Keys or a push-to-start fob locked inside the car? If anyone is inside, call 911. If not, you have options: a spare, your carmaker’s app or door keypad, a roadside plan or a mobile locksmith. Here’s who can open it in Tampa Bay, and what Florida law says about leaving the engine running.
If your keys or push-to-start fob are locked inside the car, first make sure nobody is in there with them. If a child, a pet or anyone who can’t get out on their own is inside, call 911. If the car is empty, it’s a lockout, not an emergency, and you have more ways in than you might think: a spare, your carmaker’s app or door keypad, a roadside plan, or a mobile locksmith who opens the car without damage.
A child, a pet or anyone who can’t get out on their own turns a lockout into an emergency. Call 911 before anyone else, us included, and tell the dispatcher where the car is and who is inside. Our guide to a child or pet locked in a hot car covers what to do while help is on the way and what Florida law allows.
It can, even though some carmakers build in safeguards against it. Those safeguards work only under set conditions, and they vary by make, model and year. Two examples, straight from the manufacturers:
So a fob can still end up on the wrong side of a locked door, especially in a car without those features or with them switched off. Your owner’s manual explains what yours does. And if the fob is in your hand but dead, you still have a way in: use the mechanical key hidden in your fob on the driver’s door.
Start with a spare key or a second fob, and whoever has it. No spare nearby? Here’s who else can get you in, and what each option needs:
If your car has a phone app from the carmaker and you set it up before today, it may be able to unlock the doors. Ford, for example, says you can unlock remotely if you “previously downloaded the Ford app and activated your vehicle’s modem.” Ford is just as clear that the company can’t do it for you: “Ford cannot remotely unlock a vehicle.”
Plenty of Fords have a keyless entry keypad, a strip of numbered buttons on the driver’s door or the pillar next to it. Punch in the five-digit code and the doors unlock, putting the keys back within reach. Ford says the factory code may be on a wallet-sized card that comes with the owner’s manual, though starting with 2024 models that card may not be provided, so track the code down before you need it. Keep in mind the keypad unlocks the doors and that’s all; it won’t start the engine. If the key itself is gone, see Ford key replacement.
Check your plans before you pay anyone. Roadside coverage can come through your auto insurer, your carmaker or a credit card, and some plans cover a lockout. Two examples:
Every plan has its own terms, so ask what’s covered when you call.
Policies vary by department, so don’t count on an officer to unlock a car with no one inside. One example from Pinellas County: Gulfport Police says it can help by calling a locksmith, but its officers “are not permitted to break into cars except in emergencies,” such as a child trapped inside. If anyone is inside your car, that’s the time to call 911.
On the highways they patrol, the Florida Department of Transportation’s Road Rangers give stranded drivers free, limited help; dial *347 to reach them. Their list of services covers flat tires, jump-starts, minor repairs, emergency fuel and water, and clearing lanes, but not unlocking cars. One item can still help: they provide stranded motorists “two free local calls,” handy if your phone is locked in the car too.
When nobody inside is at risk and none of the above gets you in, a mobile locksmith comes to the car. Zoom Locksmith’s car lockout service opens doors and trunks without damage to the vehicle, wherever it’s parked: a driveway, an apartment lot in Brandon, a campus lot near USF or a garage downtown. Call (305) 528-1358 Monday through Saturday, 8am to 8pm. Sunday is our day off.
It happens: the car is left running to keep the A/C on in the August heat, and the doors end up locked with the key inside. Handle it like any lockout. If a child or a pet is inside, call 911 first; if not, work through the options above.
Florida law has a say here. Under section 316.1975 of the Florida Statutes, a person driving or in charge of a motor vehicle may not leave it unattended “without first stopping the engine, locking the ignition, and removing the key.” A violation is a noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable as a nonmoving violation. The law doesn’t apply to “a vehicle that is started by remote control while the ignition, transmission, and doors are locked,” so a remote start with the car locked up is the exception.
There’s a theft risk, too. The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) warns that “an empty vehicle with the engine running is practically an invitation to opportunistic criminals,” and its advice is simple: “Always take your keys with you.”
With tools made for the job, not force. Entry starts non-destructive: the lock is picked or decoded instead of drilled, and we open doors and trunks with no damage to the vehicle. It makes no difference whether a metal key or a push-to-start fob is inside; the job is opening the door.
When you call, we ask three things: where you are, what vehicle it is, and whether anyone or any animal is inside. That’s enough for a free quote before anyone drives out. And if it turns out the key is gone for good, not locked in, we can make a new one on the same visit.
Look through every window, including the back seat, the cupholders and the floor. If the keys aren’t in the car, it’s a lost-key job: see our guide to lost car keys with no spare, or go straight to lost car key replacement; on most makes and models, the new key gets made at the car. Think someone took them? Use our stolen car keys checklist.
Don’t count on it for a routine lockout. Policies vary by department: Gulfport Police, for one, says it can help by calling a locksmith, but its officers aren’t permitted to break into cars except in emergencies, such as a child trapped inside. If anyone is inside your car, call 911.
Sometimes. Roadside coverage through your insurer, your carmaker or a credit card may cover a lockout. GEICO, for example, says its Emergency Roadside Service covers lockout services for certain covered causes of loss, but not the cost of replacement keys or key fobs. Check your plan before you pay.
It can. Some cars have safeguards — Chevrolet offers an alert that chirps the horn if you leave the fob inside after you get out, and a Honda owner’s guide says its Walk Away Auto Lock won’t automatically lock the doors if another remote is inside — but they work only under set conditions and vary from car to car. Your owner’s manual explains what yours does.
Generally, yes. Under section 316.1975 of the Florida Statutes, a driver may not leave a motor vehicle unattended without first stopping the engine, locking the ignition and removing the key. A violation is a noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable as a nonmoving violation. A car started by remote control while the ignition, transmission and doors are locked is exempt.
Yes. Entry starts non-destructive — picking or decoding the lock instead of drilling it — and Zoom Locksmith opens doors and trunks without damage to the vehicle, Monday through Saturday, 8am to 8pm.
Keys or fob on the seat and the doors locked? Call Zoom Locksmith at (305) 528-1358, Monday through Saturday, 8am to 8pm. Family-owned, insured and bonded, we’ve come to the car across Tampa Bay since 2018, from Downtown Tampa to Brandon and Riverview, in English and Spanish. If anyone is inside, call 911 first.
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