Car Lockout Service NJ | Keys Locked in Car, 24/7 Help

Car lockout

What a damage-free car lockout from The NJ Towing Service includes and what it does not

A car lockout is a technician dispatched with inflatable wedges and long-reach tools who opens your locked car or trunk without touching the glass, the wiring or the weatherstrip, for one flat price, and checks your ID and registration after entry; we open doors, we do not cut or program keys.

Every car door can be opened without damage by somebody who knows how. Most car doors can be damaged in thirty seconds by somebody who does not. A coat hanger down the window channel on a modern car meets a shielded lock rod, a side-impact airbag sensor and a bundle of wiring, and the repair for a torn harness is far more than the cost of the call you were trying to avoid. Our technicians open the door the way a dealer would: an inflatable wedge to create a gap, a long-reach tool to work the handle or the unlock button, and nothing that touches the glass edge or the wiring.

We are a towing company, which matters for one reason on a lockout call. If the key is lost rather than locked inside, we get you into the car and can tow it to a dealer or an automotive locksmith from the same call to (908) 444-0129. What we do not do is cut or program keys. If you need a key made, a mobile locksmith is the right call, and we will say so.

The wedge and the reach tool, not a slim jim

An inflatable wedge slips into the top of the door frame and is pumped up slowly, spreading pressure across the frame instead of prying on one point. That creates a gap wide enough for a long-reach tool to work the interior handle, press the unlock button or pull the lock knob. The tool never goes down the window channel and never touches the lock rods, which is where the damage on a slim-jim job happens.

What we check after the door is open

ID, and registration or an insurance card from the glovebox. It takes a minute and it protects you: we open cars for owners and people the owner sent, not for anyone who points at a car in a lot. If the paperwork is in the car, that is fine; we check it once the door is open.

One flat price, quoted before the tech leaves Linden

A lockout is one flat rate, the same at 2 a.m. on a holiday as at noon on a weekday, with no fuel surcharge. The dispatcher gives you the number on the call. See how every roadside assistance price is built.

No membership, no hour-long wait for a contractor

Roadside plans route your lockout to whoever accepts it. We are the company that shows up, from a yard at Exit 13 of the Turnpike, one exit from the Parkway. Most plans reimburse an out-of-network lockout with the itemized receipt we give you.

Locked out right now? A tech opens the door without damage. Child or pet inside: call 911 first, then us.

Call (908) 444-0129 All roadside services

How it works

From the locked door to the open one: what happens on a car lockout call, step by step

You tell the dispatcher where the car is, where the keys are, and the make and model; the dispatcher quotes the flat lockout price and an arrival window; the tech opens the door with a wedge and reach tool, checks your ID and registration, and you are on your way.

Step one: where the car is, and is anyone inside it

Gas station, store lot, driveway, street, parking deck. The name of the place and, in a deck, the level. Then the question the dispatcher asks first on a hot or cold day: is a child or a pet in the car? If yes, call 911 at the same time as us. Whoever arrives first gets them out, and an officer can break a window if the tech is more than a few minutes away. The car is not the priority.

Step two: where the keys are and what kind they are

On the seat, in the ignition, in the trunk, or lost. A metal key in the ignition with the engine running is a straightforward door open. A fob in the trunk of a push-button car is a door open followed by a trunk release from inside. A lost key is a door open followed by a decision about where the car goes, because we do not make keys.

Step three: the make and model

It tells the tech which door opens easiest, where the unlock button is, whether the car has a frameless window, and whether the trunk can be released from inside. On a few models the trunk cannot be opened without the fob at all, and the dispatcher will say so before you pay for a visit.

Step four: the price and the arrival window

One flat rate for the lockout, quoted on the call. An arrival window based on where the nearest tech is. In Linden, Elizabeth, Rahway, Roselle, Union, Cranford and Clark that is usually well under half an hour. Toward Morristown or Hackensack, 35 to 45 minutes, and the dispatcher says so.

Step five: the open, the check and the receipt

The wedge goes in, the door opens, the tech steps back. You show ID and registration. You get the itemized receipt for your roadside plan. If the key is in the trunk and the seat folds, you get your key; if it does not, the tech works the trunk release. Five to fifteen minutes, start to finish.

Where the car is, where the keys are, and the make and model. That is the whole call.

