In short:
- A child or a pet locked in a parked car is a medical emergency: call emergency services first.
- If your smart key won't unlock the car, check your owner's manual for the mechanical key hidden inside the fob.
- Tell us exactly where the car is: the centre, the entrance you used, open or covered parking, and the nearest bay marker.
- Have proof that the car is yours. If the car is financed, the bank may hold the original registration certificate, so find another document that links you to it.
- We try to open the car without damage first, and the job is quoted on site before work starts.
If a child or a pet is inside, call for help first
A closed car in the sun heats up very quickly. ER24 warns that the inside of a vehicle can rise by more than 10°C within ten minutes, and that cracking a window or parking in the shade doesn't make it safe.
If a child is locked in a car, phone ER24 on 084 124 or the police on 10111 (112 from a cellphone) straight away. Don't wait for a locksmith. Shout for help from people nearby, including centre security, and stay with the car.
Once emergency services are on the way, you can phone us too, but the decision about breaking a window to reach a child belongs to you and the emergency responders, not to a locksmith on the way.
Three checks before you phone
- Every door and the boot. Try each handle, including the passenger side and the tailgate. Some cars lock the doors but leave the boot on a separate button.
- A spare key nearby. If someone at home or at work has the spare and can bring it, that may be the quickest fix.
- A dead fob battery. If the keys are in your hand and the car simply won't respond, the fob battery may be flat. Many smart keys hold a small mechanical key that releases with a button; Kia's owner guidance, for example, shows the keyhole hidden behind a cover on the driver's door handle. Your owner's manual shows where it is on your model.
If none of those works, it's time for a locksmith. Our car locksmith service covers car lockouts and car keys, and we come to wherever the car is parked.
Telling us exactly where the car is
Large shopping centres have several entrances, open and covered parking and more than one level in places. A technician can lose a lot of time looking for a silver hatchback among hundreds of others. The more precise you are, the sooner the work starts.
| Detail | Why it helps |
|---|---|
| Name of the centre and the road you came in from | Some centres have entrances on more than one road |
| Entrance or gate you used | Narrows the search to one side of the parking |
| Open or covered parking, and the level | Covered parking looks the same from bay to bay |
| Nearest bay number, pillar marker or row letter | Gives the technician a point to walk to |
| Store entrance or landmark you can see | A second reference if markers aren't clear |
| Make, model, colour and registration | Confirms it's the right car |
A WhatsApp location pin is useful in open parking. Under a roof or on a lower level the pin can be well off, so add the bay marker as well.
For example, East Rand Mall gives its address as Bentel Avenue, Jansen Park, so if you're parked there, say which entrance you used and roughly where the car is. Our page for a locksmith in Jansen Park covers that area. We don't speak for any centre's own rules, so if you're unsure what applies in the parking area, ask the centre's security or management.
Proof that the car is yours
A car park is a public place, so we take ownership seriously. Before opening any car, our technician asks for proof that it's yours, or that you're entitled to use it. Without that rule, anyone could ask a locksmith to open someone else's car.
What helps:
- Your ID or driving licence, so the name can be matched.
- Something linking you to the car: the registration certificate, an insurance schedule or a finance statement showing the vehicle.
- For a financed car: the bank or finance house is usually the titleholder and keeps the original registration certificate until the finance is paid off, so a copy or another document in your name may be all you have.
- For a company or fleet car: someone at the company who can confirm you're authorised to use it.
- For a rental car: phone the rental company first, as your agreement may tell you what to do in a lockout.
If your documents are inside the car, tell us when you phone, so the technician can explain what will work before anything is opened.
While you wait
- Stay in a safe, visible place near the car, or in the shop nearest to it, and keep your phone on.
- If you leave the car to wait inside, note the bay marker so you can lead the technician to it.
- Let centre security know a locksmith will be working on your car, so it doesn't look like a break-in to a passing guard.
- Keep your parking ticket in mind: if it's inside the car, you'll get it back once the car is open.
At night, wait inside the centre if it's open, or somewhere well lit. Send us your exact position and a description of yourself so the technician can find you.
What not to try
A car door has window mechanisms, wiring, airbag sensors and weather seals inside it. Improvised attempts to get in tend to damage those parts, and the repair is often more expensive than the lockout.
| Mistake | What tends to happen |
|---|---|
| Forcing the door or the window frame | Bent frames, torn seals, rattles and leaks afterwards |
| Pushing objects into the door or around the window | Scratched glass and paint, damaged wiring or window mechanisms |
| Breaking a window when nobody is at risk | Glass replacement, broken glass inside the car, and a car you can't leave locked |
| Accepting help from a stranger who offers to "get it open" | Damage, and a stranger who now knows your car |
What happens when the technician arrives
The technician checks your proof of ownership, looks at the car and tells you how they'll get in. Non-destructive entry is tried first. The technician assesses the job on site and gives you the price before any work starts. Nothing is done until you agree. The R250 call-out fee. Payment is by EFT, cash or card, and we're open 24/7.
If the keys aren't in the car at all, because they're lost or stolen, the job becomes a replacement car key rather than a lockout. Give us the make, model and year, and tell us whether the car has a push-button start, because that affects what's involved. If you'd like to know how the call-out and quote work before you phone, see what a mobile locksmith costs in Boksburg. Locked out at home instead? Read locked out of a security-estate home, or start at our mobile locksmith in Boksburg homepage.
Questions
Can you open my car if my papers are locked inside it?
Tell us when you phone. We need proof that the car is yours or that you're entitled to use it before opening it, and the technician will explain what will work in your case before starting.
Will opening the car set off the alarm or damage anything?
Non-destructive entry is tried first, and the aim is to leave the car as it was. Opening a locked car without the remote can set off some alarms; your owner's manual explains how to silence yours once you have the keys back.
My fob is in my hand but the car won't unlock. Is that a lockout?
Often it's a flat fob battery. Check your owner's manual for the mechanical key inside the fob and the hidden keyhole on the driver's door. If that doesn't work, or there's no mechanical key, call us.
Need a locksmith to look at it?
If this hasn't solved the problem, our car keys & lockouts service covers it. We're a mobile locksmith in Boksburg, so we come to your door. Areas where this comes up often include Jansen Park.
Sources and further reading
- ER24: Protecting children from hot car dangers — A vehicle's interior can rise more than 10°C in ten minutes; cracked windows and shade don't protect; call 084 124, or police on 10111 if it isn't your car.
- Kia: Unlocking your car when the smart key battery is dead — A mechanical key is released from the smart key with a button; the keyhole is behind a cover on the driver's door handle.
- Suzuki Auto South Africa: Everything you should know about NaTIS documents — For a financed car the financial institution is the titleholder and keeps the registration document until the loan is settled.
- East Rand Mall: Contact us — The centre's own address: Bentel Ave, Jansen Park, Boksburg.
- EWN: 10111, 112 or 107: what number should you call in an emergency? — 10111 connects to SAPS; 112 works from a cellphone.