What to do if the car door is frozen: quick ways to open the lock

One unexpectedly frosty night in winter and the next morning, a car owner who doesn't pay much attention to the weather forecast can't open his car because the lock is iced up or the doors are frozen. Almost all drivers have been in this situation at least once in their lives.

The problem is not easy, but not hopeless. There are many ways to quickly open a frozen lock. OBOZREVATEL has collected the most effective ones. At the same time, a list of methods that should not be used under any circumstances.

The hot key method

This is an old and quite effective method in that the car key must be heated so that it melts the ice in the lock with its own temperature. This can be done with a regular lighter or matches. But you'll have to be careful not to burn your hands or melt the plastic key head. It will be enough to make the key only warm to the touch – there is no need to heat it up. You may have to repeat the procedure several times.

A variation of this method is to defrost the lock with a hot cigarette lighter, which can be borrowed from another driver. After the device is heated, you will need to extend its spring-loaded part and apply it to the larva of the frozen lock.

The hot water method

Unlike a windshield, which cannot be cleaned of frost with a hot water bottle, this trick can be pulled off with a lock. Fill a plastic bottle or hot water bottle with hot water. Alternatively, use heated sand. Put this heat source against the lock and wait 2-3 minutes. This method works even in extreme cold, although you may have to repeat the procedure several times. In the same way, you can get rid of ice around the door that prevents it from opening. An important note: the water in the hot water bottle should not be too hot, as this can damage the paint.

The hot air method

If the temperature is not too cold – up to -3 degrees Celsius – you can even use your own breath to remove the ice from the lock. Fold your palms into a funnel, cover the lock with them, and blow into your palms several times. The thin ice should melt. If you have a cocktail straw, you can blow into the lock through it.

If it's colder than -3 outside and you have access to outlets on the lower floors of buildings, use a regular hair dryer connected to an extension cord. But don't blow the lock all the way through. Instead, make a few short blasts to avoid damaging the car's paintwork with the very hot air.

As a last resort, you can find another car owner who can help you defrost the lock with exhaust fumes. To do this, you will need to put a hose on the pipe of his car, start it up, and put the other end of the hose against the lock. The downside is that you need to find someone who will agree to help you and a hose of a suitable length, which is not always possible to do quickly.

The "liquid key" method

This is the name of a special de-icing agent that can be used to quickly and independently treat a lock. It is inexpensive and is sold, in particular, in online stores. Strictly according to the instructions, inject a certain amount of the product into the keyhole and wait for it to work. You can also use WD-40 spray for the same purpose.

It is important to note that a homemade "liquid key" based on a recipe from the same Internet can damage your lock. It's better to spend a few extra hryvnias on a quality product than to pay for a full-fledged repair.

The alcohol method

The freezing point of ethanol, or medical alcohol, is about -115 degrees, so it is quite capable of melting a thin crust of ice in a lock. To do this, draw alcohol into a syringe and slowly inject a maximum of 1 ml of liquid into the lock with a needle. If you inject more, you risk flooding the car's wiring.

Alternatively, you can apply the alcohol hand sanitizer gel directly to the car key. It is important to apply the sanitizer not too generously – in a thin layer.

The upside is that the alcohol-lubricated lock will not freeze for some time after opening it. The downside of this method is that it requires considerable care.

What not to do to open a frozen lock

Never apply additional force to turn the key. At best, you will break the key in the lock, and at worst, you will destroy the entire lock. If the key does not work, first try defrosting the lock using one of the methods described above.

Hot water can only be used to open the lock inside a container, such as a bottle, hot water bottle, etc. Do not just pour it on the door. Doing so risks flooding the car's wiring and damaging the paint and car parts with hot liquid. And even if you do everything very carefully and don't spoil or flood anything, you will still introduce even more water into the lock, which will freeze again the next night and you will have to start all over again. Do you really want to do that?

Physically chipping ice off the lock with sharp objects is also a bad idea. You can scratch the car parts and the paint on the doors.

If it's very cold outside, don't try to defrost the lock with your bare hands. Yes, your body heat should be enough for this. But you'll have to keep your hands on the cold metal for so long that you risk freezing your fingers rather than achieving any result.

There is an old-fashioned method of breaking the ice in the lock and on the door by tapping it with a hammer. Physically, it is quite possible. But even the description of this method sounds like some kind of barbarism. The "liquid key" is not that expensive to take such a risk.

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