Call dispatch now What to have ready

Where lockouts happen

Where people lock their keys in the car in our territory: gas pumps, store lots, driveways and parking decks

Most lockout calls come from gas stations on Routes 1 & 9, Route 22 and Route 27, the Woodbridge Center, Menlo Park and big-box lots, driveways across Union County in the morning rush, train station lots, and parking decks in Newark, Jersey City and Hoboken.

Keys get locked in cars during a thirty-second errand. These are the errands, and what the tech knows about each location.

Gas stations on Routes 1 & 9, Route 22 and Route 27

The classic call: paid at the pump, went in for a coffee, door locked behind you with the engine running. The stations along Routes 1 & 9 through Linden and Elizabeth, Route 22 through Union and Springfield and Route 27 through Rahway and Roselle are inside our fastest zone. Say the station and the pump number.

Woodbridge Center, Menlo Park, and the big-box lots on Route 1 and Route 22

A cart unloaded into the trunk, the keys set down in it, the lid closed. On most cars the seat folds and the tech reaches the key from inside; on the rest the trunk release from the cabin does the job. Give the store name and the section of the lot.

Driveways in Westfield, Cranford, Scotch Plains, Summit and Union at 7 a.m.

Bag on the seat, keys in the bag, door shut, school bus coming. A driveway lockout is the easiest job we do and the one people feel worst about. The tech is usually there inside twenty minutes in Union County.

Train station lots at Linden, Rahway, Elizabeth, Cranford, Westfield and Metuchen

Keys locked in the car at 7 a.m. and discovered at 6 p.m. We can meet you at the lot when your train arrives. Tell the dispatcher the station, the lot and the row, and the time you will be there.

Parking decks in Newark, Jersey City, Hoboken and Bayonne

A deck blocks phone signal and hides cars. Note the level and the nearest pillar number and stay near the car so the tech can find you. The tools are small and a tight space is no problem; the wedge works in a spot where you cannot open the door fully.

Highway shoulders and rest areas

Stepped out to check a tire on Route 22 or I-78 and the door locked. The tech shields the scene with the truck the same way as on a tire change. Say the road, the direction and the exit. If you are in a service area lot on the Parkway or the Turnpike, say which one; the lot is off the roadway and a direct dispatch. On the Turnpike or Parkway shoulder itself only the Turnpike Authority's authorized garages may work; call us anyway and the dispatcher points you to the Authority's roadside help.

Gas pump, lot section, driveway or deck level: say which and the tech goes straight there.

Call (908) 444-0129 Every town we cover

Keyless lockout

Opening push-button cars, fobs locked inside, trunks, frameless windows, trucks and vans without damage

Push-button cars with the fob inside, keys in the trunk, frameless-window cars and commercial cabs each have a specific entry method; the tech chooses it from the make and model you give the dispatcher.

The method that opens a 2005 pickup in thirty seconds can damage a 2024 sedan. These are the cases where the make and model changes what the tech does, and why the dispatcher asks.

Push-button start with the fob inside

Most keyless cars will not lock with the fob inside, but a fob with a weak battery, a fob in a metal box or a bag lined with foil, or a fob left in the trunk fools them. The door is opened normally with the wedge and reach tool. Once inside, the car sees the fob and everything works.

Keys in the trunk

The door is opened first. If the rear seat folds, the tech reaches the trunk through the cabin. If it does not, the interior trunk release does it. On a small number of luxury models the trunk is isolated from the cabin and cannot be opened without the key; the dispatcher will tell you if your car is one of them before sending a tech.

Frameless windows: coupes, convertibles and some sedans

A frameless door has no top rail to wedge against and the glass drops slightly when the door opens. The tech works from the top corner of the glass with a soft wedge and a protective sleeve so the edge is never stressed. It is slower and it is the job where a slim jim does the most damage.

Trucks, sprinter vans and box-truck cabs

A commercial cab has a different door structure, higher windows and, on box trucks, a separate roll-up door with its own lock. We open the cab door damage-free and, if the cargo door is the problem, tell you whether it can be opened or needs a locksmith. Fleet accounts get a direct line; see heavy duty towing.

Older cars with vertical lock knobs

The easiest open there is: a wedge and a hooked reach tool lift the knob. Thirty seconds. The tech still uses the wedge rather than forcing the frame, because a bent door frame on a 2003 Camry whistles at highway speed for the rest of its life.

Electric vehicles

A Tesla or other EV with the phone key inside or a dead 12-volt battery cannot be opened by the handle. The tech knows the manual door release and, for a dead 12-volt, the jump access point that lets the car boot and unlock. See jump start for that case.

