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View Full Version : OT - getting into locked car trunks



Carol Reed
04-29-2007, 10:11 AM
My friend has a Chevy Lumina. We have tried to get into her trunk. The key won't turn. Here is where we are at this point:

She swears it is the right key!
We've tried WD-40, liquid graphite, and silicone.

We tried to remove the back seat. There is some sort of cage behind that severely restricting the smallest of us to get in there and unlock it from that angle.

She is ready to drill it out, but we don't know how to do that.

We are all poor a church mice, so a locksmith is out of budget.

The car is a beater, so baling wire to hold it closed later is OK with her.

It getting close to time to move off campus. She needs her trunk.

I do have a full selection of drill bits and a cordless driver at hand. How DO you drill out a car lock?

Suggestions?

Thanks.

Doug Shepard
04-29-2007, 10:18 AM
If the car has 2 keys, one should be for the ignition and the other should be for all the door locks. Try that trunk key in the door locks to make sure you've got the right one. Also see if there is a 2nd set of keys. I've had key copies made where one would work, and another not work due to a burr so small you could hardly notice it.

glenn bradley
04-29-2007, 10:21 AM
This will sound brutal and I'm sure there is a better way. I got into my 1971 Malibu by inserting a large square-shanked screwdriver, put a wrench on the square shank and turned. This guts the lock housing. Be careful not to buckle the trunk lid sheet metal and a new lock from 'pick-a-part' can be mounted after the old one is removed all the way. In the mean time you can still latch your trunk and open it with a screwdriver. I did this 'temporarily' for about a year.

Jim DeLaney
04-29-2007, 3:52 PM
It's been a while since I've had anything GM, but I seem to recall that they have one key that will open everything, and a second 'valet' key that will only open the door and work the ignition - it WON'T fit the trunk or the glovebox. That may be the key you have.

Try the key in the door or the ignition, then in the glovebox. If it works the door, and not the glovebox, you have the valet key. You need the other one - assuming she even has it. She may have bought the car used, and only gotten the valet key with it.

David G Baker
04-29-2007, 4:03 PM
I have a 2000 Toyota that has a trunk lock that will not work with a key. I think the cause is the Winter road salt. I tried WD40, according to the locksmith that was the wrong approach. I have the interior lock release so I can access my trunk so it isn't a major issue. I was quoted $125 for a replacement.
If you know any police they may be able to advise you or maybe a tow truck driver.