How To Get Your Car Out Of Anti-Theft Mode With The Key

Anti-theft measures are a vital part of ensuring the vehicle you likely paid thousands of dollars for will remain yours. While there are other clever methods to prevent car theft, the car itself does have things like an alarm system that loudly proclaims someone is trying to break into your car, as well as the steering wheel locking or not being able to turn on the car at all. 

While these are indispensable features for a car, they can sometimes show themselves at inopportune times. The alarm can go off because the battery in your key fob is low, or you accidentally hit the panic button on your fob. The car could not start, even though you've checked all of the more common causes for a car not starting. Environmental factors like extreme heat or cold could even trigger these measures.

If your anti-theft system has been activated without you wanting it to be, there are various ways you can disable it. One of them is to use your car key. There are actually a couple of different ways that your key can disable your alarm system. They may seem simple at first, but they are important to remember if you are ever caught in a situation where your car alarm starts randomly blaring or you cannot get your engine to start. 

There are two ways that we typically use our keys in our cars. We put the key in the ignition, and we put the key in the driver's door lock to either lock or unlock the car. These are becoming less common thanks to push-button ignitions and remote key fobs, but both are tasks we are very familiar with doing. These are also the ways you can use your key to turn off the vehicle's anti-theft systems.

If you are outside of the vehicle and the alarm is going off, putting your key in the door lock and unlocking the car could turn it off. If the car is unlocked, try locking and unlocking the car with the key. Using your key fob to unlock the car remotely should also work, but if the battery is dead or it simply isn't responding, the manual version should do the trick. 

If you are inside the car with either the alarm on, the steering wheel locked, or the ignition refusing to turn, place your key in the ignition and turn the car on, but don't try to start the engine. It may not solve the problem immediately, but if you wait a few minutes with the key still in the ignition, the systems should turn off.

Of course, these are not foolproof solutions to turning off your anti-theft systems. If you have tried these key methods, it may be a sign that something more is wrong with your vehicle. If that's the case, crack open your owner's manual to find a solution or just take it to an actual professional.