Tell us the make and model and where the keys are. The tech arrives with the right tools and the right method.

Call (908) 444-0129 Jump start for a dead EV

Lockout cost

How much a car lockout costs in New Jersey and what is in the flat price

A car lockout from The NJ Towing Service is one flat price that includes dispatch, the damage-free open and the trunk release if needed, with no night, weekend, holiday or fuel surcharge and no membership.

One flat rate, quoted on the call

The dispatcher gives you the lockout price before the tech leaves Linden. Same number at 2 a.m. as at noon. No extra charge for a trunk release, a frameless window or a commercial cab. If the dispatcher knows your car is one of the few that cannot be opened without the key, you are told before anyone rolls.

What happens if the key is lost

The lockout price gets you into the car. If you then need the car moved to a dealer or a locksmith, that is a local tow quoted on the same call. Or you can have a mobile locksmith come to the car and cut a key; the tech will tell you which is cheaper for your situation.

Paying and reimbursement

Cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and cash on site. The itemized receipt shows the location, the service and the amount. AAA and most other roadside plans reimburse an out-of-network lockout up to their limit.

Why the number is not on the page

Because a driveway in Roselle and a parking deck in Hoboken at midnight are not the same call. The quote takes thirty seconds on the phone and it is exact. Call (908) 444-0129 and ask; you owe nothing for asking.

Get the exact lockout price in thirty seconds. Asking is free.

Call for a quote Towing prices explained

Lost car keys

When a lockout is not the whole problem: lost keys, dead fobs, broken keys and immobilizers

A lockout tech opens the door; if the key is lost, the fob is dead, the key is broken in the lock or the immobilizer does not recognize it, the fix is a locksmith or a dealer, and we can tow the car there from the same call.

About one lockout call in six turns out to be a key problem, not a door problem. The dispatcher asks where the keys are because the answer changes what happens after the door opens. Here is how to tell.

The key is lost, not inside

We open the door so you can get your belongings and the registration. Then you need a key. A mobile automotive locksmith can cut and program most keys at the car. A dealer can do all of them. We tow the car to either from the same call if that is easier than waiting.

The fob battery is dead

Most fobs hide a mechanical key inside. Slide the release, pull the blade, and there is usually a keyhole under a cap on the driver's handle. To start the car, hold the fob against the start button or in the marked slot. If that works, you do not need us; you need a coin battery from any pharmacy.

The key broke off in the door or the ignition

That is a locksmith job. We can open the door so you are not stuck outside, but extracting a broken key and cutting a new one is not something a lockout tech does roadside.

The spare key opens the door but will not start the car

The immobilizer does not recognize the spare's chip. Programming it needs a dealer or a locksmith with the right equipment. We can get you into the car and tow it there.

The car's 12-volt battery is dead and the doors will not respond

On many modern cars a dead battery means no power locks. There is usually a mechanical keyhole under a cap on the handle. If you have no metal key, the tech opens the door with the wedge and then does a jump start so the car boots.

A child or a pet is inside

Call 911 and then call us. A police officer can break a window if the tech is more than a few minutes away, and on a hot day that is the right decision. The car is replaceable.

Tell the dispatcher where the keys are. If the answer is a locksmith, we say so before you pay for a visit.

Call (908) 444-0129 Local towing

Damage-free entry

Why a coat hanger or a slim jim on a modern car costs more than the lockout call

Modern doors carry shielded lock rods, side-impact airbag sensors and wiring harnesses behind the window channel; a wire or slim jim pushed down the channel can tear the harness, disable the airbag sensor or scratch the glass, and the repair is many times the price of a professional open.

What is inside a car door today

A door built in the last twenty years is not a shell with a lock rod in it. It holds the window regulator and motor, the speaker, the side-impact sensor for the airbag, the wiring for the mirror, the lock actuator and the handle, and a plastic moisture barrier over all of it. The lock rod, if there is one, is shielded by a plate specifically so a tool from the window channel cannot reach it. A slim jim goes in blind and either does nothing or catches something it should not.

What goes wrong

A torn wiring harness that kills the window and the mirror. A disconnected lock actuator that leaves the door unlocked forever, or locked forever. A side-impact sensor knocked off its mount and an airbag light that will not go out. A scratch down the inside of the glass from the edge of the tool. A weatherstrip torn where the coat hanger went in, and wind noise at highway speed for the life of the car. None of these is cheap and all of them are common.

