Some urban legends involving cars are hard not to believe. You’ve seen them online, spreading virally across social media, inspiring fear in concerned drivers. We all know that parking lots can be eerie settings. One myth about parked cars and coins in door handles keeps surfacing. According to the legend, finding a penny wedged into your car door signifies something sinister. Or does it?
In this urban legend, criminals supposedly place coins between the door handle and the vehicle body. The space created by the coin will not allow the door to lock. As such, someone could enter your car. From there, the spooky scenarios can start to fill your head.
The story began circulating in 2015 as a “new method” of vehicle theft.
Not only did the mechanics laugh, but they also said no such action would deactivate a vehicle’s locking system. Because the key fob locking mechanism would still be intact, coins or anything wedged in the door handle wouldn’t affect whether the car locked.
Snopes also spoke with Arnold Chevrolet Buick in New York to ask the same questions about the rumor. That mechanic also chuckled, saying it would be “implausible” for such a car theft scheme to work.
However, one YouTuber posted how her rear car door, a Nissan model, didn’t lock when she placed a coin as described. The video is embedded below and has over a million views.
Other myths involve someone taping or placing a coin on the door handle to signify impending theft, carjacking, or other crime. However, none of these have been confirmed, at least not in the U.S.
Since there are so many different makes and models out there, you might check your own car door handles to see if wedging a coin in stops it from locking. Overall, though, there’s probably nothing to worry about, as this is now a years-old myth.
For general safety, always remain alert when parking or returning to your car.
