Locked keys in your car in Columbus? Our lockout service is fast and non-destructive, whether it is a car door or a trunk. Our trained technicians use professional entry tools and take care to avoid scratching paint or damaging door seals.
Call (740) 812-9489Locking your keys in the car is one of the most frustrating experiences on the road. It can happen to anyone — at the grocery store in Grove City, in a parking garage downtown, or at a gas station miles from home. Roadside Towing & Recovery Inc provides fast, professional door lockout service across Columbus that gets you back in your vehicle without damage.
Our technicians use professional-grade lockout tools — inflatable air wedges and long-reach tools designed for modern vehicles — rather than the coat hangers and slim jims that damage door frames, wiring, and weather seals on today's cars.
We handle all vehicle types and lock systems including traditional key locks, electronic locks, push-button start vehicles, and vehicles with keys locked in the trunk. If we cannot unlock it, we will tow it to a locksmith at no additional charge for the tow.
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If a child or an animal is locked inside, especially on a warm day, call 911 before you call anyone else, including us. A closed car heats up quickly in the sun, and Toyota's owner's manual is one of many that warns heat build-up inside a vehicle can be fatal to children. Police and fire crews can force entry, and we cannot promise to get there first.
Then call us at (740) 812-9489 and say a child or pet is inside. Those calls get immediate priority dispatch. If the child can reach a door button or the fob, try talking them through it while you wait.
What Ohio law says about breaking in yourself:
Most push-button cars try to stop you from locking the fob inside. Toyota's manual, for example, says the door will not lock with the electronic key left in the car. The same manual then adds the catch: depending on where the key is, the car may not detect it and the door may lock anyway. The system works on weak radio signals, and a fob in a metal travel mug, next to a phone or laptop, or with a weak battery may simply not be seen.
A dead fob battery is a different problem, and often not a lockout at all. Many fobs, Toyota's included, hide a mechanical key blade inside. Slide the release, pull the blade out and use it on the driver's door. Toyota tells owners to carry that blade with the fob for exactly this reason.
Phone-as-key cars are the newest version. Tesla's manual tells owners to carry the key card as a backup in case the phone has a dead battery or is lost. If your phone died and the card is at home, the fix is a charged phone or the card, not a door tool: opening the door will not make the car drivable without one of them. If the phone is fine but the whole car is dead, that is a 12V battery problem; see our jump start and EV and Tesla towing pages.
Yes. Dispatch runs 24 hours a day across the Columbus metro, and lockout calls go to the nearest truck carrying entry tools. Most metro calls are reached in 20–40 minutes; outer communities usually take 40–60. Call (740) 812-9489 or send your location from the SOS page.
Check every door and the trunk once, then stay with the vehicle and call us. Do not try a coat hanger or a screwdriver: on a modern car that bends the frame, tears the weather seal and can pull wiring in the door. If a child or pet is inside, say so when you call — those calls get immediate priority.
Our technicians use non-destructive entry tools and take care to avoid damage. If something goes wrong, we make it right — see our Terms of Service.
Most vehicle lockouts take 5-15 minutes once our technician arrives. Some newer vehicles with advanced security may take slightly longer.
Yes. Push-button start vehicles still have physical door locks. Our tools access the cabin so you can retrieve your key fob.
We unlock the cabin first, then use the interior trunk release to access your keys. This works on virtually all modern vehicles.
Often yes. Our lockout service is a flat $75 plus en-route at $4 per mile from our yard and sales tax (after-hours and weekend surcharges may apply) — build an exact total on our online quote page. We are typically faster because we are already on the road with mobile equipment.
In the rare case we cannot unlock your vehicle, we will tow it to a locksmith at no additional charge for the tow service.
Push-button cars are designed not to lock with the fob inside, but it is not foolproof. Toyota's owner's manual, for example, says that depending on where the key is, the car may not detect it and the door may lock. The system runs on weak radio signals, so a fob inside a metal container, next to a phone or laptop, or with a weak battery may not be seen. We open the door without damage and you get the fob back.
Maybe not. Many fobs, including Toyota's, have a mechanical key blade hidden inside. Press or slide the release on the fob, pull the blade out and use it in the driver's door. Toyota's manual also shows how to start the car when the fob battery is dead; check yours. If you cannot find the blade or the lock will not turn, call us and we will open the door.
