mettie

My daughter over the weekend (which was freezing) started the car - got
out, shut the door and started to scrape ice off the car. The car
automatically locked, leaving her outside with no spare key!!! It did it
again this morning with the door open. is this a safety feature or is the
a problem with the central locking

Tony Wesley

mettie wrote:
> My daughter over the weekend (which was freezing) started the car - got
> out, shut the door and started to scrape ice off the car. The car
> automatically locked, leaving her outside with no spare key!!! It did it
> again this morning with the door open. is this a safety feature or is the
> a problem with the central locking

It's supposed to be a safety feature, that is, the doors lock
automagically when car starts moving. But others here have reported
the doors locking when the car is sitting, idling.

When I leave my car running, I always open the driver's side window
enough so I can reach in and open it. Pain in the rear in a Michigan
winter.

I have a 1990 Camry. It has power locks. You can't lock the keys in
the car when the engine running. My son found out by accidentally
locking the hitting the door lock button while getting out with the
keys in the ignition. He shut the door and the Camry auto-unlocked.

I love by Focus (just crossed 109,000 miles this weekend) but this is
one feature that makes me shake my head.

Aaron Menchions

My 2001 used to do it to me on occasion. What I do now in the winters
is use my key chain that separates. That was I can easily take off the
key fob while the key is in the ignition. If the car locks, I can
unlock it.

I think it's something screwy with Ford's wiring, though they couldn't
"recreate the problem" one time when I asked them to take a look at it.


Tony Wesley wrote:
> mettie wrote:
>
>>My daughter over the weekend (which was freezing) started the car - got
>>out, shut the door and started to scrape ice off the car. The car
>>automatically locked, leaving her outside with no spare key!!! It did it
>>again this morning with the door open. is this a safety feature or is the
>>a problem with the central locking
>
>

Tony Wesley

Aaron Menchions wrote:
> My 2001 used to do it to me on occasion. What I do now in the winters
> is use my key chain that separates. That was I can easily take off the
> key fob while the key is in the ignition. If the car locks, I can
> unlock it.

I cannot unlock my car with the key fob when the keys are in the
ignition.

This, I believe, is another "safety feature".

Aaron Menchions

>
>
> I cannot unlock my car with the key fob when the keys are in the
> ignition.
>
> This, I believe, is another "safety feature".
>

Really? You know what, I don't know if I've ever actually tried it
myself. I guess I always assumed it would work......... hmmmm....

CD

One fine wintery morning I also realized that the fob will not open the
locks when the car is running wiht the key. (01 wagon - Canada)

my solution. auto starter installed and never scrap ice / snow with the
key in the ignition... always have a key to open the door with.

Dave Gower

"Aaron Menchions" <a_menchions@rogersdotcom> wrote

>... What I do now in the winters
> is use my key chain that separates. That was I can easily take off the
> key fob while the key is in the ignition. If the car locks, I can
> unlock it.

There's another way around this. Take your key into a hardware store and get
a copy made. If they tell you it's got a chip in it and won't start the car,
tell them to copy it anyway. Then keep the key in your wallet. It won't
start the car but it will open the door. I haven't lost a key in 4 1/2
decades of driving but once or twice a year I lock my keys in the car and
this saves my buns.

Roarmeister

On Mon, 21 Nov 2005 04:46:35 -0500, "mettie" <l.dickason@greenwich.ac.uk>
wrote:

>My daughter over the weekend (which was freezing) started the car - got
>out, shut the door and started to scrape ice off the car. The car
>automatically locked, leaving her outside with no spare key!!! It did it
>again this morning with the door open. is this a safety feature or is the
>a problem with the central locking

Turn off the *!Z#@*& auto-lock. The manual shows you the procedure; it
involves turning the ignition on and off while hitting the lock/unlock
buttons in a certain sequence. It was the very first thing I did when I
got my new car home. I hate the autolock with a passion!

JPH

Roarmeister wrote:
> On Mon, 21 Nov 2005 04:46:35 -0500, "mettie" <l.dickason@greenwich.ac.uk>
> wrote:
>
>
>>My daughter over the weekend (which was freezing) started the car - got
>>out, shut the door and started to scrape ice off the car. The car
>>automatically locked, leaving her outside with no spare key!!! It did it
>>again this morning with the door open. is this a safety feature or is the
>>a problem with the central locking
>
>
> Turn off the *!Z#@*& auto-lock. The manual shows you the procedure; it
> involves turning the ignition on and off while hitting the lock/unlock
> buttons in a certain sequence. It was the very first thing I did when I
> got my new car home. I hate the autolock with a passion!

The autolock isn't supposed to operate until you reach a certain speed.
If it locked while standing still, then it was more than likely an
electronic malfunction that would have happened whether you had autolock
operational or not.
My Dodge did that last year in the same situation, and that doesn't
autolock until a higher speed than my Focus.
Like someone else suggested, the best thing is get a key copy made so
when it does happen, you can still get in.
I personally like the autolock, but not when I'm outside scraping ice
off the windshield on a cold day. I don't think disabling autolock will
prevent the situation, unless you disable the power locks completely.

John

Aaron Menchions

Hmmm, i tested it tonight. The fob doesn't work if the engine is
running. However, turn it off and it works even if the key is still in
the ignition. Course, that doesn't help us anyway.........

I think I'll get a key made.