Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Advance Auto Locksmith Inc.'s headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  Advance Auto Locksmith Inc.

  1218 Alden Rd Orlando, FL 32803-2546

  
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  Advance Auto Locksmith Inc.

  PO Box 607397 Orlando, FL 32860-7397

  

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/10/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Statement Regarding Vehicle Damage by Advance Auto Locksmith My son stopped for lunch at ********* and locked his vehicle, as he planned to eat inside and had cash in the truck intended for a ******** Marketplace purchase. After his meal, he was unable to unlock the vehicle and contacted a locksmith service for assistance.He called Advance Auto Locksmith, and two separate individuals arrived to help. Over the course of several hours, they used various tools in an attempt to gain access to the vehicle but were unsuccessful. Despite their prolonged efforts, they failed to unlock the truck.Throughout the process, my son made it clear to both locksmiths that this truck is very important to him. Its his first vehicle, and he spent a significant amount of money to have it completely repainted. He repeatedly asked them to be extremely careful. At one point, he even gave them the shirt off his back in an effort to protect the paint, as they were not using any protective materials.We reside in ***************, **, and when my son finally made it home, my husband and I were shocked at the extent of the damage done to the vehicleespecially considering they never even managed to unlock it.I immediately documented the damage with photos and videos. The next morning (following a holiday), I contacted the company and spoke with someone named ***** who identified himself as the owner or supervisor. Over the next week, we went back and forth on the phone. **** repeatedly told me he needed to discuss it with his partner, but ultimately informed me that they are refusing to take responsibility or cover any of the damage caused by their employees.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 06/25/2025

  On May 26th, Memorial day, we received a request
  for lockout service from a customer that gave his name as Kayden. He stated he
  needed quick response and stated right away that we do no damage to the vehicle
  in the performance of service. He gave his location as McDonalds at 1415 E.
  Altamonte drive. His request was received at about 12:15 pm. And was dispatched
  to the closest field tech, Jimmy. Jimmy immediately departed, enroute to the
  location and arrived at about 12:40 pm. He called Kayden at the time of departure
  to inform him of the arrival time. During the 2 conversations, one with dispatch
  and one with Jimmy, Kayden never mentioned that this was anything other than a
  common lockout, that he was locked out of his truck. This generally is understood
  to mean the keys are just locked inside the vehicle. It was not a common
  lockout as it turned out. Upon arrival it was only then that Kayden informed
  Jimmy that he in fact had his truck keys in hand- so he was not locked out in
  the traditional sense- but that turning the key in the door locks would not
  unlock the doors. So this was actually a door lock failure of some sort. Kayden
  then explained that the reason for this was because he had assembled the latch
  assembly the previous day on both doors and that the vehicle inside-cabin
  lock/unlock rod was not routed through its hole in the top of the door panel.
  It was instead caught underneath the top of the panel which was forcing it to
  stay down in the lock position, he said. Turning the key in the door lock, even
  forcefully, did not overcome the force of the lock rod being pinned down. Jimmy
  proceeded to wedge the top of the door frame with his air pump wedge made of
  soft fabric to allow ample room to safely insert his rubber coated “inside-reach”
  tool. He operated the inside door release handle by pulling on it with the
  reach tool. This had no affect. He hooked the pocket on the top of the door
  panel where the lock rod normally routes through. While Jimmy pulled up on the
  panel in an effort to allow some vertical movement of the lock rod, he had
  Kayden forcefully turn the door key to open it. This did not open it. Jimmy
  tried depressing the power lock button with the rubber coated tip of his reach tool.
  This also had no affect. Jimmy then called Darran at dispatch and explained the
  situation and what he had attempted. Darran asked Jimmy of he had an unlock
  tool called an “S hook” and  Jimmy did not.
  Darran advised he will dispatch Tony to bring one to the location. At 1:41 pm,
  Jimmy received a text that Tony was enroute to him and would arrive in about 20
  minutes. Once with the truck, Tony Proceeded to air pump wedge the top of the
  door frame to insert his own reach tool. He removed the pocket with the rod
  hole from the top of the panel to provide more clearance for the lock rod to
  lift. He then wedged the weather stripping along the base of the window glass
  to allow insertion of the “S hook” tool down inside the door. He grasped the
  vertical lock rod high enough to partially extend through the opening. The door
  did not unlock. He tried it while turning the key. It still did not unlock. The
  malfunction was something more than a simple misaligned lock rod.
  During his entire time, Kayden kept a scrutinizing eye on
  everything that was done. He was literally breathing down the back of their
  necks. He insisted that they slide his shirt into the gap to help shield the paint,
  which they did even though the tool is coated with protective rubber and has a
  thick rubber tip on it. Kayden took a picture of the reach tool and pump wedge.
  The pump wedge is made of non-abrasive cloth reinforce rubber. These tools are
  the industry’s best for the professional locksmith. At no time during my
  locksmith’s attempts to gain access did Kayden express any concern or suspicion
  that any damage might have occurred. Up to this point my company and my
  locksmiths gave great care and urgency for Kayden’s situation and acted with
  professional intentionality. Much time and expense was incurred as well. In
  spite of this, zero gratitude was expressed. Quite the opposite. When Tony’s attempt
  was unsuccessful, Kayden had his father on the phone which he pushed up to Tony’s
  face. The father proceeded to berate and deride him. At this point my
  locksmiths departed the scene, receiving no payment, no thanks, only contempt.
  Advance Auto Locksmith has been serving the pubic for nearly
  four decades. We’ve maintained high confidence and esteem with the public,
  including the likes of Walt Disney World and AAA, with whom we provided over a
  quarter of a century of contract service to until now. Jimmy has over six years
  of experience as an automotive locksmith. He is professionally proficient at
  all facets of his vocation. Tony has over a decade of experience and has
  acquired exceptional knowledge and skills, making him one of our best
  locksmiths. These two have unlocked thousands of cars for AAA as well as the public.
  There is no history of causing that sort of damage to a vehicle by either of
  them. That damage could not have possibly been done by even a novice locksmith
  using these tools. The damage was done by prying the door away with a
  metal object and forcing an UNPROTECTED metal object into an insufficiently
  gapped door. I was told eventually that a window ultimately had to be broken
  out to gain access to the truck. I can only imagine that some last vain
  desperate attempt was made to unlock it before that extreme measure was taken
  by him. After all, why would the father simply assume that the truck couldn’t possibly
  be unlocked when the supposed only attempt was done by the locksmiths he said
  were incompetent.
  I can imagine that as a youth Kayden is not exactly seasoned
  at door latch assemblage. Well, we are. We have knowledge of the door latch assemblage
  and everything inside the door. Prudence demands that you test the action
  completely before you even close the door. Obviously, he did not. Yet, his
  mother is making accusations with complete certainty about something she couldn’t
  possibly know anything about. She was not there. While at the same time
  insisting that her son installed the latch assemblage correctly. Again,
  obviously he did not as all standard procedures to open the door did not result
  in the door opening, including him using his own key.  
  The photos show damage that could not have been inflicted by
  our rubber coated tools. They show damage that had to have been inflicted by
  some metal object, as there are clear gouge marks in them.  Some other attempt was likely made, after we
  left being unable to open his doors due to the incorrect assemblage of them, before
  he decided to break the window. We contend that the damages shown were not
  caused by our locksmiths or our tools. If they were, we would have handled the
  situation properly and professionally. But upon seeing the photos it was clear
  to us that this was not something our locksmiths did.