No matter how many years you drive on the roads, nothing quite strikes fear into a driver like having a breakdown or emergency situation unfold. Life tends to throw challenges at us right when we least have the capacity to deal with them, though, right? Well, as many a driver can attest, road emergencies always seem to happen when you can spare no time!
If you have ever found yourself standing in the delightful rain of winter while your car won’t respond to your keys, or waiting for a tow wagon to arrive to save the day, you know how this can feel. Whether your car keys have broken, gone missing, or you have another problem with your car, you might need some professional help. The context of who you need to hire becomes very important – if your car starts to smell of smoke or the engine gives out, you call a mechanic or a repair group like the AA. If your car won’t open, though, you probably will get more help from an auto locksmith.
We recommend having a number for both breakdown emergency and auto locksmith support services saved in your phone. You never know when you need them, and you can’t rely on having Wi-Fi to access the web when disaster strikes, can you?
In the case of hiring an emergency locksmith Sheffield, some of the most particular reasons you might target one would include:
An Old-Fashioned Car Lockout
Obviously, the most common – and practical – reason to call an auto locksmith is due to your car locks not working. Now, the reasons for this can be so extensive that working out why is never easy. Getting locked out can come down to all manner of reasons, not least a touch of bad luck or ill timing. Sometimes, it could be down to something as simple as your key breaking (see below).
Some modern cars also have auto-locking functions fitted, too; that could force the doors to lock as soon as they close. If your door happens to close behind you while the keys are lying in the glove compartment, you could be in quite a predicament!
We highly recommend saving a professional auto locksmith into your phonebook. You never know when you might need a professional to save the day due to a car door’s auto-locking!
Your Car Locks Are Damaged
Locks are usually quite sturdy things, but all it takes is a combination of wear and tear and physical impact from a particularly forceful entry attempt to cause your car locks to malfunction. Locks that are not working as they should means your car locks might simply not respond as they should – nightmare!
If you run into a problem where your car doors will not open – or worse, will not lock – call a local emergency auto locksmith. The sooner they can respond, the sooner they can get your car back on the road without you having to ‘MacGyver’ together a temporary solution.
Your Keys Have Been Lost/Stolen
Sadly, key loss and key theft remain common problems reported to the police. Keys can be easily lost, right? All it takes is a moment or two of lost concentration for your keys to leave your sight. If you have lost your keys, there is always the worry that someone else has them, but also the hope that they turn up again. If your keys have been stolen, though, you have a much more serious issue to deal with. That is why we always recommend you invest in a key GPS tracker!
Professional locksmiths can help you either way, thankfully. They could replace your lost car keys with new ones that are tailored for your car doors’ specific lock types. They could also, if needed, change the locks on your car, which means the old missing/stolen keys no longer work. Either way, a professional can help you resolve the problem through key replacement or lock changing.
Your Keys Have Stuck/Broken
Now, when we hear about someone having their keys break in the ignition or the car door, we often raise an eyebrow. Who does that actually happen to? More people than you might think, by the way!
Broken keys can happen due to all manner of reasons, from wear and tear on the key itself to something lodged in the car door lock that causes the key to bend on resistance. Your keys might even just have worn down and become brittle. In our experience, trying to self-remove that broken key is not a good idea. You could end up with key fragments lodged within your locks, which is never easy to deal with. Luckily, a local auto locksmith can remove the damaged/broken key with minimal risk of additional damage or the need for full-scale lock replacements for your car.
False Flag Alarm Signals
While altogether less common, we have often seen reports of people getting locked out of their cars due to a security-driven lockout. Car alarms are designed to both alert people to the potential break-in of the car, but also put the car into a lockdown mode. Sadly, alarm systems can be falsely set off due to faults with the alarm system, with your car keys, or even an issue with the immobiliser in your car. The reasons are numerous, but while it’s good to know your car alarm lockout features work, it is an annoyance when it locks you out!
Auto locksmiths can disable the alarm, diagnose the issue, work out what caused the alarm to go off, and then fix the problem with your car lock(s). Whether the fault is with your fob, your keys, your alarm system, or anything else, an expert should be able to fix the problem for you.
Faulty Transponders
Going back to your keys for a moment, transponders tend to be the bane of your existence when they start acting up. Most modern car keys have transponders fitted within them, which allow the keys to talk to your car’s immobiliser systems. This means that nobody can clone just the shape of your key; they need that awesome little microchip within the key to communicate with the immobiliser system.
Transponders in keys can begin to wear out due to all manner of issues. Have you dropped your keys a few times recently? Have they been dropped into potentially damaging substances, like water or glue? Sometimes, it is as simple as the battery is dying and needs to be replaced. All manner of reasons could cause your car to no longer speak to your key, thanks to a lack of transponder-immobiliser communication. Luckily, you don’t need to take your key and your car to therapy!
Instead, you just need to hire a locksmith who can diagnose the problem and devise a solution to get your car keys working again. Usually, a locksmith can fix the transponder problems without having to get the auto dealership you bought the car from involved, saving you valuable time and money.
Conclusion: Take Signs Of Lock Problems Seriously!
Locksmiths can do a lot more than just fix the locks in your front door or fit a new snib on your shed. No, locksmiths can provide you with a comprehensive solution to just about any problem you run into with your locks. Now, you can get back to using your car without worrying about your locks failing or, worse, not being able to get into your car at all. Always be prepared for the worst-case scenario by having a locksmith ready to call as soon as your car locks start acting up.
