Help! I'm Locked out of my car!

[Nemesis Destiny]

So I went to get in my car today to pop the trunk, and the keyfob wouldn't work. I figured it just has a dead set of batteries, so I tried the key in the door, but it wouldn't turn! Same with the passenger door. (I can get into the trunk but that doesn't help me very much, outside of what I went in there for in the first place.)

Going into the trunk also tipped me off to the fact that the alarm didn't sound at all, as confirmed by the lack of blinking LED on the dash. So I'm guessing dead battery. No lights were left on at all, nothing plugged into the cigarette lighter, and I've left it sitting longer than this (2 weeks) before and no problems.

Any ideas? Is it supposed to lock my ass out when the battery dies?

I have a roadside assistance plan that includes lockout service, so I can get in there if I need to. Anyone else ever need a lockout service? Anything prone to breakage by towtruck drivers jimmying the locks?

It's not super-urgent, but any help would be vastly appreciated

[Seraph]

Originally Posted by Nemesis Destiny

So I went to get in my car today to pop the trunk, and the keyfob wouldn't work. I figured it just has a dead set of batteries, so I tried the key in the door, but it wouldn't turn! Same with the passenger door. (I can get into the trunk but that doesn't help me very much, outside of what I went in there for in the first place.)

Going into the trunk also tipped me off to the fact that the alarm didn't sound at all, as confirmed by the lack of blinking LED on the dash. So I'm guessing dead battery. No lights were left on at all, nothing plugged into the cigarette lighter, and I've left it sitting longer than this (2 weeks) before and no problems.

Any ideas? Is it supposed to lock my ass out when the battery dies?

I have a roadside assistance plan that includes lockout service, so I can get in there if I need to. Anyone else ever need a lockout service? Anything prone to breakage by towtruck drivers jimmying the locks?

It's not super-urgent, but any help would be vastly appreciated

I can manually open doors on all of my SVXes without batteries....

[n00b on demand]

Yea no key fob over here. I manually lock and unlock my doors.

[Budfreak]

this has happened to me before. your lock motor in your door is likely froze up in the locked position. how about the pass. door? the tow driver will probally put an airbag in between your door and roof and use a hook to grab the door latch inside and pull it up. if the motors froze he won't even be able to do that though.i don't know how the guy at the dealership ever got them open.good luck

[Nemesis Destiny]

Yeah, I know most people can simply open their doors with a key... so I guess my lock / unlock motors must be somehow jammed in the lock position...

But I've noticed that whenever I have used the key, I still hear the sound of motors opening the locks. Since the car's main battery has expired though, that no longer occurs, obviously. I guess I'll just have to hope that the tow truck guys can open it up...

[Budfreak]

yes you'll hear the motors when the battery is good and you use the key. i heard mine die when it happened cause when i got out and locked the doors i heard the motor kinda drag real bad.did you notice it sounding slow lately?

[Nemesis Destiny]

Never really noticed it sounding slow, but then, I wasn't the last person to drive it either. My girlfriend took it to work that day, since I was going out of town, but she didn't mention anything.

I did get it temporarily jammed once this winter. I was being too hasty to try opening the door and pulled up on the handle while it was still unlocking and jammed it in the locked position. I managed to get it "unstuck" and it had been fine ever since... until now, that is.

I called my roadside assistance company to get it unlocked, so we'll see if that works. If not, I might be screwed. It's in my garage, so getting it out without being able to get in will be tough. Plus the nearest Subaru dealer is almost 200km away. Funny, that; living near the Motor City, and nary a Subie dealer for 200km...

[Nemesis Destiny]

The tow driver got into my car, though it was quite a hassle for him

Good to know they're hard to break into, at least without smashing a window.

The battery was in fact, dead, as a doornail. It wouldn't even boost. So I have it on the old trickle-charger for the afternoon and we'll see tonight about getting it started.

[Budfreak]

be careful when hooking up the battery cause something seriously juiced your battery to kill it like that.did you check the batt. with a voltmeter? but anyway, if the battery is in fact dead, it may spark real good when you hook it back up if something is draining it that bad.

[Earthworm]

Don't just check the battery. It's also possible there was a loose connection or the alternator died.