Trunk Lockout across greater Los Angeles, Ventura County & the Bay Area.

This page explains trunk lockout: what the job includes, what to have ready, honest limits and what sets the price.

A trunk lockout is a locked trunk, hatch or tailgate with the keys inside it, or a trunk that will not release even though you are in the car. On most vehicles the trunk is reached through the cabin: once the doors are open, the interior release lever, the fob button or the fold-down rear seat gets the lid up. When the cabin route is blocked, because the valet lockout is set, the car has no cabin release, or an electric latch has no power, we pick or decode the trunk cylinder where the car has one, or restore power so the latch will fire.

We dispatch across greater Los Angeles, Ventura County, Silicon Valley and the Bay Area; see the city pages for local detail. The dispatch line at (888) 492-0666 is answered around the clock.

• Ownership and ID check before anything is opened (registration or insurance card; if it is in the trunk or glove box we confirm it as soon as the car is open)
• Non-destructive entry to the cabin first when the doors are locked too, since the trunk is almost always opened from inside
• Interior release lever, fob or dash button, or the rear-seat pass-through and the emergency release handle inside the trunk
• Picking or decoding the trunk cylinder when the valet lockout is engaged or the car has no cabin release, with the cap and surrounding paint protected
• For electric latches on a dead battery: steady 12V applied at the under-hood jump terminals so the latch releases, or the manufacturer's manual release where one exists
• Check of the latch, striker and weather seal, and resetting any valet or trunk-lock mode so the release works again
• A key cut from the door lock if the trunk is keyed alike and the keys turn out to be lost rather than locked inside

• Trunk closed with keys inside
• Pop-trunk button failed
• Lost the key after closing the trunk
• Battery dead with smart trunk
• Trunk lock cylinder seized

• Photo ID plus registration or insurance card
• Year, make, model and body style: sedan, hatchback, wagon, SUV, convertible or pickup
• Whether the whole car is locked or only the trunk
• Whether the valet lockout or trunk-cancel switch was set (a glove-box switch on many Honda, Acura, Nissan, Infiniti and Mazda models; a trunk main switch inside the trunk on Toyota and Lexus; valet mode on Mercedes and BMW)
• Whether the car has power; an electric latch does nothing on a dead 12V battery
• Whether the rear seats fold and whether the seatback release is reachable from the cabin

Typically 10-30 minutes when the trunk can be reached through the cabin. A valet-locked trunk with the cylinder under a cap, a car with no trunk cylinder at all whose latch has lost power, or a deadlocked European sedan that has to be picked at the door first pushes it to 30-60 minutes.

• Many late-model cars have no trunk cylinder; the lid releases only electrically, so a dead 12V battery has to be brought back to voltage before anything else will work
• Valet lockout disables the cabin release and the fob button on purpose; on cars that also hide or omit the cylinder, the only route is a key cut from the door lock or from code
• Deadlocked cabins (double-locked BMW, Mercedes, VW, Audi and others) must be picked at the door cylinder before the trunk can be reached from inside
• Tesla and some other EVs release the trunk and frunk from the screen, the app or a working key card; with no 12V power the manufacturer's procedure for powering the car up comes first, and we confirm on the phone whether we can help
• A latch that has mechanically failed (snapped release cable, jammed latch, bent striker) is a repair rather than a lockout; we can usually get the lid open, but the repair is quoted separately
• Locked pickup tailgates, bed covers and truck toolboxes use their own locks and are quoted as a separate job
• We do not open a trunk for anyone who cannot show the vehicle is theirs to open

The quote depends on the time of day, how far we travel, whether the cabin is also locked, and which route gets the trunk open: a cabin release or seat pass-through is the simplest case, picking a capped trunk cylinder or restoring power to an electric latch takes longer, and a trunk that needs a key cut because the keys are gone becomes a key job. You get the number in writing before we start.

The dispatcher gives you a range on the phone, and the technician confirms a written quote before any work starts.

Payment is by Cash, Credit Card, Debit Card, Apple Pay and Google Pay, and you receive an itemized receipt listing what was done.

• Trunk cylinders on the same keyway as the doors: HU66 (VW/Audi), HU92 (BMW), HU64 (Mercedes), HON66 (Honda/Acura), TOY43 and TOY48 (Toyota/Lexus), NSN14 (Nissan/Infiniti), HY22 and KIA7 (Hyundai/Kia), B111 (GM), Y159 (Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep)
• Valet lockout and trunk-cancel switches: glove-box switch (Honda, Acura, Nissan, Infiniti, Mazda), trunk main switch (Toyota, Lexus), valet mode (Mercedes, BMW, Audi)
• Electric trunk and hatch latches with no cylinder on many sedans and SUVs from the late 2000s onward, plus Tesla trunk and frunk latches
• Fold-down rear seats with lockable seatback releases (some BMW, Mercedes, Lexus and Infiniti sedans)
• Pickup tailgate locks keyed to the door key, and aftermarket bed-cover and toolbox locks from Bauer, Weather Guard and similar makers

A dealer orders the key by VIN and usually needs the vehicle at the dealership, which can mean a tow if you have no working key. A mobile locksmith comes to the vehicle, cuts and programs on site, and usually finishes in one visit. The dealer is the right call when the make requires dealer-only programming or a security gateway the locksmith cannot access. The dispatcher tells you which applies once they have your year, make and model; we cover most makes and model years and confirm on the phone.

We dispatch across greater Los Angeles, Ventura County, Silicon Valley and the Bay Area; see the city pages for local detail. For trunk lockout, the city pages list ZIP codes, nearby communities and any local access notes.

Greater Los Angeles includes the San Fernando Valley, the Westside, the South Bay, the San Gabriel Valley, the Gateway Cities, the Santa Clarita Valley and the Antelope Valley. Ventura County includes the Conejo Valley and the coastal cities. In the Bay Area we cover Silicon Valley, the Peninsula and the southern East Bay.

For trunk lockout, tell the dispatcher your address and what is wrong. You get an ETA before anyone is sent, a written quote before any work starts and a receipt when it is done. The line is answered around the clock.

One & Only Locksmith is bonded and insured; a certificate of insurance is available on request.