Winter can be brutal for your car. As the temperature drops below 32 degrees F., things begin to freeze. One of those things is the latches to your car doors. Once this happens, there is no way to enter the car to get it started. If you have to arrange for another ride to work or school, you could end up being late. However, you can get back into your car if you learn just a few tricks.
Put on your winter jacket and don't forget a pair of winter gloves. It will take a few minutes to unfreeze your locks, and you don't want to freeze yourself in the process.
Use an ice scraper to scrape off any ice or snow from your car. You must have the ice and snow out of the way before you can begin to thaw your door locks.
Use a blow dryer to heat up your car key. Stick the warm car key in the lock and let it sit for 60 seconds to warm up the area. Try turning it a few times and see whether it frees up your door.
Use the blow dryer directly on the key hole and near the door handle if the door still won't open. You will most likely need to attach the blow dryer to an extension cord to do this. Once the lock is warmed up, you will be able to open the door.
Pour rubbing alcohol over the key hole, door handle, and in between the crack of the door. Rubbing alcohol stops water from being able to freeze. Results are almost immediate.
