A township in the Gold Coast hinterland is several hours into a lockdown after a man claimed he had explosives in his car and began making threats.

Police have closed off a number of roads into Canungra and warned people stay away from the area after a man called police, making the claims, early this morning.

Negotiators were called to the scene after a man then barricaded himself inside a vehicle in Kidston Street just after 5:00am.

Homes in nearby streets were evacuated and police have been attempting to talk to the man who, they say, is staging a protest of some kind.

ABC reporter Tom Forbes is in Canungra, where he says police have set up stingers across the road.

Earlier he said a man got out of the maroon Holden, which has towels up at the windows, and began gesturing at police while holding what appeared to be a walkie talkie.

The man, who at one point began bashing his vehicle with what looked like a stick, also threw water at a police robot.

A worker at the childcare centre says police told her the man may have a grenade in the car.

Local newsagent Jody Devlin says everyone has been told to stay away.

"We've got our local emergency crews on site and there is quite a few police who have blocked off the main roads in," she said.

"I haven't heard anything about a man or a protest.

"All we know is there is a car that is under suspicion.

"I know most of the cars around here and it's not a local car and it has no number plates on it."

Police have declared an exclusion zone with the boundaries being Canungra Creek, Finch Road, Tamborine Mountain Road, Darlington Range Road, Lawson Court and Showground Road.