New Vehicles Need Professional Lockpicking

If you’ve watched enough Hollywood heist movies, you may be thinking that jimmying open a car door or hotwiring the engine is a simple maneuver that anyone can do. While lockpicking is certainly a skill that anyone can learn, the truth is that if you want to unlock your car without damaging it, you need professional help. So next time you lock your keys in the car, don’t head to the closet for a wire coat hanger. Instead, call the pros from RBM Lock & Key for fast and effective lockpicking service.

The Demise of the Slim Jim

In the past, people often used long, thin strips of metal called “slim jims” in order to open locked vehicles. The process was pretty simple, because all you had to do was stick the slim jim in between the window and the weather stripping and then fish around for the lock’s control arm and push it down. Today’s cars often have additional security features that make using the slim jim impractical. Plus, an amateur with a slim jim can pose a real danger to a car. It’s easy to damage the weather stripping and the locking mechanism if you don’t know what you’re doing. You’re much better off tossing that slim jim aside and getting a professional to come unlock your vehicle.

Professionals Treat Your Car with Care

A professional locksmith will have specialized tools at his disposal, which he can use to open car door, trunk, glovebox, or hatch locks without damaging the mechanism. Some locksmiths like to use “auto jigglers” or tryout keys in order to unlock car doors. These tools mimic the most common car key cuts and work by bumping against the tumblers or wafers in the lock and hopefully jiggling it open. This method is mostly trial and error, but at least it doesn’t pose any risk of damage to the car like the slim jim does.

Most locksmiths prefer to simply pick the vehicle locks using a set of professional lockpicking tools. This is easy for a trained and certified individual to do, and using the lockpicking tools rather than the tryout keys is often a point of pride. Whenever possible, a professional locksmith will unlock the passenger side, because the driver’s side locks on most new cars contain additional electronic security features that are best left undisturbed.

Dealing with High-Tech Locks

Sometimes your locks won’ open even if you have the key right in your hand. Nowadays, a broken lock isn’t necessarily purely a mechanical problem. You might also have problems with the electronics in the newer high-tech locks and keys. While an amateur lockpicker would be completely stumped in this situation, a professional locksmith will be totally unfazed. A locksmith from RBM Lock & Key can easily pick the lock and provide a replacement key, or even replace the entire lock from our store inventory if needed.