Another Kwikset Latch Failure – Customer Locked Out Unexpectedly

In contrast to the previous video we just posted, this Kwikset latch failure was anything but gradual. The customer was taking out the trash through their side garage door, and upon attempting to re-enter the home, discovered that their lever failed to open the door. Luckily they were able to enter through an unlocked back door. Note that this is the only positive thing that we can say has ever happened when someone left their door unlocked! Always lock your doors! But anyways, we ended up having to use an air bag wedge + screwdriver to separate the door from the jamb and walk back the latch. We consider this issue to be a safety hazard. At one point in time, another customer had this happen to their garage entry door to the house. It could not be wedged with air bags, so we had to cut off the hinges with a dremel in order to release the door. I’ve never had to do this with Schlage, which is just one of the reasons why I like them better than Kwikset.