When Vancouver and the Lower Mainland dip below freezing temperatures at Mr. Prolock Professional Locksmiths and our sister company AA Automotive Locksmiths we receive many calls from customers who are locked out of their cars because the car door lock is frozen.

So what do you do if your car door lock is frozen” Royce Whin-Yates (4th Generation Locksmith) states “do not pour hot water over your car door and car lock.” Royce said the best method to loosen up the frozen lock is using a spray “Lock De-icer.” Lock De-icer is available at most Automotive Stores and Canadian Tire.

No Lock De-icer? Hook up a blow dryer. If you don’t have a long enough extension cord try warming your key with a lighter (not too hot or you can melt some parts of the lock, a lot of plastic parts in modern car locks). Just heat the key up and put it into the lock, remove the key and reheat, keep doing this until the lock will eventually unfreeze and open. Note: If you do not have a lighter use you hands to warm the key.

Lubricate Your Car Locks:
During cold weather flush your car locks with WD40 to remove the moisture (do not use oil, this attracts dust and dirt and will eventually jam the lock).

Never try to force your door open. Cold plastic and metal become brittle and cold metal will break with very little force. We have had to open cars with a broken car door handle because the customer try to force open the door.

A very simple method is to try opening the passenger door or the cars hatch. However, most modern cars only have a drivers door lock and no passenger lock.

Hopefully these simple methods can help you. If you do call us at Mr. Prolock Professional Locksmiths to open your car we use a portable rechargeable hair dryer and Lock De-icer to open your frozen car door lock.

Mr. Prolock Professional Locksmiths is a family owned and operated business that provides Professional Locksmithing & Security Services in Vancouver, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Richmond, Ladner, Delta, Tsawwassen, New Westminster, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Maple Ridge, and Surrey on a 24 hour basis. All our locksmiths are family. Please call today and ask for Terry.