It has been extremely annoying and inconvenient when I exit my vehicle with engine running when my car decides it doesnt like its owner and locks them out upon exiting! LOL ;( Whats almost as annoying is to be inside the vehicle when this happens. I dont like my vehicle treatinig me like a prisoner!!!
Is there a simple module I can disconnect to disable this “feature” that will not result in other consequences?
Yes, this is a VERY annoying “feature”.
A few months ago after pulling the codes on my neighbors 96 Camry I got out of the car, closed the door & a few seconds later the @#^$& thing locked itself.
According to neighbor the instructions for disabling this moronic “feature” are contained in his owners manual.
He just “had’nt gotten around to doing it yet.”
See what your owners manual sez about this.
You actually expect someone to open the glove compartment, take out the Owner’s Manual, and read it?
;-))
Yeah, I do happened to own a t-shirt that reads “Real Men Dont Need Instructions.” LOL
You do realize there is a very good reason for this feature, right? You happen to have a poor implementation of it though. Most newer designs do not lock unless the vehicle reaches a trip speed of around 5-10 mph. Then, the doors lock so that if you’re involved in an accident, there’s less chance of being ejected from the vehicle. Staying in the vehicle significantly improves your odds of surviving an impact.
Ok, point taken. But yes, mine is an older design. It locks while in PARK - very annoying. But just for argument sake, if I was driving 5 mph down a street in Harlem, are you saying the doors would UNLOCK on me? Yikes! LOL
Now seriously, NASCAR drivers dont have these locks do they. I believe its called SEAT BELTS ON. I know for a fact that the “Door Locking Doctrine” arose from many years prior to seat belt enforcement when NOT wearing a seatbelt was almost a rule, and so instead of first telling people to wear seatbelts they said lock your doors. I havent seen any statistics that showed people wearing seat belts AND doors unlocked getting severely injured, and I dont think we will. I think its just the DOT jamming this down auto mfr’s throats or else make them liable. So its not about whats safe, its about the damn lawyers in my opinion. Sorry for the rant, and thanks again.
This is nothing to do with DOT. It’s just engineers dreaming up a useless “feature” that some folks think is safer. Locking the doors does nothing to help keep them closed during an accident. It does keep kids from opening them I suppose, but car door locks aren’t like deadbolts on a house door. The lock just keeps the door handle from moving the latch.
Ranck is correct on all counts.
If this was a DOT requirement, then all cars would be saddled with this inconvenience. Thankfully, most manufacturers don’t include this feature.
And, as he said, while it will keep kids from opening the doors from the inside, it does not make the doors any less prone to being forced open by the impact of an accident. That might have been true many years ago before door locks were improved, but it is not the case today.
If any of mine had this feature, Id most definitely disable it. Detroit should have known better, being in snow country. What do you do on a cold winter morning? Start the car, grab the snow brush, then close the door and let the engine warm up as you brush it off.
They only lock when the vehicle begins moving above 5 mph, they don’t automatically unlock until the vehicle comes to a complete stop and the gear selector is put into Park. So you’ll be perfectly safe cruising the low rent district.
NASCAR also has a serious roll cage, HANS and a 5 point seat belt. Apples<->Oranges but I can tell you’re mainly being humorous with the analogies.
I find this to be a nusiance myself. Then again, I don’t wear seatbelts either.
Yeah, that WAS a silly thought on my part.
If anyone should be complaining about the lock system on his vehicle, it would be myself.
Can you imagine the physical & mental anguish that I have suffered over the following:
On my 87 Ranger I actually -horror of horrors- have to press a mechanical button on the door to lock it.
As if this was not traumatic enough, I also have to insert a key in the lock & turn it an 1/8th of turn to unlock the truck.
I do live in Calif, so there must be somebody that I can sue & receive compensation from for my 20 plus years of mental & physical anguish.
The folks that are buying these newer electronic blunders er wonders, are more than welcome to my share of silly electronic gadgets.