Don’t get locked out! Follow these rules:
Keep a spare key. If you are traveling with your spouse, get in the habit of both spouses having their key even though you are traveling together. This is a good habit that will ensure that one or both of you have a key to open and operate your vehicle no matter what happens during your trip. Especially with modern, transponder equipped keys, it is very important that you have at least one spare key.
Get in the habit of always checking your pocket for your keys before you close any car door. Many lockouts are caused by multiple people closing the doors, when one person or the other assumed the other had their key. If you are in the habit of always checking for your keys, it doesn’t matter what anyone else does with their door.
Teach your children about the importance of locking their door, but also about the importance of knowing how to unlock the door from inside the vehicle. If your children are too young to know how to unlock their door, get in the habit of always knowing where your keys are to avoid locking your child in the vehicle, especially in hot weather. Never assume that your pet would not inadvertantly lock the doors by stepping on the locking button on one of the door armrests.
Program your neighborhood locksmith’s phone number into your cel phone. We all make mistakes. We also have found, through experience, that in this day and age, we are more likely to have our cel phone on us than our keys. If you are ever locked out in this day and age and use your phone to call 411, or use the browser on your smart phone to conduct a search, there is a very high probability that you will have multiple “locksmiths” to choose from. It is better for you that you never have the bad experience of calling a phony locksmith to help you when you make a simple mistake of locking yourself out. Phony locksmiths proliferate on the internet and they regularly gouge unsuspecting citizens after quoting a low service fee on the phone. Reputable locksmith companies that you have done business with in the past are worth doing business with again. When reputable locksmiths assist a customer with a lockout, they always know the exact price to be paid before they book the job, there should be no “estimates” for car lockouts. I always suggest that I cut them a spare key when I am done, no matter how busy I am. It is a gesture that people appreciate and remember you by.