What To Do When The Locks Fail On Your Car
It is never fun to get locked out of your car but if the lock gets damaged or the electric locks stop working, you may be stuck on the outside looking in. If your car is under warranty, you might be able to get a dealer to work on it but when it comes to locks, the best guy for the job is the trained locksmith. Many commercial locksmiths offer automotive services along with the other work they do so if you need a lock changed, repaired or worked on, a locksmith is a good place to start.
Replacing The Lock Cylinders
Depending on the damage to the lock, the locksmith may have to remove the old lock cylinder and replace it with a new one. The advantage to having a locksmith do it is that the locksmith can normally rekey the new cylinder to the old key. If you are replacing just one lock, this is important. The last thing you need is to have different keys for different doors on your car, truck, or SUV. On cars with a keyless entry, this is not a big problem but older cars with keyed locks, too many keys would just become confusing.
Repairing The Lock
In some cases, the lock may not need to be replaced at all. If the locksmith can open the lock up and make adjustments or repairs to the cylinder, they may be able to save you some time and money. The locksmith will have to open up the lock and see what is damaged or worn to be able to determine if it is repairable or not. In some cases, the lock manufacturer may have built the lock in a way that does not allow for parts to be replaced.
Maintaining Your Locks
Once you have had the locks replaced or repaired, you should talk to the locksmith about what he recommends to maintain the locks going forward. He may suggest a little graphite in the lock cylinder. Oils are typically frowned upon as they can become gummy over time and cause the lock to not function as intended. If you live in colder climates, oil in the cylinder can really make it hard to turn the lock when the temperatures fall but there are products on the market that are not affected by the cold. If you have an issue with a frozen lock, de-icer can be used to remove ice from inside the lock cylinder.
For more information, contact companies like Scottsdale Locksmithing.