What a wedge and reach tool do instead

The wedge spreads pressure across the top of the door frame over several inches, so the frame flexes evenly and springs back. The reach tool goes through the gap into the cabin, above the glass, and works the handle or the button the way your hand would. Nothing enters the door itself. When the door opens and the wedge deflates, there is no mark.

Why we ask for ID afterward

Because the method is safe and fast, it has to be used only for the owner. ID and registration take a minute once the door is open and protect you from the alternative. If the paperwork is in the car, we check it there.

The door opens without a mark and the airbag light stays off. That is what you are paying for.

Call (908) 444-0129 Roadside assistance

While you wait

What to do while you wait for a lockout tech at a gas station, a lot, a deck or a highway shoulder

Stay with the car so the tech can find you, turn off the engine from outside if a window is cracked, keep your phone charged, note the deck level and pillar number if you are in a garage, and on a highway shoulder stand behind the guardrail away from traffic.

Stay with the car

The tech is coming to the car, not to you. If you have to go inside a store to wait, tell the dispatcher and keep the phone on so the driver's call gets through.

If the engine is running

A running car locked at a gas pump is a safety issue for the station and a theft risk for you. Tell the attendant. If a window is cracked far enough to reach the lock or the start button, the tech may not even be needed; try before you wait.

In a parking deck

Note the level and the nearest pillar number. Decks block phone signal; if the driver's call does not come through, he will find the car from what you told the dispatcher. Stay where you can see the car.

On a highway shoulder

You are outside the car, which is the dangerous place to be. Get behind the guardrail, well away from the vehicle, and wait for the truck. The tech shields the scene the same way as on a tire change.

If a child or a pet is inside

You have already called 911. Stay at the car, shade the window if it is sunny, and talk to the child. The first responder to arrive gets them out, by any means.

Stay with the car, phone charged, level and pillar noted. Now call. The tech calls you back before he arrives.

Call dispatch Contact page

After the lockout

After the door is open: spare keys, fob batteries and the habits that end the next lockout

Keep a spare mechanical key somewhere that is not inside the car, replace the fob's coin battery every year or two, and never set the keys down in the trunk or on the seat while loading.

A spare key that lives outside the car

A spare in the glovebox is not a spare. A spare in your wallet, at home, or with a family member is. For a fob car, the mechanical blade from the second fob in your wallet opens the door even if it will not start the engine.

Change the fob battery before it dies

A fob that needs two presses, or works only up close, is telling you the coin battery is going. They cost a couple of dollars at any pharmacy. A dead fob is how keyless cars end up locking with the fob inside.

The trunk rule

Keys go in a pocket before the trunk lid goes down. Every trunk lockout we do is somebody who set the keys in the trunk to free a hand.

If the key was lost

Get the replacement cut and programmed this week, not next month, and get two. A car with a single key is one bad day from another lockout that we cannot solve with a wedge.

Door open, keys in hand, and a plan for the spare. That is what a lockout from us includes.

Call (908) 444-0129 All services

Service area

Car lockout service by county: every town within 45 minutes of Linden

Lockouts are dispatched from Linden to 163 towns in Union, Middlesex, Essex, Hudson, Somerset, Morris, Monmouth, Bergen and Passaic counties, with Union County and the neighboring parts of Middlesex and Essex in the fastest zone.

Zone 1: Linden, Elizabeth, Rahway, Roselle, Union, Cranford, Clark, Newark, Carteret, Woodbridge

Under twenty minutes on a normal day. The gas stations on Routes 1 & 9, Route 22 and Route 27, the Woodbridge Center, the Union County station lots and the driveways where most lockouts happen are all in this zone.

Zone 2: Edison, Metuchen, New Brunswick, the Oranges, Montclair, Bayonne, Jersey City, Hoboken, Watchung

Twenty to thirty-five minutes. Menlo Park and the Route 1 retail, the Rutgers lots, the Hudson County decks, the Essex commuter towns and Route 22 into Somerset.

Zone 3: Morristown, Somerville, Freehold, Hackensack, Fort Lee, Paterson

Thirty-five to forty-five minutes, longer at rush hour, and the dispatcher says so. If a mobile locksmith would be faster for a lost-key situation out there, we say that too.

Inside the map? A tech is one call away. Tell us the town and the dispatcher gives you the real arrival window.

