My car locked me out!

[CathyA]

I had just bought a bunch of flowers from Menards and put them in the back of my Honda Odyssey van. My locks have been acting funny and I need to have it looked at. So I usually always have my keys on me. But I set them down in the van when I was loading and shut the door (forgetting my keys were back there)................and all the doors were locked. :devil:

So I called AAA. I swear this must have been the woman's first day on the job. It took her 10 minutes to get all the important info........like what color was my car........was it a dark blue, or a lighter blue.......or maybe gray.....? Then she'd never heard of Menards before, so I had to explain to her what kind of a store it was. I said "How soon can someone be here?" and she said slowly........"Well, let's just finish getting all the necessary information and then we'll see." ACCHHH! It almost started to seem like she was pulling a joke on me. Finally she said okay.
Then 5 minutes later the people coming to unlock the car called and said "we'll be there in 45 minutes". I was right in the middle of a town with companies who work for AAA, so I wasn't sure why it was going to take so long.

Instead of being all flustered, I decided to sit on a bench in the shade and just enjoy myself (and hope the $30 of flowers I just bought didn't die in the back of the van, since its in the 80's and sunny.)
I started trying to guess which cars/trucks coming towards me were with the AAA. Some of the trucks were falling apart, some people had limping people get out. Then I saw the UPS truck and thought maybe he was doing double duty........which made it all start to be sort of comical. :laff:

Anyhow........the guy showed up and opened the car and I was happy again. :cool: And my flowers survived.

I'd better figure out why my car seems to be the decider of when the doors get locked and not me. :~)

[bae]

A few years ago, I was up in the Yukon with my dad. We stopped for a moment to take care of biological needs, leaving the truck running, because it was bitter cold, and we were out in the middle of nowhere offroad.

We got about 10 steps away from the truck, when we heard the "click click" of the vehicle deciding it needed to lock itself up.

So, there we were.... Locked out, looking a bit sheepish.

Luckily, I'm a paranoid fellow, and had hidden away a spare key on the outside of the vehicle.

I have since pithed the brain of the truck's entry-and-alarm system :-)

[thinkgreen]

We have two Hondas and they both have remote fobs to unlock the doors. If we use the remote to unlock the doors the car will automatically relock in a moment or so if the driver's door isn't opened. So if we use the fob, unlock the door and then load something into the back of the vehicle the car will automatically relock. Don't know why but it does.

[CathyA]

Oh Bae.......you really lucked out! (and your paranoia paid off!).
I dumped the contents of my purse out, refusing to believe I didn't have a second key......but alas.....I didn't.
I wouldn't mind breaking a window if it was the only way.......especially if I was in the Yukon.
I suppose if I were up to date, I'd have a car with the stuff in it that can be unlocked from somewhere else, but I'm sticking with my 2001 as long as I can.

[Float On]

We had a fellow art show friend traveling from Colorado to Texas for a show. She was in Oklahoma when she needed a rest stop. Just as she flushed she dropped her phone (back when phones were smaller) and keys in the toilet. It was a super powerful flusher and in an instant all was gone. So not only did she need AAA to open the van but re-key it as well. Put her a day behind schedule.

[CathyA]

Oh, what a bummer for your art show friend!! I would have been in a real mess if I'd left my purse in the car too, with my phone and my AAA info. So it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

I've never really understood the auto lock thing. But mostly its because it didn't start working on my car until recently! My car is a 2001. I noticed it always worked in my DH's car........but I never had to worry about it.
So something has changed. Sounds like it never worked right to begin with and now its working even wronger. haha I just don't like that auto lock. Its none of the car's business when I want it locked or not! I suppose its trying to do something nice, but I would rather it didn't.

Thinkgreen........I'm a little slow.......Is there anything you could do to keep that from happening.....like maybe use the key to get into the car initially, instead of the remote? Just seems like it should have the sense to know when the back door is open. It shows up on my dashboard when the back hatch door isn't closed properly........so it knows its there.

[thinkgreen]

Cathy, if you unlock the car with a key it does not auto lock. It only does it when you use the remote. One of our Hondas is a 2002 so likely the same technology as yours. If you do use the remote just open the driver door first and that will cancel the auto lock.

[rosarugosa]

How annoying Cathy, but good for you for being able to face the situation with good humor! Stories like this remind me of why I want to keep my 1995 Saturn forever! It doesn't think it is smarter than me, and it doesn't talk to me. It has what I consider the one great modern innovation, and that is the ability to let me know if I'm turning the car off and the lights are still on. That one comes in handy and I'm sure has saved many a battery.

[CathyA]

Thanks thinkgreen and rosarugosa.
I'll try using the key next time. It seems like there's something wrong with using the back door (van hatchback). Every time I open it up (and the rest of the doors are unlocked - via remote), it locks everything while the back door is open. I'll try unlocking the back door with the key, and see if that has a different effect.
Yes.......I really like the car reminding me my lights are on. BUT.......in my car, there's a big dome light switch on the dash. Sometimes it accidentally gets pushed and totally drains the battery. So I check that everytime I get out of the car now. One time I dusted the dash, and the next morning my plans were ruined with a dead battery.

Hahaha........speaking of using a key (the old fashioned way of opening a car)........One time my remote didn't work, and I suddenly panicked........thinking the remote battery was dead.........and I thought "How the heck am I going to get into the car?????" DUH!! hahaha I felt pretty darned stupid.

[jp1]

I agree that I wouldn't like autolock (if I had a car) but the logic behind it makes sense. If you open the driver's door you've likely unlocked the car to get in and go somewhere. If you open one of the other doors you've likely unlocked the car just to put something in/take something out, and therefore will want to relock it.

[ApatheticNoMore]

No power doors, no power windows, no talking to me. I consider those to be bugs not features, and don't want them (more stuff to break and need fixing). Just extremely annoying beeping if I don't wear the seatbelt.