You walk out of a restaurant on East Sixth around 11:40 at night. You hit the door handle. Locked. You look through the window. There they are, sitting on the passenger seat where you left them an hour ago. The lot is half empty. Your phone has 38 percent battery. This guide is for that exact moment.
Read it on your phone and work the steps in order.
What Should You Do If You Are Locked Out of Your Car?
When locked out of your car, confirm your keys are inside, then try your manufacturer app (Toyota Remote Connect, FordPass, OnStar, and others unlock remotely). If that fails, call a licensed locksmith and get a flat-rate quote before dispatch. If a child or pet is inside, call 911 first. For a hot-weather version of this problem, see keys locked in a hot car in Austin.
For a full breakdown of every option and how it compares with roadside assistance, visit our car lockout service page. For what a daytime lockout costs, read the car lockout cost guide.
Step 1: Confirm the Keys Are Actually Locked Inside
Before you call anyone, take 60 seconds and sweep yourself first. Coat pockets, jeans pockets, the bag you carried in, the takeout box you put down, the seat of the chair you stood up from. Sometimes the keys turn up before anyone is dispatched. The check is free. The next step is not.
Step 2: Check Whether You Have a Remote Unlock Option
Many newer cars ship with a smartphone app that can pop the doors open from your phone. Run through the list:
- Toyota and Lexus: Toyota Remote Connect or Lexus Connected Services
- Hyundai and Kia: Bluelink and Kia Connect
- Tesla: the Tesla app, full unlock from anywhere
- Ford and Lincoln: FordPass and Lincoln Way
- GM (Chevy, GMC, Buick, Cadillac): OnStar through the myChevrolet, myGMC, myBuick, or myCadillac app
- BMW: My BMW app
- Honda: HondaLink
Two catches. First, several of these apps require an active paid subscription, and that subscription often lapses after the free trial. Second, some require a phone number or email confirmation from the registered owner, which is fine if you are that person and a problem if you are driving a friend’s car. If the app does not unlock, do not keep tapping. Move to step 3.
Step 3: Decide Between a Tow and a Locksmith
Two questions decide this for you.
Can the car safely sit overnight where it is? If you are at a hotel, a friend’s place, or a paid garage with overnight rates, the lowest-cost option might be to Uber home, sleep, and call a locksmith first thing in the morning.
Do you actually need the car tonight? If yes, a locksmith is usually the more direct route: one visit, one quoted price, and you drive away. A tow truck plus a dealer visit the next morning adds a tow bill and an extra day, and you still need to deal with the keys.
Step 4: Call a Licensed Locksmith and What to Ask
Three questions on the call protect you.
- “What is your Texas DPS license number?” Texas requires every locksmith company and every individual technician to be licensed. A real company answers this without hesitating. WOW Locks LLC holds Texas DPS (TOPS) license B10595301.
- “What is the total quoted before dispatch?” Get the number on the phone. Get any add-on fees named at the same time. Our standard car lockout is $89 before tax. An after-hours or distance add-on can apply, and every add-on is quoted on the call before dispatch.
- “What is the estimated arrival time, and what affects it?” A real local company gives you an estimate and tells you what moves it, such as distance and traffic. A national lead generation outfit gives you “as soon as we can.” That difference matters at midnight.
If a dispatcher refuses to give a flat rate, refuses to share a license number, or quotes a price that sounds too low to be real, hang up. Look at our pricing page for the published rates.
Step 5: Stay Safe While You Wait
If your car is in a well lit, populated area, stay near it. The technician needs to find both you and the vehicle, and a closed restaurant lot at midnight is easier to describe than “near a tree.”
If the area feels isolated, walk to a lit business or a hotel lobby that is still open and tell the dispatcher where you moved to. Share your location with a friend or family member through your phone’s native location sharing. Keep your battery in mind. Skip the social scrolling for ten minutes.
If you have any safety concern at all, call 911 first and the locksmith second.
How Much Does an Emergency Locksmith Cost at Night?
WOW Locks publishes an $89 base price for a car lockout, before tax. At night an after-hours add-on can apply, and any add-on is quoted on the call before dispatch. Ask for the total before anyone is sent, and do not accept a vague “it depends.”
See the published rates at our pricing page before you call.
What It Should Not Cost
Locksmith fraud is a documented problem, and the Federal Trade Commission has published consumer alerts on the pattern. The classic version is a Google ad promising a lockout for a few dollars, a phone call to a national dispatch center, an unlicensed technician arriving late, the lock drilled instead of picked, and an invoice for many times the quoted price. If a price sounds impossibly low, it is.
WOW Locks publishes its rate card at our pricing page, and every add-on is quoted on the phone before a truck moves.
How WOW Locks Handles Night Calls
WOW Locks is built for the version of this story that actually happens: a real person, late at night, in Austin, holding a dead phone. Texas DPS (TOPS) license B10595301. Dispatch runs 24/7, rates are published on the site, and every add-on is quoted on the call before dispatch. No bait price, no surprise ticket.
We serve Austin including East Austin, the wider metro, and late night lots from Mueller to South Lamar.
Call WOW Locks
Call any hour. Every add-on is quoted on the call before dispatch.
Visit our emergency locksmith page or our car lockout service page for the full service breakdown.
Call (844) 969-5625. Texas DPS (TOPS) license B10595301.