Explaining the Different Kinds of Car Locks

You only realize the importance of the car lock when you see the number of cars that are stolen every year or if you find out that someone wanted to, but couldn’t, steal your car.

For perspective, nearly $6 billion worth of cars were stolen in 2018—nearly 228.9 cars were stolen per 100,000 people. Although this is far lower than the rates back in the early 90s, having your car stolen is still a pain.

This brings us to a very important question—do you know what locks are installed in your car and how they can protect it?

See, many people don’t give their car locks any attention and don’t really factor in security considerations when purchasing a car. The car locks depend on the model and car manufacturer, but there are four basic types of car locks. These include:

The Standard Key Lock

This is the most basic and inexpensive lock that you’ll find. This is the old-school, turn-key lock mechanism that people don’t use in newer cars anymore. These work with metal keys that are serrated at the edges to match the locking mechanism to unlock it. The locks can be picked by someone, but it’s also much easier to find duplicate keys for these locks.

Electronic Locks

These locks work with key fobs and use a remote to lock or unlock the car from a distance. They also have an built-in break-in alert system that uses an alarm to tell you if someone’s trying to break into your car. The keys are built with a code that your locks will read to let you in—each car has a unique code that the lock can detect and since no one can replicate the code, no one can break into your car either.

Keyless Entry Systems

Some automobile manufacturers decided to do away with keys altogether by designing keyless locking systems. These locks are basically keypads attached to the door that only unlocks with the right codes or the locks can detect the key fob if it’s close enough to it. So, unless someone can either get your codes—which is pretty unlikely or just steal your car keys—which is also pretty difficult, they can’t get into your car.

Car Key 4 Less is a premium car lockout service based in Houston. The company also offers broken car key extraction, automotive lock repair and car key duplication services. Get in touch with them today for more information on their services.