AUTOMOTIVE Locksmith Services
Unlock Car Door
Can’t unlock your car door? It’s not a problem anymore when you avail our high-quality Car Unlocking Services here at Sherlock Locksmith! We take pride in having specialized locksmith technicians with the brains, brawn, skill, and experience to help you get back to your locked car, regardless of what the circumstances may be. Our team of experienced locksmiths are fully equipped with efficient services, modern resources, and solid experience required to open any locked car with ease, precision, and speed. With their versatile skill set, there are a multitude of ways they can approach a car lockout situation.
Why Choose Sherlock Locksmith?
Every single one of our locksmith technicians are well-versed with the science needed to quickly, and safety unlock the doors to your deadlocked car. When it comes to transitioning from theory to practice, science becomes an art. Within all processes of locksmithing, a degree of craftsmanship is required in order to ensure the best quality of services possible. Beyond the know-hows of locksmithing, there is a requirement for locksmiths to be able to feel and finesse the locks in order for the process to go smoothly. The beauty of security is unparalleled, and we at Sherlock Locksmith want to provide all of our customers that beauty.
THE TOOLS BEHIND THE LOCKS
Of course, it is common knowledge that although locksmithing can seem like magic, it’s more so a science and an art. In order to unlock car doors effectively, professional locksmiths need their tools. The usage of the locksmith over the tools that they want to use is left to their discretion, and they use the tools that makes the job easier for them, while ensuring what they are doing is right. The artistry and finesse that the locksmithing process requires, especially during automotive locksmithing, requires the insight of a locksmith, from the inspection to the conduction of the work.
A good locksmith trained with the proper knowledge and experience will know what tool to use in certain situations, and when a tool is not appropriate for the job they are currently undertaking. The features of the car itself will alter what tools the locksmith uses. For instance, a modification on a car will prevent a standard type of entry tool for unlocking. Some of the tools our professional locksmiths may use to unlock your car may include the following:
WEDGES
This type of tool is utilized to create a gap between the frame of your car door and the actual door itself. Depending on the make and model of your car, the locksmith can work with a variety of wedges. These varieties may include, but are not limited to, wooden, plastic, rubber, and air wedges. Wooden and plastic wedges are designed to be hard, so it is imperative for the locksmith to lay down a rag or a towel as a buffer between the car and the wedge itself.
Putting a buffer between the car and the wedge will keep the paint from getting scratched and protect the weather stripping and plastic coating your window glass has, which can ruin both the aesthetics and protection your car has. Softer, rubber wedges are available, but are relatively uncommon; there are some locksmiths that are more comfortable with using them, though. Unlock wooden and plastic wedges, which require wedges to uphold the integrity of your car, rubber ones will not scratch or damage the car as it easily slides between the door frame. Air wedges, on the other hand, are the most common material used by professional locksmiths. Air wedges aren’t literally made of air, but it is a cloth pouch that has a small rubber bladder attached to it by a length of tubing. In these cases, the wedge is inserted into the door, then the bladder is pumped so that the pouch expands.
It doesn’t matter what type of wedge is used, though; it must not be left in the gap for too long. When a door gap is maintained for an extended period of time, there’s the risk that it could cause irreversible, serious harm to the door. This is the reason why car lockouts are taken care of with ease, precision, and speed; and that is what all of our locksmiths have. In the face of time pressure, our locksmiths stay calm and do the work as quickly as possible.
The risks and issues wedges have during car lockouts are exactly why you should leave the job to our team of reliable locksmiths. When using wedges, probe tools are also inserted through the gap to unlock the door. Simply putting a gap through the door won’t cut it; the end goal of this method is to manipulate the interior door locks into opening.
PROBES
Probes are the next tool that is widely used in the car unlocking process. Once a wedge has been successfully installed into the doorway of your car, the probe is inserted in order to unlock the door. By definition, probes are long and thin tools specifically designed to manipulate the interior door locks. Inserted from the outside of the car, probes are usually thin and sturdy. In inserting the probe, it is required for the professional probe to have balance, malleability and strength, two components necessary in order to manipulate the locks with utmost precision.
Probing a car doorway can take some time to accomplish properly, especially if the lock isn’t an upright lock or are inopportunely placed. Depending on the situation, it’s not always wise to use the wedge-probe combination, although it may seem like the best way. A locksmith that is experienced and well-trained will know if the car lockout calls for a probe.
SLIM JIMS
Slim Jims are usually what Hollywood often depicts as the cure-all for a locked car. Often featured in television shows and movies, these tools are flat lengths of metal with a plastic handle on one end, and a hook-shaped end on the opposite end. Although it is a popular choice for use in Hollywood, it is now very rarely used for car lockouts, as it doesn’t work on every car, and requires a high degree of skill to operate successfully.
This high degree of skill is the most important component in operating a Slim Jim; without it, there is a myriad of potential damages that the tool can cause to your car. Slim Jims work by being slid into the door between the weather strip and the window glass. It works by manipulating the locks from the interior of the door. Although there are ways to operate Slim Jims on different makes and models from different manufacturers, the most common way is to find a place on the inside of the door that moves what you call as a “post lock.”
