A child or a pet inside: call 911 first
A closed car in the California sun heats up fast. Cabin Overheat Protection or Dog Mode may be running, but from outside you cannot tell, and if the car has lost power neither is doing anything. If a child or an animal is inside, call 911 before anyone else. A window is cheap next to the alternative.
How a Tesla knows it is you
Most Tesla lockouts come down to one of three ways in no longer working, so it helps to know which one you have:
- Phone key. Your phone, paired to the car over Bluetooth, unlocks it as you walk up. It needs the phone switched on, Bluetooth on, and the Tesla app allowed to run in the background. A dead phone or a phone left inside is the most common way people get stuck.
- Key card. The thin card in your wallet. On a Model 3 and a Model Y you tap it on the reader on the driver's side pillar between the doors. It needs no battery, so if you have it, you are in.
- Key fob. Standard on older Model S and Model X, optional on others. Its coin battery does run down, and a weak fob works only at very close range.
Behind all three sits the car's own 12V battery. The doors, the handles and the card reader all run from it, not from the big battery that drives the car. If the 12V battery dies, none of your keys can open the car, however charged the main battery is. That is the lockout that surprises people most. Our guide to chip keys and key fobs explains how car keys talk to cars in general.
What to try before calling anyone
- Find the key card. It is the backup Tesla built for exactly this, and it works with a dead phone.
- Restart your phone and toggle Bluetooth. A phone key that has stopped responding often comes back after a restart.
- Use the app from any phone. Log in to your Tesla account on another phone, or ask someone at home to, and press unlock. It works as long as the car has signal, so it can fail in an underground garage.
When the 12V battery is dead
A car that ignores the app, the card and the fob all at once, with no lights when you walk up, almost always has a dead 12V battery. The main battery can be full and the car still will not open, because the doors and the card reader run from the small battery, not the big one.
That is not a problem for us: we open a Tesla with or without power. Once you are inside, charge it or book Tesla service: a 12V battery that has died once usually dies again.
Why a Tesla is harder to open than most cars
Teslas are not like older cars, and a locksmith who treats them the same can break something expensive:
- No keyhole. There is no lock cylinder on the door to pick or decode. The car only knows your phone, your card or your fob.
- Frameless glass. The Model 3, Model Y and Model S have no metal frame around the door glass, so the usual tricks at the top of the door put the window itself at risk.
- Electric doors. The handles and the door locks are electronic and run from the 12V battery. When it dies, the car gives no way in from outside at all.
- No spare key in a drawer. The key is usually a phone, so there is no forgotten second key at home that someone can bring over.
- The Model X. Its Falcon Wing doors are a design of their own and are not something to experiment with.
That is why a Tesla lockout is a job for someone who opens Teslas regularly. We do, on every model, without damage, with or without power, and usually within minutes of arriving. If the keys are locked in the trunk or the front trunk, we open a door first and use the release from inside.
What works when
| What happened | What gets you in |
|---|---|
| Phone dead or left inside, card with you | Tap the key card on the pillar reader |
| Phone dead, no card, someone at home | Unlock from the Tesla app on their phone, if the car has signal |
| Phone dead, no card, nobody to call | A locksmith opens the car; your phone key works again once it is charged |
| Nothing responds, no lights | Dead 12V battery: a locksmith opens the car anyway, then charge it |
| Underground garage, app cannot reach the car | Key card, or a locksmith on site |
| Fob works only up close | Replace the fob's coin battery |
What to have ready
Expect to show that the Tesla is yours: your ID and the registration or insurance card, or the car showing in your Tesla app once your phone is back. We check before we drive away. Text us the model and year, where the car is, and what is not working (phone, card, or nothing at all), and we will send a price and an arrival time before we set off.
After the lockout
Keep a key card somewhere other than the car: your wallet, or a spare at home. If you lost your only card, add a new one in the car's Locks menu with a key that still works; you need one working key to pair another. If every key is gone, start with Tesla service. For keys on other makes, see our guide to losing a push-to-start fob.
Any other car, from a pickup to a family SUV, is covered on our car lockout page, and our general guide to keys locked in the car covers what to do with any make. For a lockout at night or on the shoulder of the 5 or the 14, see emergency lockouts.
Where we open Teslas
Driveways, home garages, office lots, Supercharger stalls and the roadside across Santa Clarita, Valencia, Stevenson Ranch, Canyon Country, Northridge, Sherman Oaks, Woodland Hills, Calabasas and the rest of our service area, 24 hours a day.
Questions people ask
Can a locksmith open a Tesla without damaging it?
Yes. We open Teslas regularly, on every model, and nothing is pried, nothing goes inside the door panel, and nothing touches the paint or the frameless glass.
My Tesla is completely dead and will not respond to the app or the card. Can you still open it?
Yes. A dead car is a dead 12V battery, not a dead main battery, and we open a Tesla with or without power. Once you are inside, charge it or book Tesla service.
My phone died and I do not have the key card. What now?
If someone at home has the Tesla app logged in to your account, they can unlock the car remotely as long as the car has signal. If not, we open it for you. Once you are inside with your phone charged, the phone key works again.
Do you need to prove the Tesla is mine?
Yes, every time. Your ID with the registration or insurance card, or the car showing in your Tesla app, is enough. We check before we leave, because a locksmith who opens a car without asking would open anyone's car.
Can you make me a new Tesla key card?
A Tesla key card has to be paired inside the car with a key that already works, so a new card from Tesla is usually the simplest route once you are back in. If every key is gone, start with Tesla service; we can still get you into the car while you sort it out.
A child or a dog is locked inside my Tesla. What do I do?
Call 911 first. Cabin Overheat Protection or Dog Mode may be keeping the cabin cool, but you cannot see that from outside and you should not count on it. Emergency services will act faster than anyone else.