Locked out of car - help!!

Depends upon how much of the interior door locking button remains stuck up in the air, and what it's shaped like. In my early years in the police, when on duty, I used to carry around a three foot length of the heavy-duty plastic box-strapping, folded in the middle. This could be pushed past the rubber door seals more easily than a coat-hanger and without causing damage. Pushing one end or the other of the folded strap caused the 'loop' on the inside of the car to bend in or out and by doing this you could 'work' it over the door lock button, pull the strap tight, then gently ease it upwards to pull the button up and unlock the door. Of course, as car theft became more and more of a problem the manufacturers started making the buttons sit flush when the door was locked and consequently this method became useless. Many police stations used to keep biscuit tins full of car keys that people had handed in but were never claimed. Often with older cars you could hit on a key that would fit after a dozen or so tries. Again, however, as keys and door locks have become ever more complex, the chances of this working became ever more remote!

Kev

Call your local recovery company out, will probably cost £60 or so.

If there are big knobbly door lock buttons then you *may* stand a chance of catching it with something but it's usually easier to not try and go over the glass but *under*.

Make a U shaped bend on the end of your coat hanger that's wide enough to reach the underside of the door release button. Insert the wire downwards between the glass and the door panel past the rubber wiper seal. Then twist the wire through 90 degrees so that the loop is now passing underneath the glass and try jiggling it around the door release button.

With luck you'll be able to push the button up from underneath.

HTH

Tim

If the latch unlocks the button as it's pulled open (and it may or may not- have no idea) then you can also go for pulling the door handle. I've opened Fords by pulling the top of the door away from the seal and undoing the

*opposite* door handle this way. Don't pull the door too hard otherwise it may deform.

Failing that going under the glass as mentioned above is probably the best way.

Thanks for all your help guys, its now sorted.

We called the local recovery service and he opened it up in about 5 mins. He wedged the top of the door, put in a bag which he hand inflated to keep the door slightly ajar, and then used a long wire to push open the latch. Simple if you know how.

The message from "Scooby Doo" contains these words:

4-Door Corsas have a horizontal operating rod running along from the lock knob to the latch. I've found that if you prise up the rubber trim you can use a hook under the wire and a pencil with a rubber on the end on top to grip the rod and slide it backwards (or forwards, I forget which) and Hey presto! your rear door is unlocked.

The message from "Tim Downie" contains these words:

Corsas have a metal box round the stem, the hole for the stem is too small to allow another wire to enter with it.

what did it cost then? More than the value of the Corsa ;-)

You see this is the trouble with top posting. I completely missed you reply on the first couple of readings.

In news: snipped-for-privacy@individual.net, Scooby Doo decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows

Scrap it.

I despise Corsas

HTH

It cost my mate £60 cash. They asked for £65+VAT but we settled for cash.