A post lock is more well known as the upright orientation of a lock you can see from the window of your car. When it is pressed down, the door locks; and when it’s pulled up, the door unlocks. When a Slim Jim is moved around the inside of the door, the post lock will be seen to move at certain points. What causes this post lock to move is a wire that must be pulled upwards in order to be unlocked. However, there are many wires inside a door, so pulling the wrong one can result in an extremely expensive repair very quickly. This is why it is not advisable to DIY Unlock your door yourself, and you should always consult with highly skilled locksmith technicians in order for your car to be unlocked.
SPECIALIZED CLOSED DOORWAY TOOLS
Other than the variety of Slim Jims that exist in the locksmith industry, there are other types of specialized closed doorway tools designed to help you regain access to your car as quickly as possible. What differs them from wedges, probes, and slim jims, though, is that they do not rely on opening the door at all. This is why they are not considered as probes, nor slim jims. These tools are placed between the weather strip and the window glass, go into the door, and then resurface on the inside of the car.
Once the tools have resurfaced, the tools’ job will be to manipulate the buttons of the door lock on the interior of the car. The primary reason why these types of tools are specialized is because they have pre-existing bends. These bend allow the tool to enter the door while closed, resurface, and then have the right shape to use the locks from the other side. Every single bend should be measured precisely with the correct angles for every length and bend. For automotive locksmiths, the secret behind these tools is that each type of car requires a different measurement, and they are relatively intuitive to use.
AUTO LOCK PICKS
Automotive lock picking is not exactly a popular nor common practice in the automotive locksmith industry, as it takes a lot of skill and a significantly longer amount of time than just putting a wedge and a probe between the door. Car lockouts are usually emergencies, hence, they don’t really have the luxury of waiting for more than a few minutes, as it is an inconvenience in nature. With that being said, however, it is still a used method. The picks that are mostly used are a blend of rakes and single pin picks. This is a game of chance, though – because other than skill in time, luck comes into play.
If there are false gates in the lock, the locksmith will need to single pin pick the lock. Since automotive locks typically use wafer-based locking systems, however, this doesn’t exactly pose a major issue, but when it comes to slider locks, precautions are always taken into consideration and practice. If you are not an experienced lock picker, attempting to do it yourself is a ticking time bomb. Picking automotive locks that are in use requires the expertise of an expert, knowledgeable technician in order to make sure that the lock is not broken or damaged from the picking process. Other tools may also be used, such as plug spinners and/or auto tensioner tools.
TRYOUT KEYS
Do you own an older car that uses wafer locks? If so, then the tryout key method may be able to open your doors, and may even actually work to start your vehicle. Tryout keys, which are otherwise known as auto jigglers or jiggle keys, are flat strips of metal with no wards and have very odd shapes, therefore making the impression that it is either a toy or a fake key.
These tryout keys usually come in a ring and are placed into the lock cylinder of the car one at a time. Once the tryout key is placed in the lock, it is jiggled around. There is no particular need for a tension wrench whenever these keys are being used. This presents itself as a trial and error method; if one does not work, then the locksmith simply tries the next one.
MODERN CARS
For modern cars, they mostly utilize applications and security systems that integrate the most advanced technologies that can open your car whenever you say the words “Unlock car door.” You can remotely start your car as if you were using a key fob, and it can even text you updates about itself. However, when a car lockout happens for these kinds of cars, how is the process affected?
There is no doubt that they complicate things a lot more, but that is why you have professional locksmiths to help you with that. Since we opened our doors for our clients, we have dedicated our profession to finding the ways in which we can help you regain access to your car, even if your car has the latest technological innovations installed. We stay updated on the latest technologies in both the automotive and locksmith industries, and we learn quickly with the information we receive from onsite experience.
When we’re talking about car lockouts, there is a world of difference as to how a professional handles it compared to a novice. The biggest difference, you ask? Experience. When a novice approaches a car lockout and tries to do it without the right amount of knowledge and experience, mistakes are very prone. Even pulling something too hard, too soft, or not even pulling the right thing can result in sometimes, irreversible damage to your car. Mishandling the tools can damage the car very severely, so it’s important to stay calm in approaching these types of situations.
Whenever you put your trust in the hands of our professional locksmiths here at Sherlock, you choose quality. With the impressive track record of dependability and accountability our locksmith technicians uphold, our locksmiths are regarded as one of the best in the market. You can choose to do the job yourself, but you are missing out on the opportunity to receive top-notch, quality service for an affordable price. Want to avail our services? Just dial 817-438-1962 and we will be more than happy to provide you that Sherlock Experience!
Residential
You deserve to be at home in a safe environment. We at Sherlock provide quality services and can fix your locks, duplicate your keys and upgrade your home security system.
Commercial
Having a trustworthy locksmith is a key component to a successful business in our area. Our dedicated locksmiths work diligently to deliver quality that you can rely on.
Automotive
Need an affordable and reliable automotive locksmith service provider? Look no further, we at Sherlock can handle all of your needs for a price that is hard to beat.
Emergency
We provide emergency locksmith services that you can count on. Our emergency locksmiths are fast and provide reliable services that guarantee your satisfaction.
SHERLOCK / FEB 10, 2021
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