Car lockout · summer heat
Keys locked in a hot car? Here's the order of operations.
Leo · RAXO Locksmiths
Published July 7, 2026 · Pre-tax. Manitoba RST + GST = 12%.
Keys locked in a hot car come down to one question: is anyone inside? If a child or a pet is in that car, call 911 right now — everything else on this page can wait. If the car is empty, take a breath: I open locked cars across Winnipeg for a flat $75 plus tax, without damage, and you get the price in writing by text before I drive over.
Winnipeg summers make this call more common than you'd think — running engines left for the air conditioning, trunk-loading at the beach, a door that locks itself while you're strapping a kid's bike to the rack. Here's the order of operations I'd give my own family.
TL;DR · two very different situations
Someone inside? 911. Car empty? $75.
The price is pre-tax, mobile, at your vehicle. The first card has no price on purpose.
A child or pet is in the car
Call 911 — right now
Heat inside a parked car climbs far past the outside temperature within minutes. Police and fire will open that door faster than anyone you can hire — glass is replaceable. Stay with the car so they can find it.
The car is empty
Non-destructive lockout
Flat rate, plus tax. Text your year/make/model and the lot you're in — firm quote first, pay after the door is open.
Full details on the car lockout page; every number on the pricing page.
If a child or a pet is inside, don't wait for anyone.
I mean that literally — don't wait for me, a tow truck, or the person with the spare who's twenty minutes away. Call 911 and stay with the vehicle. A car parked in the summer sun turns into an oven long before it feels dramatic from the outside, and the people who respond to those calls carry the tools and the authority to open the door immediately. A broken window costs a few hundred dollars; that's the cheapest bill you'll ever be glad to pay.
Everything below is for the other situation — the annoying one, not the dangerous one: the car is empty, the keys are staring at you from the seat, and you want back in without damage.
Car's empty? Here's how the $75 lockout works.
Text me where you are
Year, make, model, and the address or parking lot. You'll get a firm written quote back — $75 plus tax for a lockout, stated before I drive anywhere.
I open it without damage
Non-destructive entry — no broken glass, no pried door frame, no scratched paint. Your keys are sitting inside; the job is getting you to them cleanly.
You check, then you pay
Door open, keys in hand, engine starts — then you pay. Card, e-transfer, or cash at the car.
Honest hours, honest ETA
I work 7 am–9 pm weekdays and 7 am–1 pm weekends, and I quote a real arrival time — no "20 minutes" theatre. Overnight, CAA or a tow operator's door-unlock is your play.
The summer patterns I actually see.
These are the calls that repeat every July and August, in roughly this order:
- →Engine running for the air conditioning. You hop out "for one second," a door lock button gets bumped or the auto-lock does its thing, and the car idles happily with your keys inside.
- →Trunk-loading at the beach or the campground. Keys go down on the bumper or into the trunk with the cooler. Some cars lock everything when the trunk closes.
- →Out-of-town lockouts. I cover well past the Perimeter — I've taken lockout calls as far out as Portage la Prairie recently. Travel beyond the city is a mileage charge quoted in the same text as the job, one number, no meter. The service area page has the map.
Don't break the window (unless someone's inside).
For an empty car, breaking glass is the most expensive way in: the window itself, the cleanup, the days of driving with a garbage-bag door. The improvised routes — coat hangers, borrowed slim-jims — are how door frames get bent and paint gets scratched, and on newer cars they can do real harm along the window channel. A proper non-destructive entry costs $75 plus tax and leaves no trace. The math isn't close.
The one exception is the one that matters: a child or a pet inside a hot car. Then glass is cheap, minutes are not — 911 first, always.
The $75 you never have to spend.
Almost every lockout I attend has the same root cause: one set of keys. A spare key is $90+ plus tax, cut and programmed at your home on your schedule — and it turns the next lockout into a two-minute walk to the kitchen drawer. If you're heading to the lake this summer, I wrote up why a spare before the trip beats a rescue during it.
Common questions about hot-car lockouts.
A child or pet is locked in a hot car — what do I do?
Call 911 right away — do not wait for a locksmith, a tow truck, or anyone else, including me. A parked car in summer sun heats far past the outside temperature within minutes, and police and fire crews will get that door open fast; glass is replaceable. Stay with the vehicle so responders can find it. Every other question on this page is for the situation where the car is empty.
How much does a car lockout cost in Winnipeg?
A car lockout is $75 plus tax — non-destructive entry at your vehicle, no broken windows, no pried door frames. Text me your year, make, model, and where the car is parked, and you get a firm written quote before I drive over. You pay after the door is open.
Will you damage my car getting in?
No. I use non-destructive entry methods designed for the job — the damage you hear about comes from improvised coat hangers and slim-jims bending door frames and scratching paint. If the keys are locked inside, they are fine; the goal is to get you to them without leaving a trace.
My engine is running with the keys locked inside — can you come?
Yes — text me first with your location and I will give you a straight answer on my real arrival time. Engine-running lockouts are one of the most common calls I get in summer, because people leave the car running for the air conditioning and step out for one minute. If someone is inside the vehicle, skip me and call 911.
How I quote
Number first. Then work.
- ✓Written quote by text before I dispatch. The number you see is the number you pay (pre-tax), travel included.
- ✓Most makes on the road. Send your year, make, and model and I'll confirm yours before I come.
- ✓I come to you. Driveway, lot, campsite, or roadside — across Winnipeg and out to about 150 km.
- ✓Pay after it works. You watch the new key start the car, then you pay me on the spot. Never up front.
RAXO Locksmiths · 204-599-5117