Typically when it gets cold and frosty is when we are most busy with car lockouts. People leave the keys in the ignition with the engine running to warm up. Some cars automatically lock, leaving the customer embarrassed if they don’t have a spare.
Also we see a spike in failed UPVC door mechanisms. Sometimes it’s because the old grease has hardened so much it’s almost turned into toffee. If the mechanism has broken you’re not going to rectify it with WD40, no matter how much you squirt in. If it hasn’t broken a strip down, scrape out, clean with solvent and re-lubricate is in order. Door misalignment is probably the major cause of failures though.
Ford Transit Connect ignition barrel build and replacement. Jan.
Car ignition barrels can fail at any time of year but there’s been a spate in the past few weeks. Work van ignitions are the bulk of ones we replace. Any dusty trades such as builders, plasterers, stonemasons etc suffer the worst.
Trafic / Vivaro remote programming. Jan.
Ford Focus door lock build to match key. Jan.
Skoda Octavia remote programming. Jan.
Lost or spare car keys are constant all year round although the number of spare keys drops off before Xmas. I assume this is because people are saving money for other things at that time of year.