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Stupid! Locked keys in car.....not a good thing to do.

Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2019 11:19 pm
by CharlesElliott
I was away racing at Croft (near Darlington) this weekend, which is about 250 miles from home. I normally leave my keys with a trusted person whilst I'm on circuit but in an effort to be away more quickly, I put all the stuff in the car and went to lock the car as usual. Because the door was open the car beeped, but I put the key in my jacket pocket, placed it in the car and closed the door. I checked the door and it was locked - great, I thought, the car still locks even if you have door open. I walked away and then realised........

I now had no phone or car keys and so borrowed a phone to call my wife and ask her to ring Porsche Assist. In the meantime, I had a race to get on with and whilst we were waiting to grid up they came and told me that Porsche would be there in 30 minutes and they would get someone to meet them because I would still be on circuit.

I finished the race (I didn't win, but it was a good race :D ) and drove back to the AA guy near my car. Unfortunately the options boiled down to....

- recover to the nearest Porsche dealer. Not a lot of good on a Sunday evening in Darlington, especially because I am flying to Tenerife at 7am tomorrow morning and need to leave for Gatwick around 4.30am. Not Porsche's fault, but not ideal.

- recover me home.....but not covered under Porsche policy so will cost me in the region of £1,000 and they are not sure when the low loader will be available. If the low loader was there waiting, I would have paid the £1,000 and debated later. But it wasn't.

- get a locksmith out who reckoned he could pick the door lock.....but not certain when he would be able to come.

- I asked the AA guy to call Porsche technical a second time just to double double check you couldn't get in any other way. You can't they said.

- get my wife to drive the 5 hours to Darlington with our 10 year old twins and the spare, and then drive back. She wasn't keen and it wasn't really practical given our flight.

- smash the window.

I chose the final option. We agreed that the offside rear quarterlight was the best (smallest, no wiring, glass can't drop down into the door). Then he told me that I'd have to smash it! So we put film over the window, he handed me a hammer and punch and with a firm tap it started to crack. A couple more knocks and we pulled the film away and I could get my hand in to the key. We then cleared some of the glass and taped up the window and I drove the 250 miles home, which actually was fine, just a little more noisy than usual.

So I still leave the house in 5 hours for our flight, and have sent an email to the OPC asking them how much and when they could replace my rear quarterlight!!

Re: Stupid! Locked keys in car.....not a good thing to do.

Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2019 11:51 pm
by Tom 2000
What an almighty PITA.

Re: Stupid! Locked keys in car.....not a good thing to do.

Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 6:49 am
by sparkmacan
What a nightmare- I take it you have another car to leave at Gatwick,!!
Your Local Porsche Dealer may collect the car & repair while you are away at a cost,,

Re: Stupid! Locked keys in car.....not a good thing to do.

Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 7:22 am
by CharlesElliott
Yes, our Audi A5 was always the planned car for the Gatwick trip. I emailed the OPC yesterday and await a reply. I also have the option of booking with Autoglass direct.

Re: Stupid! Locked keys in car.....not a good thing to do.

Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 9:08 am
by Paul
☹️☹️

Nightmare! Never done it myself - but I know a few friend who have and yes, with modern cars, breaking a window is the only real DIY alternative!

(PS, I’d let Autoglass do it - they’ll come to you, quickly, and being a rear 1/4 light there’s no calibration nonsense to consider)

My key story

Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 9:35 am
by Giz9
I have a key story from last Friday that others might find useful.

I picked up my car from the bodyshop and drove 100 metres up to the OPC to book a service. Did that and, on returning to the car, it refused to unlock. Weird I thought. Red light was flashing on the key but car was not clicking unlocked and neither were the idicator lights flashing.

Baffled and rather embarassed, I returned to the OPC, which was due to close in ten minutes. My service guy was puzzled but got up to help. First he tried the key. Then he changed the battery. Still no good.

At this point, another service guy suggested that the car has a defence against random, over-pressing of the unlock button on the remote. The idea being that if someone finds the keys and walks around a car park that the key belongs to, the car shuts down and refuses to unlock! News to me.

So, we then resorted to the physical key under the door handle. I had forgotten about this but, between us, we managed to unlock it. On activating the ignition, the alarm sounded for a short period and then all was well. The car re-set and we checked that the doors would lock and re-open. All good.

So, I don't know why this happened. Was there a miscreant with a scanner in the area? Who knows? But knowing the solution if it happens to you is rather useful.

Re: Stupid! Locked keys in car.....not a good thing to do.

Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 10:01 am
by SAC1
Locked the key in the boot of my last Mercedes when away on holiday. :oops: :o The guy from Merc Assistance came out, jacked up the n/s/f and removed the wheel. He was then able to reach the lock solenoid in the engine bay and :ugeek: viola! open the doors. Phew and all done foc. :)

Re: Stupid! Locked keys in car.....not a good thing to do.

Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 10:47 am
by ScotMac
It is really annoying. And so easy to do.

My son locked the keys in our Audi TT roadster .......but luckily :shock: :shock: :shock: RAC were able to break in quite easily. No smashing of glass required.

Re: Stupid! Locked keys in car.....not a good thing to do.

Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 1:02 pm
by CharlesElliott
Initial OPC quote is £950! Will contact Autoglass, although you seem to have to book before they give you a quote!

Re: Stupid! Locked keys in car.....not a good thing to do.

Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 1:47 pm
by ianst
your insurance will cover you for glass, £75 or £100 excess and will prob go through autoglass. A glass claim does not affect NCD