J S Machine

So I regret to admit it but....I finally did it. I locked my keys in my car.

I can see them, and I can get to the lock button with a welding rod but there is only one problem. I know that if I press the unlock button from the inside the alarm will go off and the doors will not unlock.

I know this from experience because one time my wife was sitting in the car in a parkling lot. I had locked her in so she would feel safe while I went into the store. She decided she wanted to get out and when she hit the unlock button the alarm sounded but the doors did not unlock. She called me from her cell phone to come and get her out

Some questions I know you will ask / jump me about :

No spare. I haven't had a chance to go get one made. The car only came with one key from the previous Owner.

No fob. The second one of those quit working about 6 months ago, due to no tire pressure monitors in the wheels. The conclusion I have come to is that the fobs work, but the reciever is bad due to not getting a signal from the tire pressure sensors.

I don't want to call a locksmith. Can I get it open???

justin_heat05

Never realized that could happen, I think I'll tie my keys to my wrist from now on........lol

Indy

Try using the remote again and pressing the lock and unlock button for about 10 seconds or so at the same time....this should reset the remote...otherwise.....good luck.

thisMSGgood4me

Your easiest solution is to go get a spare made, even if it doesn't have the resistor in it that allows you to start the car. All you need is a key to unlock the door. Besides, it's not a bad idea to have a spare, even if it only unlocks the door.

MyVetteDream

If you can get to the lock button, why can you just get a longer welding rod, bend an L at the end, insert it between the glass and weather stripping, hook the door handle on the other side of the car and just physically unlock the door?

But before all that, I would hit the unlock button --- I've done once before and it unlocked?

J S Machine

A friend with a Vette is checking on that for me now. I think I might be able to get to the actual lock lever on the inside of the door. Question is, will this open the door? If there is an actual linkage like there is in older vehicles it will work alarm going off or not. If there is no linkage, it will be the same as pressing the unlock button and not unlocking the doors...

If I can get the door open and it sets the alarm off, I can get the keys (which I can see) and put them in the ignition to shut down the alarm.

miltievette

Get a slim Jim or a coat hanger, slid it right above the lock Cylinder.
Feel around Not sure if you have to pull or push on the linkage believe me this will worked on my 2000 vet. GOOD Luck.
This is what a locksmith will do with no damage.

YLWFVR75

well at least you didn't look yourself IN the car like peter griffin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8b_EDv8f4Mw

Wicked99

Hey John, did you have any luck? Or is your car just broken! LOL!!!! I tried several different ways here at the shop and have had nothing but luck. So dont make me have to drive out there and get your keys out for you.

dankhts

I locked my keys in once, got at the lock button with a piece of wire and un-locked it -keys were on the seat..... alarm went off, but stopped quick when I clicked the fob....

HawnHog

Solution 1) try the remote AGAIN. Lock/Unlock together

Solution 2) AAA

Solution 3) get a long rod, slip it between the window and rear roof post and hit the unlock button on the door (really EASY!)

Solution 4) call a locksmith

...and make a spare key. In fact make two (one with the resistyor.

XtremeVette

Man o man...all you guys grabbing at the slim jims and stuff...I have a funny one to post....don't go laughing until you try this!

● If you have the passive entry feature: If you lock the keys in the car, wait a few minutes and then shake the car. That will unlock the car.

Iam guessing the keys would have to be in the ignition otherwise...this don't make too much sense....you can goto a C5 shake it and boom your in? hmmmmm I dunno. It has been documented on a few sites though:

I have never actually tried this...so let us know if it indeed does work.

I found it in the Corvette Secrets post:
Secrets of the C5
Copied from www.corvettemechanic.com

