unlocked key on my car and it’s never been broken into…
Words by phil on February 4, 2009 at 10:23 pm | #
Guys, seriously, don’t do what I did. DO NOT use this on a car with security late at night. Being a moron, I wanted to unlock my doors at night so I could know if I would be able to use my car in the morning.
I didn’t know that unlocking the doors with this method would trip the alarm (I mean, it never trips it when I’ve been sitting in the car for a while with the ignition off). But it did, and it did in directly in front of my high-story apartment for all to hear, including my superintendant.
There were witnesses!!! And I’m going to be crucified this week
….
Words by BK on March 25, 2009 at 1:14 am | #
Thanks – I locked my keys in my pickup while replacing the speakers. My first thought was to call a locksmith. Then saw this on the net. It took me about 15 minutes.
The coat hanger did scratch a little paint, but it should clean up with some rubbing compound (cheaper than the locksmitch).
Words by Bubba_Dumbass on March 28, 2009 at 3:02 pm | #
97 ford thunderbird–my husband lost the key with the button and locked the other keys inside (on the floorboard). we have tried to get a coathanger in, but it seems to be made theft-deterrent! on top of that, the electric lock button is in an impossible place to get it pushed.
Words by Marie on April 1, 2009 at 10:25 pm | #
If you have a older car you MAY need an longer “tool”; and bend it around a little until it works right. what you need to do is the same as above except you can try to reach the door handle on the opposite side… it is much more difficult than pushing a button but possible. and if that doesn’t work then you can try to reach the same side door handle, but it is very hard to get good leverage.
Words by Stalas on April 7, 2009 at 1:13 pm | #
it works great, i’ve broke into a citreon saxo and an astra. its better to put it in the side of the door near the handle rather than the top.
Words by jack parkes on April 9, 2009 at 12:43 pm | #
you cant get into a firebird t-top like that
Words by anthony on April 14, 2009 at 3:30 pm | #
I did this once on a T-top. I made a loop in the end of the wire. Slip the loop over the lock button and move sideways before pulling up. This wedges the loop onto the button.
Words by ken kendall on June 8, 2009 at 6:04 am | #
Hammer…
Just use a hammer and slam it up against the passenger side window. if you’re a sissy you might need multiple slams. If you’re a uncooth motherf*ck*r like me then you’ll only need one slam.
So just stop with all the fancy talk about wedgie this and wedgie that…just grab a hammer like a man and slam that sumb!tch up against your window. If you don’t, somebody like me will. BET THAT.
Words by Louisville Slugger on June 14, 2009 at 8:20 pm | #