We open cars, trucks, and SUVs across Mesquite and Dallas County, 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
First: Is Anyone Locked Inside the Car?
If a child or a pet is shut inside the vehicle, hang up and dial 911 right now.
A parked car in North Texas heats up fast, and police and fire crews are usually closer than any service truck. They are trained for exactly this, and they will get the door open.
Call us afterward. If the vehicle needs a tow once everyone is safe, we will handle it.
For every other lockout, keep reading.
What to Do Right Now
You have a few minutes before help arrives. Use them.
- Check every door and the tailgate. People skip this and then wait 30 minutes for a truck. Rear doors get missed constantly.
- Look for your spare key. A partner, a roommate, or a parent may have one twenty minutes away.
- Move somewhere visible. A lit parking lot beats a dark shoulder. Stand away from traffic.
- Do not break a window. Glass costs far more than the unlock, and the shards end up in your door and seat tracks.
- Note where you are. A cross street, a store name, or a parking level.
Car Lockout Situations We Handle
Lockouts are not all the same problem. Tell dispatch which one you have.
Keys on the Seat or in the Ignition
This is the most common call we get. The doors latched with the keys still inside, so we open the vehicle and you drive off.
Keys Locked in the Trunk
The trunk shut with the keys in it. Tell dispatch this is a trunk lockout rather than a cabin lockout, because the two are handled differently and we will confirm on the phone what we can do for your vehicle.
Push-Button Start and Keyless Entry
Keyless cars lock themselves in ways older cars never did. The fob can end up sealed inside while the car sits armed. Entry differs across newer vehicles, so tell us the year, make, and model and we will confirm what we can do before dispatching.
A Fob With a Dead Battery
Sometimes the keys are in your hand and the car still will not open. Most fobs hide a mechanical key blade, and many doors have a keyhole under a plastic cap on the handle. Try that first, and call us if it does not work.
Keys Locked in a Running Car
This one is urgent. The engine is burning fuel and the car is unattended. Say so when you call, because it moves you up the queue.
Why Coat Hangers and Slim Jims Wreck Modern Cars
This is the part nobody tells you before you go looking for a wire hanger.
A door on a car built in the last twenty years is not hollow. Inside the panel sit the power lock actuator, window motor and regulator, wiring for the mirrors and speakers, and sensor wiring tied to the vehicle’s safety systems. A hanger pushed past the weather seal has nothing to guide it. It catches whatever it finds.
What goes wrong:
- Torn weather stripping. The seal never sits right again, and the door leaks and whistles at highway speed.
- Bent lock linkage. The rods and clips inside the door get pushed out of position. Now the door will not lock properly at all.
- Cut or pinched wiring. An electrical fault in a door can knock out the locks, the window, or the mirror on that side.
- Scratched paint and glass. Metal dragged along the top of the door leaves marks you cannot buff out.
- Damaged sensors. Repairs involving safety system wiring are not cheap.
Professional entry tools work differently. They reach the interior handle or the lock button directly, without dragging metal through the panel. That is why we open the vehicle without damaging the door or the window.
The five minutes you save with a coat hanger can cost you a door panel.
What Happens When Our Technician Arrives
There is no mystery to the process and no surprise invoice at the end.
We quote the job on the phone before we dispatch. The technician arrives, confirms the vehicle and the situation, and opens it with proper entry tools. You check that everything works. Then you go.
If something about the vehicle changes the job, you hear about it before any work starts.
When Unlocking the Door Will Not Fix It
Being locked out and losing your keys are two different problems.
We open locked vehicles. If your keys are gone entirely, or a key snapped off in the lock, opening the door does not get you moving. That vehicle needs a shop or a dealership.
We can still help. Around the Clock Towing will tow the vehicle to the dealer, the repair shop, or your home. If the car is low-clearance or all-wheel drive, our flatbed towing service is the safe way to move it. When the situation is urgent, see emergency towing.
Tell us on the phone whether you have the keys. That single detail decides whether we send an unlock or a truck.
What a Car Lockout Costs
Cost is the second thing people search after “how do I get in,” so here is how it works.
The price depends on the vehicle and where you are parked. Newer vehicles with keyless systems take longer than a twenty-year-old pickup, and a car in a garage two levels down takes longer to reach than one in a driveway.
One thing worth knowing: the free highway patrols that operate around Dallas do not perform lockouts. They handle stalled vehicles and flats on the freeway. A lockout in a parking lot is always a paid call.
Before you call anyone, check whether you already have coverage. Factory warranty, insurance add-ons, auto club memberships, and premium credit cards often include lockout dispatch. Many drivers pay for it and never use it.
If none of that applies, call us. We quote the job on the phone before a truck moves, so you decide with the number in front of you.
Car Lockout Service Across Mesquite and Dallas County
We dispatch from our Mesquite base and reach the surrounding cities. That covers Mesquite, Dallas, Garland, Rowlett, Richardson, Rockwall, Sunnyvale, Forney, and Balch Springs. The full list is on our towing coverage area page.
Lockouts happen in parking garages, apartment lots, work sites, and driveways. We come to all of them. Lockout service is one part of our wider roadside assistance coverage.
Car Lockout FAQs
Can you unlock my car without damaging it?
Yes. We use entry tools built for the job and open the vehicle without damaging the door or the window.
Do you work on newer cars with push-button start?
Give dispatch the year, make, and model when you call and we will confirm on the phone whether we can open your vehicle.
How much does a car lockout cost?
It depends on your vehicle and your location. We quote you before we send a truck, so there is no surprise at the curb. You can also request a free quote.
Are you open at night and on weekends?
Yes. We run 24 hours a day, every day of the year, holidays included.
Can you get into my trunk?
Tell dispatch it is a trunk lockout when you call. Trunks are handled differently than cabin lockouts, and we will confirm what we can do for your vehicle.
What if I lost my keys completely?
Opening the door will not start the car. We can tow your vehicle to a dealership or a repair shop that can make you a new key.
My keys are locked in and the engine is running. What do I do?
Call and say so immediately. A running unattended vehicle is treated as urgent.
Call for Car Lockout Service in Mesquite and Dallas, TX
Standing next to your own car with the keys on the seat is a bad way to spend an evening. It is also a quick fix for someone with the right tools. Licensed and insured for towing across Texas.
Call us for car lockout service in Mesquite, Dallas, and across Dallas County. Need something else? See all our towing services.