Call (908) 444-0129 See the full map

Frozen locks

Frozen car locks, doors iced shut and fobs that quit in the cold: winter lockouts in New Jersey and what actually opens the car

In a New Jersey winter a car that will not open is usually a frozen lock cylinder, a door seal iced to the frame, a fob battery weakened by the cold, or a 12-volt battery that died overnight and took the power locks with it, and each one is opened differently; never pour hot water on the glass or force a frozen handle, because the repair costs more than the call.

The week after an ice storm the lockout board looks different. Fewer keys on the seat, more drivers standing beside a car they have the key to and cannot get into. These are the winter calls from driveways in Cranford and Westfield, the station lots at Rahway and Metuchen and the open decks in Newark and Jersey City, and what the tech does on each.

The door seal is frozen to the frame and the handle will not pull the door open

Freezing rain runs into the gap between the door and the body and freezes the rubber seal to the paint. The lock works, the handle releases the latch, and the door does not move. Pulling harder tears the seal or bends the handle, and the handle on a modern car is a plastic assembly wired to a sensor. Try another door; the passenger side or a rear door often opens because the ice formed unevenly, and once you are in, the heater does the rest. If every door is stuck, the tech works the ice with a de-icer and a plastic blade along the seal line, never a scraper on the paint. This is a quick call in Union County and the tech carries what it needs in January.

The lock cylinder is frozen and the metal key will not turn or will not go in

Water in the cylinder freezes the wafers. Forcing the key is how keys snap in the lock, and a snapped key is a locksmith and not a lockout. A commercial lock de-icer or a key warmed in your hand for a minute usually works; a lighter on the key does not and it damages the chip in the head. If the driver's cylinder is frozen and you have a fob, use the fob, and if the fob is dead too, see the next block. The tech carries de-icer and a heated cylinder tool, and if the key is already broken off in the door he opens the car with the wedge so you are not standing outside while you wait for a locksmith, as the lost keys section explains.

The fob battery is weak and quits below freezing

A coin battery that reads fine at sixty degrees drops its voltage in the cold, and a fob that worked in the heated garage in Hoboken does nothing in a Route 22 parking lot at ten degrees. Warm it in your hand or an inside pocket for a few minutes and try again from close to the driver's door. Most fobs hide a mechanical key; slide the release, pull the blade and find the keyhole under a cap on the driver's handle. If the blade turns a frozen cylinder, you are back to the previous block. Once inside, hold the fob against the start button. A fob that only works warm needs a battery from any pharmacy, not a tech, and the dispatcher will say so before sending one.

The 12-volt battery died overnight and the doors will not respond to anything

The most common winter lockout is not a lockout. The battery went flat in the cold, the power locks have no power, the fob does nothing and the interior lights are dark. Cars with a mechanical keyhole open with the blade in the fob; cars with a hidden cylinder or no cylinder at all are opened with the wedge and the reach tool, and then the tech does a jump start so the car boots and the locks work again. Say on the call that the lights are dark and the fob does nothing, and the dispatcher sends one tech with both the lockout kit and the jump pack so you do not pay for two visits. The roadside assistance page covers the load test that follows.

The car is running in the driveway with the doors locked and the keys inside

Remote start locks the doors, and a driver who walks out with a coffee and no fob finds a warm car he cannot get into, idling toward the remote-start time limit. The same thing happens at the pump on Routes 1 & 9 when someone locks the car with the key in the ignition. It is a normal lockout, opened with the wedge and the reach tool, and the tech treats it as a priority because a running car in a closed garage is a carbon monoxide problem; if the car is running inside an attached garage, open the garage door before you call. Do not break a window to reach the keys; the window on a modern door costs more than the call and the tech is minutes away in Elizabeth, Linden and Roselle.

Frozen shut, dead fob or dark dash: say which and the tech comes with the right tool and the jump pack if it is the battery.

Call for a winter lockout Jump start service

Rental lockout

Locked out of a rental car, a company van, a car-share or a car registered to someone else: proof of ownership and how the open works

We open rental cars, fleet vans, car-share vehicles and cars registered to a spouse or an employer the same damage-free way, and after the door opens we accept the rental agreement, a fleet card or account, the car-share app or the registration plus your ID as proof you are entitled to be in the car, because the check protects you and the owner equally.