If the car is outside, leave it running, stay nearby and call us; tell dispatch it is running. If it is running inside a closed garage, get out, leave the garage door open and call 911 if anyone feels unwell, because exhaust builds up fast in an enclosed space. Once we arrive, opening a running car is the same job as any other door lockout.
Ohio gives bystanders civil immunity for damage caused by forcing entry to rescue a child (Ohio Revised Code 2151.88) or an animal (959.133), but only if every condition is met, including a reasonable belief of imminent danger, trying to reach 911 first, leaving a note on the windshield, staying until responders arrive and using no more force than necessary. Call 911 first in every case.
Only partly. On a phone-key car such as a Tesla, the manual tells you to carry the key card as a backup for exactly this. Without the card or a charged phone, we may be able to open a door, but the car still will not drive. The quickest fixes are charging the phone or having someone bring the card. If the car itself has no power, that is a 12V battery problem, which we handle with a jump.
No. We unlock cars; we do not cut, program or replace keys or fobs. If the key is lost or broken, a locksmith or the dealer has to make a new one. We can tow the car to either.
Call 911 first, every time, then call us at (740) 812-9489. Police and fire crews can force entry immediately, and a sealed car gets dangerously hot fast; Toyota's owner's manual is one of many warning that heat inside a vehicle can kill a child. Once 911 is on the way, tell our dispatcher a child or pet is inside. Stay at the car, keep talking to the child and follow the 911 operator.
It might. A factory alarm can treat a door opened without the key as a break-in, so expect some honking and flashing lights. The noise does no harm to the car. Once the fob is back in your hand, the alarm usually stops when you press a button on the remote, unlock with the fob or start the engine; Toyota's manuals list those methods, and your own manual names the one for your model.
Yes, on one call. With a flat battery the fob cannot unlock the doors and the power locks will not respond, but our entry tools do not rely on the car's electrical system at all. We open the door so you can grab the keys, then jump the car and test the battery. Mention both problems to dispatch so the truck comes ready for each.
Yes. The air wedge and long-reach tool work the same way on a pickup, SUV, minivan or cargo van as on a sedan; a taller door just means a longer reach. Give dispatch the year, make and model so the technician knows what lock layout to expect. For a box truck or other commercial vehicle, describe it on the phone and dispatch will tell you whether a lockout visit is the right fix.
Partly. If the car is locked and the key cannot open it, we can still get a door open with our entry tools so you can get inside. Pulling a snapped blade out of a lock or ignition, repairing a lock cylinder or making a replacement key is locksmith or dealer work, and we do not do it. If the car cannot be driven afterward, we can tow it to a locksmith or the dealer.
Roadside Towing & Recovery Inc provides fast, professional door lockout service throughout the Columbus, Ohio metro area. Our trained technicians use professional tools to unlock your car without damage in Dublin, Westerville, Grove City, Reynoldsburg, Hilliard, Powell, Gahanna, Upper Arlington, Worthington, and all surrounding communities.
Locked your keys in your car? Do not try to break in yourself or use improvised tools that can damage your vehicle. Call Roadside Towing & Recovery Inc for professional, non-destructive car lockout assistance available 24/7.
Our lockout service covers all vehicle types including sedans, SUVs, trucks, luxury vehicles, and push-button start cars. We also provide emergency priority response for children or pets locked in vehicles.
Flat $75 + $4/mi en-route
Lockout service is a flat $75 plus en-route at $4 per mile from our yard — no loaded-mile charge. Surcharges when they apply: after-hours (10PM–6AM) +$150, weekend +$50, large vehicle +$100. Ohio sales tax is added based on the pickup county.
Pay by cash, debit or credit card, or online by card through Stripe (3% card fee). Booking by phone adds a $35 scheduling fee that the online quote builder waives. Veterans: 10% off with a military or VA ID, applied by the driver when you show it.
These are industry-standard full retail rates. You can get our VIP customer rates by downloading our ROADSIDE app through the VIP Program.
Build an exact quote online — it uses this same published rate card.
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Roadside Towing & Recovery Inc (dba Columbus Roadside Towing).
Corporate office (private, no walk-ins): 3879 Regatta Ct, Lewis Center, OH 43035
Tow yard & impound lot: 1620 Harrisburg Pike, Columbus, OH 43223
(740) 812-9489 · chris@columbusroadsidetowing.com