How to Use the Wedge Tool for Auto Lockouts

If you've locked yourself out of your car, you may think your only option is to call the locksmith. There is another option, however, to get you back into your car. You can purchase a wedge tool, but you must decide between metal manual wedges, plastic wedges or air wedges.

Instructions

Plastic Wedge

1

Look at the plastic wedges first. These can be made of rubber or hard plastic. The rubber wedge will not damage the paint of your locked car.

2

Take a thin plastic wedge and slide it into the door of the locked car to pull it out slightly.

3

Place a common rubber or plastic doorstop wedge into the space created by the plastic wedge. This allows you to insert and use an unlocking tool to open the lock.

4

Use generic, wedge-shaped items as a replacements when proper wedges are unavailable.

Air Wedge

5

Use an air wedge when working on a frameless window. The air wedge helps protect the glass from breakage.

6

Slip a flat or slightly wedge-shaped piece of heavy material, such as wood or plastic, into the space between the window and door frame.

7

Slide the deflated air wedge between the car door frame and the car window. Make sure the air wedge has slipped all of the way past the window and into the locked car.

8

Pump up the ball at the end of the air wedge to fill it with air. Make sure you have a sleeve on the unlocking tool or you may cause the glass to break.

9

Insert the unlocking tool into the open area and push the lock to the unlocked position.

Manual Wedge

10

Pull a manual wedge out of your toolbox for heavy vehicles where nothing else appears to work. This metal wedge is a serious tool and can literally pull a door into two parts.

11

Protect the paint job. The manual wedge will remove the paint from wherever you use it unless you wrap a heavy cloth around the wedge before inserting.

12

Insert the manual wedge into the door frame and twist the handle to make the manual wedge fit tightly in the opening. As it tightens, the opening grows.

13

Reach in with an unlocking tool and unlock the door.