About one lockout in five is a car that is not registered to the person calling. That is normal in a territory with an airport, two dozen rental branches on Routes 1 & 9, car-share fleets in Jersey City and Hoboken, and thousands of company vans. The tech still checks, and what he checks changes with the car. The dispatcher asks on the call so you have the right document ready when the door opens and nobody stands in a lot in Newark arguing about a registration that is in a leasing company's name.

Rental cars from the airport lots and the branches on Routes 1 & 9

Rental companies have their own roadside line, and it usually pages a contractor and takes an hour. You are allowed to call whoever you like; the rental agreement in the glove box, on the app or in your email is your proof, along with your license, and the tech opens the door the same way as any other car. A rental with the fob locked inside is opened normally; a rental whose key is lost is a call to the rental company for a spare or a swap, and we can tow it to the branch if that is faster than waiting. Keep the receipt; many rental agreements and most credit-card rental coverages reimburse the lockout. The Hudson County page covers the airport-adjacent zones and the Jersey City decks.

Company vans, fleet pickups and cars on a business account

A driver locked out of a work van in a customer's driveway in Edison or a box truck cab in a Carteret warehouse lot is losing billable time, not just a morning. Fleet accounts set up through the contact page get a direct line and monthly invoicing, and the account is the proof, so the driver does not need to produce a registration that lives in a file at the office. Without an account, a company ID and the registration or insurance card in the cab is enough. Cargo doors with separate padlocks or roll-up locks may need a locksmith; the tech says so before he touches them. The heavy duty towing page covers what happens when the fleet unit also will not start.

Car-share cars, app-unlocked cars and a phone that died

Car-share vehicles unlock from an app, and a dead phone or a lost signal in a Hoboken or Jersey City deck leaves a driver outside a car with the key inside. First call the car-share support line; they can often unlock remotely. If they cannot, or the wait is long, we open it and the reservation on your account, once the phone is charged or on a friend's phone, is the proof. A car lockout in Jersey City is a common version of this call at night when the deck attendant is gone. Do not let a passerby try a wire down the window channel of a car you do not own; the damage is charged to your account.

Your spouse's car, your parent's car, a leased car, or a car you are buying

The registration says a leasing company or a family member and the ID says you. That is fine. A registration or insurance card that shows your address, a phone call to the registered owner on speaker, or an insurance card that lists you as a driver all work. For a car you have just bought, the bill of sale and the seller's registration do it. What the tech will not do is open a car for someone who cannot connect themselves to it at all, and he explains that before he starts rather than after the door is open. It takes a minute and every driver who has ever had a car broken into understands why the minute matters. The roadside assistance page describes the same ID step for every service.

Rental, fleet, car-share or family car: tell the dispatcher whose name is on it and what you have, and the tech knows what to ask for when the door opens.

Call for a lockout Fleet accounts

Related services

Lockout, jump, tire, fuel or tow: the other roadside services that start with the same call

The same dispatcher sends a lockout tech, a jump start tech, a tire tech, a fuel delivery or a tow truck; you describe what happened and the right service is chosen and quoted.

When the lockout becomes a tow

The key is lost and the nearest dealer is across the county. The door is open, the car is a local tow to the dealer or the locksmith, quoted on the same call. AWD and electric vehicles go on the flatbed.

When the lockout came with something else

Locked out because the battery died and the doors would not respond: jump start after the open. Locked out at a gas pump because you were out of gas: fuel delivery. Describe what happened and the dispatcher sorts it.

One number for all of it. Describe what happened and the right tech or truck is sent.

Call (908) 444-0129 All services

Car lockout facts

Car lockout service in New Jersey at a glance: tools, coverage, hours, price structure and what to have ready

A car lockout from The NJ Towing Service is a technician with inflatable wedges and long-reach tools dispatched from Linden 24/7 to 163 towns in nine counties, the door or trunk opened without a mark, for one flat price quoted on the call with no surcharges and no membership.

