Locked out of your car in downtown Toronto?
In a downtown parking garage, the level and the entrance you drove in by matter more than the street address. One tower can have garage ramps on two different streets, and the technician has to pick the right one.
From $95. You hear the full price on the call and nobody sets out until you agree. Open daily, 7am to 10:30pm.
Three things to say about a tower garage
The entrance
Name the street the ramp is on, not only the address on the building's front door. If you remember the shop next to the ramp, say that too.
The level and the nearest marker
P2, row C, the pillar by the elevator lobby. Take a photo of the nearest pillar before you walk off to find a signal.
How cars get in
A ticket at the gate, a monthly pass or a fob. A public garage is simple: the van takes a ticket like anyone else. A private one needs security or the parking office to raise the gate, so ask them while the technician is on the way.
What if the car is at a meter or in a loading zone?
On the street the car is quicker to reach, and there is less time to spare. Say which side of the street you are on and the nearest corner. If the spot turns into a no-stopping zone at a set time, tell the dispatcher, because the arrival time you get on the phone tells you whether the door will be open before then.
Stay beside the car. A technician cannot circle a downtown block looking for one sedan, and a call to your phone that goes unanswered costs minutes.
Engine still running at the curb? Read keys locked in a running car while you wait.
Opening the door next to a pillar
An air wedge, a flat bag pumped up by hand, opens a gap about a finger wide at the top of a front door. A long-reach tool goes through the gap and presses the unlock switch or lifts the inside handle. Where a pillar sits tight against the driver's door, the technician works from the passenger side.
You are asked for photo ID and the ownership or insurance slip. If they are in the glovebox, they are checked once the car is open.
Parked under a condo tower where a concierge controls the gate? Car lockout at Harbourfront covers that.
What else comes up in a downtown garage?
There is no signal in the garage. How do I call?
Walk up the ramp or to the lobby and call from there. Tell the dispatcher which level you are going back to, so the technician does not wait at the entrance for you.
My parking ticket is locked in the car too. Is that a problem?
No. You have it back as soon as the door is open. If the garage closes for the night, give the closing time on the call.
Does an underground garage change the price?
It can. Car lockouts start from $95, and a garage sometimes adds work. Say which garage and level when you call, so the figure you are quoted already covers it. More on what changes the price.
Car locked on P3 or at a meter?
Call with the entrance street and the level, or the corner you are parked at.
Open daily, 7am to 10:30pm