wrong car key stories

[huffmuds9320]

Not sure how to word the title better. I'm sure many people have come across a car that looks exactly like theirs and found out you can't open the door because its not the right key. Post up your interesting stories.

I parked my car at the shopping center parking lot. When I came back there was another car parked just a few spaces away that looked exactly the same as mine. I always use the remote to unlock, I pressed the unlock a few times and was wondering why it was not responding. Then I put the key in the door lock and it does not turn. I looked carefully in the interior and realized it was not my car. So I press the panic switch on the remote and found that my car was just a few spaces away.

I would be surprised if putting in a wrong key in another car actually opened the door. Not sure if its true story. Back when I was in high school my history teacher told us a story that someone unknowingly drove away the wrong car. Before car keys did not have computer chips so that each car manufacturer has a certain amount of locksets.

 

[Stu_Rock]

Originally Posted By: lpcmidst128
I would be surprised if putting in a wrong key in another car actually opened the door.

A friend who had a late 80s Camry left his lab to go home after a snowstorm. Apparently late 80s Accords (or maybe it was a Nissan?) look similar when covered with snow--and use the same keyways--since that's the type of car he unlocked and got into. Of course it was obvious to him once inside, but if the key worked in the door, it probably could have turned the ignition.

 

[TomYoung]

When I was in college, I had a well-worn early eighties Honda Civic. Someone else in my parking lot had a older seventies Civic. My roommate, drunk, was getting something out of my car, and tried my key in the earlier car. It opened the doors. We discussed the matter and figured that the key probably started the car too. Being Science students, we tested this hypothesis. My key indeed did start that car, and we started moving that car around - -a few spaces, backward to frontward. I am not admitting that I did this and I am not proud of this.

 

[addyguy]

I had a two-tone blue 1985 Buick Skyhawk 4-door sedan.

A woman I worked with drove a 1986 Buick Skyhawk, two-tone blue, 2-door.

After a long day at work, I went out to 'my' car, put the key in the lock, opened the door, sat down, and just as I was putting my key in the ignition and shutting the door, I looked over and thought 'my stereo doesn't look like that...'

Told the co-worker about it in case she saw me, she thought it was the funniest thing she had heard in a while.

 

[exranger06]

I was at work (Napa delivery driver) a few years ago. They had me go to the other store since they were short on drivers. The other store has it's own delivery trucks that I've never driven before. The manager gives me the keys and says "You're driving the blue truck." I go out and unlock the blue truck (1995 Chevy S10). I try to start it but the key doesn't work in the ignition. I go inside and tell him, "this key doesn't work." He says, "Oh I must've given you the wrong key, here try this one." This time it's the correct key, but I had already unlocked the door with the other one! The other key was for the white truck there, also a Chevy S10.

Later that day, I actually accidentally locked the key in the truck. At first I thought "Da**, what am I gonna do now?" but then I remembered. I grabbed the key from the other truck and unlocked the door again.

Fast forward about a year: One of my co-workers walks in the door and asks, "Anyone have a slim jim?" He locked the key in ANOTHER (third) S10. I give him the key to a different S10 (I think it was the key for the blue one mentioned earlier) and told him to give it a shot. It worked. So, basically the same key can unlock three different trucks.

 

[eljefino]

I was in the junkyard trying to get a tailgate lifting strut for my saturn wagon. Could get in the car, but the tailgate remote release ran off electricity and the battery was out. Stuck my key in the lock, turned, presto!

My dad had a 1980 ford fairmont, he replaced with a 93 escort. The fairmont key, if not pushed in all the way, opened the escort door locks. But didn't do the ignition.

On the other end of things I got a used grand marquis that only came with the valet key which did everything but the trunk. Luckily the electric indoor trunk release was left unlocked so I could use the whole car. Almost got caught in a catch 22 when a battery terminal conked out and I had tools in the trunk but couldn't get at them.

Rented a camaro convertible where the shysters didn't give me the alarm remote so I had to open the door and race against a 15 second countdown to turn the ignition key on.

 

[Chris142]

In high school I had a Mitsubishi pickup. A teacher had a Mits car and so did a friend of mine. The friend and I determined that our keys would unlock and start each others car.

They would also work in the teachers car. I bet he still wonders how he forgot where he parked.

We used to move the teachers car all over the place.

 

[L_Sludger]

Originally Posted By: Chris142
In high school I had a Mitsubishi pickup. A teacher had a Mits car and so did a friend of mine. The friend and I determined that our keys would unlock and start each others car.

They would also work in the teachers car. I bet he still wonders how he forgot where he parked.

We used to move the teachers car all over the place.
Hahahahah! That is HILARIOUS.

 

[olddognewtrks]

I rememeber a newspaper story from many years ago about an executive giving his secretary his car keys to run an errand. Wrong maroon sedan (Jaguar?). Got pulled over a short while later for grand theft auto. Turns out that there was an identical car in the company lot, and the keys were the same (odds were probably 10,000 to 1 on that). Hope she got a raise or bonus for all her troubles with the cops.