Locked Out

[LaRaeLong]

Hello, 

 

I am writing for my mother.  She has a 1990 Reatta. The key fob battery went dead. The doors are locked. The actual key will not open the door.  We have replaced the battery and can hear what sounds like the locks working but again, neither door will open.  The key fob will activate and open the trunk.

Does anyone have any ideas?  Is this a security feature?

 

Thank you in advance

LaRae

[D-a-n-i-e-l]

Sounds like bad lock cylinders.  Greg a metal hanger or another stiff bendable metal rod. And go fishing for th manual lock lever.

[AZVET]

Can you get a neighbor kid to crawl through the rear hatch from the trunk and unlock the doors?

[KDirk]

^ Not a bad idea except the hatch needs to be unlocked from the inside to get through it from the trunk. Are you sure you don't have the wrong door key? I find it hard to believe both door key cylinders have failed at the same time. Are they not turning at all with the key, or do they turn and nothing hapoens?

 

You can also try repeatedly triggering the unlock button on the fob, sometimes a weak power lock actuator will finally "make" after 4-5 attempts.

 

Otherwise, go fishing,  or call a locksmith to slim jim it, less likely to chew up the weather stripping that way.

[Ronnie]

6 minutes ago, KDirk said:

Are you sure you don't have the wrong door key? I find it hard to believe both door key cylinders have failed at the same time.

 

I agree. Try the key in the trunk lock. If it won't open the trunk you have the wrong key.

 

I also agree with repeatedly pushing the unlock button. It's common for the lock mechanism on the Reattas to stick. Pressing the unlock button several times might be required to get it to move all the way to the unlocked position.

[Barney Eaton]

You can get from the trunk to the passenger compartment......you must take the door at the front of the trunk apart while laying inside the trunk.

I locked the keys in the ignition with the car running and I got into the passenger compartment by taking the door apart.  

[Eclectic1]

I was working on my '90 coupe red/tan, when I locked myself out. All of my imagined solutions involved a locksmith.  Then my friend came by, asked for a coat hanger, bent a little hook on the end, and he had the door open in five minutes with no damage and very little struggling.  I couldn't even buy him a beer since he's been dry for years.