Winter has Finally arrived here in St. George, Ut and that means you might suddenly wake up to find your locks frozen and not working. First thing don’t panic there are some home methods you can use to free up the lock.
What not to do.
Don’t pour hot water into the lock or try to knock and chip away the ice. The water could get inside the car door and just freeze later or damage electronics inside the car door. Chipping the ice could cause damage to the paint or break the lock entirely.
What you can do.
Try another door
Usually only one door lock will be frozen. Try the passenger door to see if the lock is free. Once inside you can start the car and warm up the locks.
2 . Use your Breath.
Often the there is little ice in the lock and simply using something like a toilet paper tube to blow hot air will be enough to though the ice.
3. Heat the Key
Be careful when using this method by wearing gloves and do not use on your primary key as it can damage the electronics in a remote head key or transponder key. Take a lighter to slightly warm the tip of the key and work it into the lock. This can warm the wafers and free up the lock.
4. Hair Dryer
If you have an extension cord to reach simply using a hair dryer to warm and thaw the lock works great.
5. Deicer ,WD-40, or Hand Sanitizer
You can always find a product just for this situation at your local locksmith shop or hardware store. If not some other hacks that work great that can be found around the house are hand sanitizer and WD-40. The alcohol found in hand sanitizer will burn through the ice rather effectively. As for WD-40 if you spray the lock the night before it can help winterize the lock by removing any condensation built up.
If none of these solutions work or you don’t want to damage the lock call your local Auto locksmith and they can safely get you back into your car and on your way.
