If a child or a pet is locked inside, call 911 first
This is the one situation where you should not wait for a locksmith. The inside of a parked car heats up far faster than most people expect, and the Fremont Fire Department can reach you quickly and is authorised to force entry straight away. Call 911, then call us afterwards if you still need a key made or a lock repaired.
Locked out right now? Do this while we are on the way
Most people call and then stand there feeling helpless. There are four things worth doing in the meantime, and occasionally one of them solves the problem before we arrive.
- Try every door, the tailgate and the trunk release. On a surprising number of calls one door was never actually locked. It costs you ten seconds to check.
- Open the manufacturer’s app. Toyota, Honda, Ford, Hyundai, Kia, Chevrolet and Tesla all offer remote unlock through their apps if the vehicle is connected and your account is set up. If you have never logged in, it will not work now, but it is worth thirty seconds to find out.
- Check whether you have roadside assistance. It is often bundled into your car insurance, your credit card, or a new-vehicle warranty without you realising. If it covers lockouts, use it.
- Find your ID and registration. We have to confirm the vehicle is yours before we open it. Having your licence and registration ready means we are not standing around sorting paperwork once we arrive.
Please do not use a coat hanger
Every locksmith in the South Bay has the same story, and in Fremont we get these calls regularly. Modern vehicles run wiring for the side airbag, the window motor, the mirror controls and the door lock actuator through the inside of the door panel, directly behind the weather seal that a coat hanger or a slim jim has to pass through.
A slip does not scratch paint. It tears the vapour barrier, bends the seal so the door whistles at freeway speed and leaks in the rain, or catches a wiring loom. Repairing that costs considerably more than the lockout would have, and it is not covered by anything. A professional entry uses an inflatable wedge to create a few millimetres of gap and a long-reach tool through it, so nothing is levered and nothing is forced.
The lockouts we handle in Fremont
- Keys locked inside the cabin. The everyday one. Standard entry, usually quick.
- Keys or fob shut in the trunk. Common on vehicles where the trunk latches independently of the doors.
- Push-to-start with the fob inside. Keyless vehicles still have a mechanical way in. Tell us the year, make and model so we bring the right tools first time.
- Key snapped off in the door or ignition. We extract the broken piece and can usually cut a replacement on the spot.
- All keys lost. Entry is only half the job here. We also cut and program a new key at your location using the VIN, so you drive away rather than waiting on a tow.
- Lock or actuator failure. Sometimes the key is in your hand and the door still will not open. That is a repair, not a lockout, and we handle it the same visit where possible.
Where we cover in Fremont
Fremont is geographically large and the drive time across it varies a lot, so it is worth being specific. We cover the whole city, including Warm Springs and the Auto Mall Parkway area near the Tesla factory, Mission San Jose, Irvington, Centerville, Niles and Niles Canyon, Ardenwood, Glenmoor, Brookvale and the Pacific Commons shopping district. We are also regularly called to the Warm Springs and Fremont BART station lots, where people discover the problem hours after parking, and to the Fremont Hub and Mowry Avenue retail corridor.
If you are near a Fremont boundary and not sure whether you are in Newark, Union City or Milpitas, it does not matter much for us. Call and tell us the cross streets or drop a pin over WhatsApp, and we will tell you straight away whether we can reach you and roughly how long it will take.
Why call an auto locksmith instead of a tow truck
A tow truck moves the problem somewhere else. It takes your car to a dealership that will not open until the morning, charges you for the tow and then charges you again for the key, and leaves you without a vehicle in the meantime. A mobile auto locksmith solves it where the car is standing. For a straightforward lockout there is no reason to involve a flatbed at all, and even for an all-keys-lost situation we can normally cut and program a replacement on site.
Locked Out in Fremont? Call Now
Tell us your location and your vehicle’s year, make and model, and we will give you an honest arrival time and an upfront price before we set off.
A Note on Pricing
Pricing depends on your vehicle’s make, model and year — every job is different. A standard door entry on an older sedan and an all-keys-lost job on a late-model push-to-start SUV are not the same piece of work, and the tools and time involved are not the same either. Call (408) 794-8015 with your year, make and model and we’ll give you a clear, upfront quote before any work starts.
Car Lockout FAQ — Fremont, CA
It depends on where you are and what traffic on 880 and 680 looks like at that moment. Most Fremont calls are reached quickly, and when you call we will give you a realistic arrival window rather than a number we cannot keep. Call (408) 794-8015 and we will tell you honestly how long we need.
Not when it is done with the right tools. We use professional wedges, air bladders and long-reach tools designed for automotive entry, which is what separates a locksmith from a coat hanger. The damage we get called out to fix afterwards is almost always from someone improvising first.
Call 911 first, before you call us. A vehicle interior heats up dangerously fast, and the fire department can be there faster than anyone and is authorized to force entry immediately. Call us afterwards if you still need a key made.
Yes. Keyless and push-to-start vehicles still have a mechanical way in, and the fob being inside does not change that. Tell us the year, make and model when you call so we bring the right tools on the first trip.
Proof that the vehicle is yours. Your driver's licence plus the registration, insurance card or title is normally enough. If those documents are locked inside the car, tell us when you call and we will talk you through the alternatives.
Yes. We run 24 hours a day, every day, including holidays. Lockouts do not happen at convenient times, so there is no after-hours cut-off.