2009 XKR conv. I’ve owned the car for 10 years and so far I've managed to get by with only one keyfob. Tossed around the idea of getting a second many times but just never got around to it with all the cross information about which keyfobs work and the risk and expense of reprogramming them to mate with the car. Fate finally caught up with me when i got a call from an odd number last night at 9:30pm (which I usually never answer but for some reason i just felt I should this time). It was my wife saying she’s locked her bag with the keyfob, her phone and wallet in the trunk.

This isn’t supposed to be possible but guess what, she managed to do it. My mind went to a very nasty place knowing this was going to be a very painful experience. Various thoughts raced around as I tried to figure out what to do. I have roadside assistance that covers lockout, but I didn’t want to spend hours waiting for someone to show up and then they not being to open the car anyway because I knew this wasn’t a simple "left the keys in the car" problem I knew my last and most expensive resort was having the car towed to the dealer to get it open. My history with attempted dealer ripoffs is long and I just hate having to work with them, I consider them the last chance stop and only when there are no other options. What was a dealer going to do to get it open that I couldn’t try anyway.

I quickly hit the forum to see what info i could find. Very little about a true lockout without keyfob access. Knowing there was a truck release button inside the car and that I’ve successfully opened many other car doors in past with a coat hanger or other means, one of my first thoughts was that I could probably figure out a way to pull open an door handle or even better hit the trunk release on the dash from outside the car. After several hours attempting both and coming very close, I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t going to happen. I wasn’t even sure the trunk release button was active in a locked car but could not find any info one way or the other. (by the way- it isn't so don't waste your time).

So we left the car there over night (secretly hoping it would just disappear) to start fresh in the morning. After sleeping on it with no new ideas I started out by calling the lockout service. Two lockout "experts" were dispatched who then called to verify the type of car and where the key was only to have both cancel saying they couldn’t open it. Finally got one to the car who said he could open it but wanted to put an airbag to spread apart the windows and said he might break the glass. Not wanting to imagine all the potential damage he might do in addition to that he was basically going to try the same things I did last night, I said No thanks. He then got on the phone and said he knew a guy who could open the trunk. $400 with no damage and no pay if he failed.

Figured I had nothing to lose - so come on over. In the meantime I’ve called all 3 Jaguar dealers in the area to see what they said about getting into the car. One said they could get it open and would have to create a second keyfob to do it. Cost was well I over $1000. When I asked how they would open the car and program a new fob without being able to plug into the car they said they could do it wirelessly. I'm kinda a stickler for details and it just didn’t sound kosher. I knew once they had the car I was fair game for the bill for whatever they attempted On top of that it would take them three days just to get to the car and another 2 to 3 days to get a new keyfob which they didn't have in stock.

Just didn't feel a lot of confidence they could actually get it done without breaking into the car to initially open it. $$$. They did say they could get a second emergency key made for it from the VIN but that would take weeks as it has to be special ordered from England at a cost of over $700 not including labor and storage fees.
The other two dealers were even worse and had no idea how they would open it other than to only say to just tow it in and we'll figure it out. I asked all of them about a good locksmith that they could recommend that might be able to get something open. None of them had a locksmith referral nor did they know if the truck release button would work if the car was locked with the remote and then unlocked from inside (it won't)

All of them said that the locks could not be picked and if they were picked the security system would go I into lockdown mode where you would have to start changing modules to clear it. I asked all of them what would happen if I drilled out the truck lock, none had a clue. I even called an an independent jag mechanic who recommended to break out a taillight and reach in and pull the emergency truck release. Now this almost sounded like a good idea but I’ve had the taillights out to replace bulbs and didn’t recall any cutouts that a hand would fit through or any direct access to the trunk interior. On top of that, the plastic handle for my truck release broke years ago, so I could only imagine trying to find the end of the cable running blind digging around in a full trunk. But being desperate, I thought I might try it until I went on eBay to see the price of a taillight. it would be a rather expensive experiment. Now we're going on 3/4 of a day in this parking lot, really frustrated with no clear answer to what will work from the experts, not hearing from the locksmith for a while (figured he came to his senses and wasn't coming), I was ready to just give in and decided to just have the car towed to a dealer and suffer the $$.

Got roadside assistance to arrange for a tow. While waiting, the locksmith finally showed up. He walked over to the trunk looked at the lock, went back to his van. Looked at me and said you have cash to pay right? I said if you get open I have cash to pay and will also buy you dinner. He took out a small tool that looked like a key and went to the lock. The tool wouldn’t fit. I’m figuring it's going to the dealer. He looked a little bewildered and went back to get a different tool. It looked like a piece of thin metal with a couple of levers on it. This one fit into the lock and he tinkered like a safe cracker for about 10 minutes without success. Didn’t say a word the entire time, went back to his van and came back with a can of wd40 and a seat. I could see he was determined now and was playing the long game.