Service	Damage-free car lockout: the door or trunk opened without touching the glass, the wiring or the weatherstrip, then an ID and registration check; we open doors, we do not cut, program or replace keys
Tools used	Inflatable wedges and long-reach tools that work the interior handle or unlock button; nothing goes down the window channel; a jump pack rides along if a dead 12-volt battery took the power locks with it
Vehicles handled	Cars, push-button and keyless cars with the fob inside, keys locked in the trunk, frameless-window cars, pickups and work-van cabs, rental, fleet and car-share vehicles, cars registered to a spouse or employer, EVs with a dead 12-volt
Not a lockout	A lost key, a key broken in the lock or ignition, a fob that needs programming or an immobilizer that rejects the key is a locksmith or dealer job; we still open the door and can tow the car there from the same call
What to have ready	Where the car is (gas pump, lot and row, deck level and pillar, or cross streets), where the keys are (seat, trunk, fob inside), make and model, and after the door opens your ID with the registration, insurance card, rental agreement, fleet account or car-share app
Coverage	163 towns in Union, Middlesex, Essex, Hudson, Somerset, Morris, Monmouth, Bergen and Passaic counties, every one within about 45 minutes of Linden dispatch; Turnpike and Parkway shoulders are served by the Authority's authorized garages; book with us and we take the car from the exit or the garage's lot
Response	Usually well under 30 minutes in Union County and the neighboring parts of Middlesex and Essex; 35 to 45 minutes toward the edge of the map, longer at rush hour or in a storm; a real window is quoted on the call
Pricing	One flat price that includes dispatch, the damage-free open and a trunk release if needed, quoted before dispatch; no night, weekend, holiday or fuel surcharges; no membership; no charge to ask
Payment	Card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or cash on site; itemized receipt by text or email, which most roadside plans and insurers accept for out-of-network reimbursement
Hours	24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every holiday
Phone	Tap to call

Everything about a lockout fits in one table. Getting back into the car fits in one call.

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Car Lockout by town

Car Lockout in every town we serve: 163 car lockout pages across 9 New Jersey counties

Car Lockout is dispatched from Linden to 163 towns; each town below has its own car lockout page with the roads, the lots, the neighborhoods and the price structure for that town.

Pick your town for the local car lockout page. Every one is the same phone number, the same flat quoted price and the same 24/7 dispatch; what changes is the drive time from Linden and the roads the truck comes in on.

Car Lockout in Hudson County: 12 towns

Bayonne and Jersey City via the Turnpike extension; Hoboken and the Gold Coast within the hour any time of day. Bayonne · Jersey City · Kearny · Harrison · East Newark · Secaucus · Hoboken · Union City · Weehawken · West New York · North Bergen · Guttenberg. County page: towing in Hudson County.

Car Lockout in Somerset County: 16 towns

Route 22 and I-287 towns — Watchung, Bridgewater, Somerville and the Bound Brooks. Watchung · North Plainfield · Green Brook · Warren · Bound Brook · South Bound Brook · Bridgewater · Somerville · Raritan · Manville · Franklin Township · Hillsborough · Basking Ridge · Bernardsville · Bedminster · Branchburg. County page: towing in Somerset County.

Car Lockout in Morris County: 11 towns

Up Route 24 and I-287 — Chatham, Madison, Morristown and Parsippany. Chatham · Madison · Florham Park · East Hanover · Hanover · Whippany · Morristown · Morris Township · Morris Plains · Parsippany · Montville. County page: towing in Morris County.

Car Lockout in Monmouth County: 14 towns

The Parkway and Route 9 south — Matawan, Hazlet, Holmdel, Middletown and Freehold. Matawan · Aberdeen · Keyport · Hazlet · Union Beach · Keansburg · Holmdel · Middletown · Marlboro · Manalapan · Freehold · Colts Neck · Red Bank · Atlantic Highlands. County page: towing in Monmouth County.

Car Lockout in Bergen County: 26 towns

Southern Bergen along Route 17, Route 46 and the Turnpike — the Meadowlands towns through Hackensack and Fort Lee. North Arlington · Lyndhurst · Rutherford · East Rutherford · Carlstadt · Wood-Ridge · Moonachie · Little Ferry · Ridgefield · Ridgefield Park · Palisades Park · Fairview · Cliffside Park · Edgewater · Fort Lee · Hasbrouck Heights · Teterboro · Lodi · Garfield · Saddle Brook · Elmwood Park · Bogota · Hackensack · Teaneck · Englewood · Paramus. County page: towing in Bergen County.

Car Lockout in Passaic County: 9 towns

Clifton, Passaic and Paterson by way of the Parkway and Route 21. Clifton · Passaic · Paterson · Little Falls · Woodland Park · Totowa · Wayne · Haledon · Prospect Park. County page: towing in Passaic County.

Do not see your town? If it is within 45 minutes of Linden we cover it. Call and ask.