Quote:
● The little yellow “helper light” on the bottom of the rear-view mirror that illuminates the shifter area.
● That you can put your key in the driver’s door and turn it twice towards the front to unlock the passenger door and a third time to pop the trunk.
● That you can pop the trunk and also pop the gas cap cover by pulling on metal lines hidden in the back.
● The little slotted cover on the dash behind the steering wheel is where the inside air temperature sensor is located.
● All of the option codes are in the glove box.
● Tire inflation recommended pressures are on the driver’s door.
● The thing that looks like a little LED near the DIC buttons is a light sensor.
● The thing that looks like a little LED near the defroster vent is a UV sensor for determining A/C usage to compensate for the heating effect of the sun.
● The build sheet is in the front re-bar.
● If you leave your turn signal on, in about 1 minute it will start to ding (loud enough to hear over the stereo) to let you know you have old timers disease.
● You can reset the oil life by pumping the gas pedal 3 times (but not with the engine running).
● Hold down the reset button while on one of the trip odometers and it changes that reading to the miles you’ve traveled since last starting the engine.
● Hold down the Active Handling button for 5 sec. to engage “Competitive Driving” on cars equipped with active handling (2000 and previous years must be stopped.)
● If you pull the seatbelts all the way out while you’re buckled in, they ratchet back in to hold you tighter into the seat. (then move the seat forward to make it extra snug -- Leafty)
● Simply remove fuse #2 under the hood and your DRLs will be out permanently. Only thing affected is that when you unlock at night using the key fob your front turn signal lights and back up lights will not flash. Your front turn signals will operate normally, however.
● The side-view mirrors can twist both forward and backward, decreasing the chance of damage if struck.
● There is a release opening with a flap to let air out of the car when the hatch is closed. It is located just above the driver side rear compartment behind the carpet and on the side of the car. Not that it really works well.
● Also you can ground your amp to a screw/bolt that holds the rear middle compartment to the frame.
● If you have a 6-speed car you can pop the trunk when the car is running by lifting the e-brake.
● There is a spot on the driver side just out of the middle compartment under the carpet for the lug nut key. You should have a compartment on the drivers & passenger’s side (in the trunk) and a center compartment. On the left (drivers) side of the center compartment, on the left side where the center cover fits, there is an ‘indent’ that holds the wheel lock key.
● If you turn on the headlights, then go to parking light position, the lamps remain up but the headlights are not left on.
● If you have the passive entry feature: If you lock the keys in the car, wait a few minutes and then shake the car. That will unlock the car.
● HUD has a shift light for the manuals.
● You can easily shift the M6 trans up or down without the clutch if you match revs. (Not great for longevity, however.)
● You can eject the cd from the in-dash player without turning on any power. Don’t even need key in the ignition.
● The cruise will disengage if you purposely make sharp side to side turns while cruising at say 60-80 mph.
● When the engine is shut off, you can get the odometer reading by turning on the parking lights.
● You can program setting #3 (both memory buttons at once) in the seat memory to run the seat back and steering wheel forward for getting in/out of the car with the engine running.
● If you hate DRLs you can pull the e-brake ONE click and they go off.

intoc6s

I ve heard that this works too! Let us know if it works for you, Im curious!-Jason

$$$frumnuttin'

Harbor Freight sells a lock pick set of tools cheap....amazes me that this is legal, but they sell it...it contains several gizmos, one of which should work for the vette.

Scuba Ghost

Shake the car and the door should unlock.

J S Machine

**Only if the passive feature is on, and mine isn't.

Wicked99

John....did you get in?
Or do i need to come out there.

J S Machine

Ok guys I got it. The friend of mine checked the theory and it worked. He sat in his car for about 15 minutes, and then pressed the unlock button from the inside. Set the alarm off, but still unlocked the doors.

This puzzles me. When my wife did the same thing the doors remained locked. Like I said in the original post, she called me from inside the car with the car still locked, after she had pressed the unlock button and the alarm was going off. I had to come back out of the store and back to the car to unlock the door and let her out. The only difference between her deal and everyone else's is that she was on the *PASSENGER* side. I am assuming everyone here pressed the unlock button with a rod of some sort on the *DRIVER* side...

Anyway, I took to welding rods and put them in the window. I put one on the unlock button and bent the other to pull the actual lock lever. I pulled the lock lever first, which effectively unlocked the door and when I opened it, the alarm went off. -Keys (which were laying in the shifter boot) in the ignition to kill the alarm. This leads me to believe that there is an actual actuating arm inside the door from the handle/lock lever to the striker. I had wondered if it was all electronic. -in this case pulling the unlock lever would have done no good/would have been the same as pressing the unlock button.

So I didn't try the pushing the button theory, but I know that you can pull the lock lever itself.

Problem solved. Now I am going to get a key made as soon as I get a day off...

J S Machine

Got it- Thanks for the help man.

Ol'55

This is the method most used by car thief's. I don't think that the alarm will go off if you push the unlock button, it will if you open the door by the inside handle. It's for this reason I've disconnected the white/w orange stripe wire from the inside door lock button switches on both armrests. The thief (and me too!) can push the inside button 'til the cows come home, but no power goes to just the unlock side of the switch. Anyone with a Window Valet (doors unlock off of the parking brake) and a working fob will not miss the unlock feature on the armrest switch. The switch still will lock the doors, but will not unlock them. Also the speed (15 MPH I think) lock feature in the options in the DIC still locks the doors with these wires removed.