It's rarely dramatic. A grocery bag in one hand, the door swings shut, and the keys are sitting on the passenger seat. A fob left in the trunk after loading gear. A toddler in a rear-facing seat who found the lock button first. Lockouts are the most mundane roadside call there is — and also one of the fastest to resolve, if you know what to expect.

What happens when you call

A bilingual dispatcher answers, takes your location, and gets a truck moving before the call is even finished. Lockout jobs don't need a flat deck or a wrecker — just a technician and a set of tools — so the response is usually quicker than a full tow. While the truck is on the way, dispatch will ask a few quick questions to send the right help and to flag anything urgent.

What dispatch needs to know

  • Where exactly you are. A street address, a parking lot name and lane, or a highway number and the nearest exit. A dropped pin helps if you're not sure of the address.
  • Whether the engine is running. If it is, and there's a child or pet inside, say so immediately — that call moves to the front of the queue.
  • Make, model, and roughly how old the vehicle is. Lock mechanisms vary enough between manufacturers and model years that this shapes which tools the technician brings.
  • How the keys ended up locked inside. On the seat, in the trunk, or a key that snapped off in the door or ignition — each one points to a different fix, and the last one usually means a locksmith, not a lockout tool.

Non-destructive entry: how it actually works

On arrival, the technician works the door with non-marring tools designed to manipulate the lock or unlock button from outside the frame — no coat hangers, no prying, no damage to the paint, weatherstripping, or door panel. Most modern vehicles, including ones with manual locks and basic power locks, open this way in a few minutes. It's the same approach used across the industry, and it's why a lockout call is typically faster and less expensive than waiting on an independent locksmith, especially overnight.

When you need a locksmith instead

A lockout call gets you back inside the car. It doesn't make a missing or broken key reappear. A few situations shift the job to a locksmith or your dealer:

  • A key snapped off inside the lock or ignition. That's an extraction and repair job, not an entry job.
  • No working key exists at all. A lost fob or a key that needs to be cut and its transponder chip programmed to the vehicle's immobilizer requires locksmith or dealer equipment we don't carry on the truck.
  • A high-security aftermarket lock resists standard tools. Rare, but it happens on some modified or older vehicles.

If any of those apply, the dispatcher will tell you honestly rather than running up time on a call that can't be solved with entry tools alone — and can point you toward the right next step.

What it costs

Lockouts are priced like any other roadside call: by the service, not a guessed flat rate, and the price is quoted before the technician starts, not after. A daytime lockout in a parking lot and a 2 a.m. lockout on a rural shoulder aren't priced the same way, so ask the rate when you call rather than assuming a number in advance.

Do you already have coverage?

Worth checking before you worry about cost: CAA membership, Canadian Tire Auto Club, your auto insurance policy's roadside rider, a credit card's travel benefits, or your manufacturer's roadside program may cover a lockout outright. Call your provider first and request Dynamic Towing by name — we're a partner for CAA, Canadian Tire Auto Club, Allstate, Assistenza, DAA, AAA, and Urgently, but we can't open the claim on your end.

For the rest of what roadside assistance covers beyond lockouts — boosts, flat tires, fuel delivery, winch-outs — see our roadside assistance guide, or go straight to the roadside assistance page to see every service in one place.

Who you're calling

Dynamic Towing has been on Moncton's roads since 1990 — 24 hours a day, every day, in English and French, backed by CAA, Canadian Tire, and a 4.5-star reputation across hundreds of reviews. Whether it's a lockout, a boost, or a full tow, one call handles it. Get in touch and we'll have a truck moving before you hang up.