Call (908) 444-0129 Full service area

Car lockout FAQ

Questions drivers ask before calling for a car lockout in New Jersey

The answers below cover arrival time, price, proof of ownership, damage, trunks, fobs, lost keys and children or pets inside; dispatch answers anything else live.

How much does a car lockout cost in NJ?

A car lockout is one flat price, not hook plus mileage, because the car is not going anywhere. It covers the dispatch, the damage-free open with wedges and reach tools and a trunk release if the keys are back there, and the dispatcher quotes it before the technician leaves Linden. The number does not change with the hour, the day, the weather or the town, and there is no night, weekend, holiday or fuel surcharge and no membership. It changes only if the problem is the key rather than the door, when the tow to a locksmith or dealer is quoted as hook plus mileage and you pay that, not both. Call (908) 444-0129 and ask; the quote is free.

How fast can you get to me for a lockout?

Inside Union County and the neighboring parts of Middlesex and Essex, usually well under 30 minutes. Toward the edge of the 45-minute area, 35 to 45 minutes. The dispatcher gives you a real window on the call.

Do you need proof it is my car?

Yes. Once the door is open we ask for ID and registration or an insurance card. It takes a minute and it protects you.

Will the door, the glass or the weatherstrip be damaged?

No. The inflatable wedge spreads the pressure across the frame and the reach tool works the handle from inside the cabin. Nothing goes down the window channel and nothing touches the glass edge or the wiring.

My keys are in the trunk. Can you get them?

Yes on almost every car. The door is opened first, then the tech reaches the trunk through a folding seat or uses the interior trunk release. On a few luxury models the trunk cannot be opened without the key, and the dispatcher will tell you if yours is one.

Can you make me a new key?

No. We are a towing and roadside company. We open the door and can tow you to a dealer or an automotive locksmith if the key is lost, or you can have a mobile locksmith come to the car.

My fob is dead and the doors will not open. What do I do?

Most fobs hide a mechanical key. Slide the release, pull the blade and look for a keyhole under a cap on the driver's handle. To start the car, hold the fob against the start button. If that works, you need a coin battery, not a tech.

A child or a pet is locked in the car. What should I do?

Call 911 first, then call us. An officer can break a window if the tech is more than a few minutes away, and on a hot or cold day that is the right call. Stay at the car and shade the window.

Can you open a truck or a work van?

Yes. Commercial cabs are opened the same damage-free way. Cargo doors with separate locks may need a locksmith, and the tech will tell you.

Can you open a Tesla or another electric vehicle?

Yes. The tech knows the manual door release and, if the 12-volt battery is dead, the access point to jump it so the car boots and unlocks.

Do you need my roadside plan or insurance?

No. You pay us directly and we give you an itemized receipt. Most roadside plans reimburse an out-of-network lockout with that receipt.

My car door is frozen shut and the key will not turn. What should I do before you arrive?

Try the other doors first; ice forms unevenly and the passenger or a rear door often opens. Warm the key in your hand, not with a lighter, which damages the chip. Do not pour hot water on the glass or the lock, and do not yank a handle that will not move, because the handle and the seal cost more than the call. If the interior lights are dark and the fob does nothing, the battery is dead and the tech brings the jump pack along with the lockout kit. Say which of these it looks like on the call and the right tools are on the truck.

Can you open a rental car, a company van or a car that is not in my name?

Yes. The door is opened the same damage-free way. After it opens the tech asks for something that connects you to the car: the rental agreement and your license, a fleet account or company ID with the registration in the cab, the car-share reservation on your phone, or a registration or insurance card that shows your name or address. A call to the registered owner on speaker works for a family car. Rental companies and most credit-card rental coverages reimburse the lockout with our receipt.

When is a locksmith the better call than a lockout tech?

When the problem is the key, not the door. A key broken off in the lock or the ignition, a lost key with no spare anywhere, a fob that needs programming, or a lock cylinder that no longer works with the correct key are all locksmith jobs. We will still open the door so you are not standing outside, and tow the car to a dealer or locksmith if that is cheaper than a mobile visit to a far corner of the map. The dispatcher tells you which before anyone rolls, so you do not pay for a lockout that does not solve the problem.

Question not here? The dispatcher answers it in one sentence and quotes the lockout in the next.

Call (908) 444-0129 Contact

Damage-free car lockout service in New Jersey, a technician to any town within 45 minutes of Linden, 24 hours a day