I'm now thinking the key lock probably has never had a key in it and has never been turned so what is the chance he will be able to turn it even if he had on the innards in the right place. He sprayed the lock and went back to work. As he’s tinkering with the tool, pushing the levers back and forth with his head against the trunk ( I guess he was listening/feeling), just like you see in the movies - which of course you know is all made up - after another 20 minutes or so he takes a big breath and turned the device - BAM - the trunk pops open! But now my thoughts are, did the car just go into security lockdown because of course the horn starts honking and lights flashing.
Got my wife to dig out the keyfob from her bag and hit the unlock button. Everything stops and I hear the front doors unlock. What a sense of relief. YAHOO! I almost kissed this guy. He just looked at me with a stoic face and put the tool in his pocket and walked back to his van.

So the moral of the story is (1) the dealers have no clue how these things work and don't even want to even explore anything out of the standard, like getting a good locksmith to try to pick the locks, before they start to do very expensive things.
They act insulted when you ask what steps they would actually try to gain access to the car. They figure you're stuck and will have to pay for what ever they want to do, (2) even after all the security they built into these keyfobs and security systems to make our life painful, and supposedly the car secure, it just takes a guy with the right tool and skills to get into the car. (3) Hopefully if this happens to you - there is a locksmith you can find that has real locksmith skills and can open a lock without a screw driver and a hammer. Keep trying because it's possible. He says there isn’t a car make that he hasn’t been able to pick. Lifesaver.

 

Glad you skirted a bullet. It could have been way worse. I recently lost a fob do to an incompetent shop that lost it. The shop was willing to find a used fob and get it reprogrammed. Do to the info I received on this forum, I declined and purchased a new one from Jaguar and had them program it for me. Costly.... $450 but would have been a nightmare if I didn’t have a another transponder. My suggestion to you..... get a second responder and don’t look to save a few bucks!

 

PARAGRAPHS!!!!
Criminy, that was a difficult thing to read.

 

That was a good read!
Glad you got it sortet.

 

I didn’t think it was possible to lock in/out the key in these cars as they have the keyless lock/ unlock feature but I’m pleased to hear that it all solved out for you👍🏻😀

 

Even if you decide against a whole new programmed key fob after this, it's probably worth getting a copy of the emergency key blade cut so you can at least open the boot/trunk and the door if you find yourself in this situation again.

 

Technically no , however if your key fob battery is running low it is a high possibility

Note for OP to prevent this happening again swapped out your key fob battery ( CR2302)

 

There is no particular skill involved and it doesn't take long unless trying to impress a punter. If you want to know the type of tool to use, see this:
https://www.prodecoders.com/product/...-volvo-jaguar/

A regular technique with modern vehicle security systems but unfortunately there is no "one tool fits all" vehicles and several are needed.

Graham

 

I think the moral of the story is to have a 2nd key.

 

great story! get back into that lock with a cleaning/lubricating agent other than WD40, and maybe some canned air to blast the excess out. WD40 works to loosen up things but if left there over time it will just re-deposit the moisture it displaced and the lock will rust. i use CLP

 

Was the possibly one of these Lishi Tools? They are very handy, but a wide variety are required as each tool is keyway specific, and they are not all that cheap:

 

Hmmm… Got me wondering. If unlocking the car with that tool caused the alarm to go off, the same should happen if we use the key blade, right? Gonna have to try it I guess.

 

I have never seen that ever, thanks for sharing. That is one cool video, we could all be expert lock pickers.

 

Been down that path and your correct

 

Ya, sorry. Relived the moment while story telling.

 

Yes! looks very similar but it was all black with very small engraved writing and several levers.

 

That looks similar to the first tool he tried to use that wouldn't fit in the lock. It had a smaller handle but similar shaft.

 

Yes, I believe that would be the case. And without the keyfob you would be unable to shut off the security system or unlock the front doors. But then I guess it would probably reset after some period of time and of course you could pick the door lock as well. Not sure what that would gain you other than access to the car interior as all the buttons are deactivated.

 

I guess that should have been the number one takeaway. After speaking again with the independent jag mechanic, he said to buy a "new" (not used) keyfob on ebay and he could program it. Cost is 1 hour of labor plus the cost of keyfob. Said that both keyfobs would need to reprogrammed. I could then get the locksmith to laser cut the new keyfob emergency key to match the current key. The locksmith would charge $60 to cut the key. In contrast to the over $700 and 2 weeks that the dealer claimed it would take.

I should have done that long ago.

 

Yep, my thought as well. The wife had the key buried deep in her bag with other stuff thrown on top so I'm sure that didn't help suppress the sensing of the keyfob. The handbook says that if the fob is in a metal container it would not be sensed. I don't think there was much metal protecting it but the layers of material probably played a role. I am changing the battery in any case just to to play it safe.