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I read tristans thread about this, but I couldnt get the lock open, Ive never done it before

Tips?

Shoot, it's been a long time. Aim for the handle area rather than the lock and I think you'll have to push or pull the rod. Trying to nail the vertical rod may not work since I think the electronic actuator has some decent resistance and you may not be able to get a good pull against it. You'll need something with some rigidity to do it. I'd try to find a thin piece of alloy and notch an end to grab the rod (like a 'slim jim'). I used a similar deal to break into my GL once.

Steve

Well, one way to approach it is to reduce the problem to getting the hood open.

If you can pop the hood (either by destroying the grille and manipulating/unbolting the latch or by somehow doing so through the slats with a 12mm socket on an extension and maybe a U-joint), then you're good. That's the hard step in this process.

Then you can unplug the harness connector from the alternator. There are three wires in that harness -- yellow, white, and black-with-white stripe. If you stick a little piece of wire in there to jump the yellow and white wires together, the car's ignition-switched circuits will turn on.

Then the power windows will work, so you can just wedge a suitably long rod, like a piece of pipe or a yardstick or something, past the lip of the driver's window and press the window-down button.

One question..how exactly did you manage to lock your keys in your car? The doors don't stay locked unless you like hold the handle when you get out....

Maybe he held the handle when he got out.

When I pull the handle to open my drivers door it locks all the doors and also prevents me from having to hold the handle when closing the door as well.

Sometimes it is noce...sometimes it sucks!

i have a long piece of stainless rod taken from an old matress, i pry the top edge of the window open then go for the lock on the far side

Mine only has an idiot lock on the passenger side. Forgot the window just pries loose from the weatherstripping ... been away from the wagon too long.

Steve

My car doesnt have idiot locks for some reason, I guess as its a Canadian model, they trust us

I ended up getting a towtruck driver to do it, took him 15 minutes. He couldnt do it with a slim jim or a number of other tools, ended up prying back the window and using a long rod to hit the switch.

My Canadian '94 SS has idiot locks. Pain in the ass. So much so that it became a natural motion to hold the handle as I shut the door. Thereby, if I don't have my keys already, and get out of the car, the locks don't help.

My windows certainly don't peel away from the weatherstripping though... at least it felt like I'd have to put enough force on the window to break it if I wanted to get past it. It was just easier to make a call and have a friend bring my spare keys out when this happened to me.

Although, I'd rather have idiot locks than automatic seatbelts. My '92 has both

Hmm, most times I don't need to hold the handle up on my driver's door. Then there are the times I do, and don't realize it, then come back to my car and find that it's still unlocked.

But my driver's door has other issues, like my key doesn't work in that door, but it has perfectly matching paint, as if it was never replaced. But I believe that it was at one point replaced.

Splinter wrote:My car doesnt have idiot locks for some reason, I guess as its a Canadian model, they trust us

Nah . . . it's more like a sick joke.

I can't believe nobody recommended a slim jim. It's the tool the police use to unlock your car. It's nothing more than a piece of thin aluminum with a rectangular notch cut in it. It works every time and doesn't scuff up your glass. they sell them in a lot hardware stores. One thing, put tape on the end you grab or you'll get a nasty cut.

http://www.securityprousa.com/slimjimbasic.html

have you ever used a slim jim to pop the door lock on a legacy? nearly impossible

I tried just for laughs once...and no dice...


However, I am not schooled in the use of the Jim of Slim either

I rant too much, nobody reads my crap. That's not a good sign in terms of marketing success. Anyway, I made my own slim jim and you can do the similar set up in the old GLs, but the Legacy is probably harder.

Steve

I locked the keys in my car once.... while it was running.

I just used a 3 foot long screw driver and reached in. Rolled down the window, and that was that.

You're best bet is to use a plastic wedge or something to move the window away from the weather trim, and use a coat hanger to hook the door handle, pull it and open the door.

Security wise, frameless doors suck ass. In most cases you really don't even need to use a wedge, just shove the coat hanger between the window and weatherstripping.

Wedge and hanger is how the Legacy got broken into I think.

If you have a security system, you'd be better off mounting the siren INSIDE the car. I intend to do that with the Forester.

The frameless doors on the old GM G bodies were easier to break into than using the key.

Steve

LaureltheQueen wrote:have you ever used a slim jim to pop the door lock on a legacy? nearly impossible

Yes I have and I got it in less than 10 minutes. Other times it has taken longer. Yes, I've done more than once.

subawhatsubawho wrote:When I pull the handle to open my drivers door it locks all the doors and also prevents me from having to hold the handle when closing the door as well.

Sometimes it is noce...sometimes it sucks!

Sounds like that little plastic clip in the lock mechanism broke.