"christine" And The Aa Man (update 3)

Well the car certainly got's it name today.
I opened the door to get the bonnet open,popped the key in the ignition,went round the passenger side before i could make it the door shut the central locking locked all the doors and boot

Now i dont need the car today so i'm calling the AA tomorrow.Unless anyone knows of a magical way in...I dont have another Key and dont like thew sound of breaking glass.

Will he(she) be able to get the key out of the ignition ? Will he be able to get in ?

Will damage my door ?

Thinking about this all the internal push down door thingys are broken so as this happened before ?

Off to work now, need a good day because "Christine's" really made me

This post has been edited by Bantam on March 15, 2008 12:16 pm

I was in a similar situation a month ago but my engine was running too

The recovery man used a plastic wedge on the drivers door frame that sits next to the B pillar which flexed the door frame out by about 5mm. Then he put an inflatable pillow in the crack and pumped it up until there was just enough room to get a wire rod in. The door unlock button pulled straight off when he got the rod under it so then he just got on to the elec window buttons instead.

You're in a different position as your windows won't work without the ignition on but by getting a rod onto your door opening handle and pulling it the central locking will unlock also.

Hope that helps.

I know this is not going to help you a lot right now, but my dad always used to carry a spare key in his wallet. I've done the same for more than 40 years now, but never needed it because 1) I've always locked all the cars I've owned with the key, and 2) the central locking on my XMs haven't played any tricks on me yet
Hope you'll be in control soon again

I did exacty the same thing a few days ago, but with the engine running .

Did I panic?.......Yes .

I was about to break one of the windows...........

But then I remembered that one of the rear passenger windows wasn't working and tended to slip down occasionally.
I managed to force the window down enough to reach in and open the door .

For once I was thankfull for the unreliable electric window mechanisms that Citroen chose to fit to their cars .

But I'm not thankfull for the wierd central locking system that locks behind you for no reason when you get out of the car (I do keep a spare key with me, it was in my jacket............inside the car ).

I had to laugh when I read this. You need another spare, permanently strapped around your waist, or how about a gilded one on a chain around your neck

The remote on my 2.0sei refused to unlock the car late one night after work, and the key just spun in the locks, so the next day the AA man came and opened the door with the little inflatable cushion / wire etc. Only took him a couple of minutes, and there was no damage to the doors etc.

I later found that the front passengers door wasn't locking properly - if I pulled the handle all the way out it would open the door, even though the lock inside the car was in the down position. Some CRC fixed that, and liberal amounts of CRC in the locks fixed that problem. If you do have any problems with the key spinning in the locks - a common problem - there is excellent advice in the self-help section. If I'm traveling any distance, I always take a spare key with me.

Good luck - and welcome to the 'locked out of our XMs' fraternity!

Regards,
Kiwi

Pop out the number plate illumination lamps in the tailgate this will give you access to the "rods" that operate the central locking on the tailgate. Using long nose plyers you will be able to operate them, the tailgate will unlock and in you get

Good luck, Colin.P

ah that's a handy trick, never thought of that one.

What I found with my first XM that did this regularly was that it was water getting into the roof control panel, which is where the IR receiver is located, causing intermittent triggering.

Check the sealing of the roof aerial and reseal, also the mounting screws of the sunroof motor and the sunroof drains are clear to reduce chance of this in future.

Of course, if your's has the redio remote rather than IR, probably a different cause, as I think the receiver for that is under the glovebox? Wiring in the roof panel is still there though, I think, so just may still be connected and influence the locking unit (which is under the dash above the drivers right foot on RHD cars).

regards
Dave

Well back home from work now and great to see the replies.....COLIN P thats just what i was looking for i'll give that try before i call the AA man.

Thanks to everyone with regard to the AA process and how he gets in.

I'll let you all know Friday how i get on but the car has now got a name.

Cheers everyone for helping.

This post has been edited by Bantam on March 06, 2008 10:36 pm

Thanks Colin - your post exemplifies the sort of off-the-wall knowledge that is invaluable.

Well now i'm really stuck...............

To Colin.P well i was up at the crack of dawn this morning removed the number plate lights but couldn't find any "Rods" at all in the moulding ?

Got my torch out to double check..nothing,poked around with a long screw driver listening for a DING of metal,nothing to be heard ?

Rang the AA "Sorry sir we cant assist you today as you are not 1/4 of a mile from home"

But we can upgrade your policy for an extra sixty six pounds and your car could be damaged trying to get at the key

What a carry on.

HELP

This post has been edited by Bantam on March 07, 2008 11:41 am

Time to get a door wedge and a piece of strong wire then?

or a local garage - although I am with the RAC, it was a local garage truck that attended my KLIC.

Noticed this as a tick box on the breakdown sheet KLIC - 'Keys Locked In Car'

While I am not familiar with the degree of access afforded by the apparently great idea, I assume it involves the removal of the lamp holders which then gives access to the cavity with enough freedom to get at the rods with long nosed pliers. I know there are some lock variants that may have different actuating rod layouts. Perhaps you could try a stiff fish wire with a U on one end to locate the rod then twist to get a grip on rod and move. There is not much rod resistance in operation of lock.
If that doesn't work it may be feasible to remove number plate and drill a hole at a suitable location closer to the action. If someone with the same model and year as yours can check on feasibility and where to drill hole or provide a photo of the rear of panel with trim removed. Only an idea, hope it may help.

Robert.

Thanks for that Robert i make the hook right away and go have a try.

Car is a 97' Series 2 Hatch

Cheers

*** Update ***

Made the hook nothing at all to feel in the tail section either by the handle of the boot lock.

I did manage to wedge the door tops open and get my wire down to the PUSH LATCH's i slowly pulled up the latch's with my coat hanger wire and guess what the latch's came up and fell off
Same for the passenger side.

I dont want to break a window anyone any other idea's ?

Cheers

This post has been edited by Bantam on March 07, 2008 03:56 pm

Hi Bantam, Sorry about that, worked fine on my old 1990 2.0 SEI - not easy but possible.
Perhaps Citroen changed the tailgate design on the later cars as this was common knowledge in certain circles a few years ago...

Colin.P