Indeed, not only could I neither make it unlock without using the key today, I was not able to reproduce the self-locking condition today.
Also, it looks like the ability of the user to modify lock modes only exists on cars that have a TFT display - which I don’t.
Whatever caused the auto-locking feature might be undocumented - or maybe something else nearby sends out a similar radio code. I’ve only had it occur a few times in the 5 years or so I’ve owned it.
If the liftgate (Toyota calls it a back door) closes automatically often enough, I will consider replacing the back door supports, as you suggest. So far the back door has only closed itself 2 or 3 times in the time I’ve owned it.
Maybe it is a bounce thing: if I put something heavy in the back, the back of the car will bounce a bit, causing a support that is on the borderline to close a little bit.
I did today push in the button that is supposed to “cancel” the power back door function. Don’t know if that will help.
I guess I will just have to keep carrying two sets of keys.
VOLVO-V70 wrote
Your slacks or shorts don’t have pockets ?
Not that I can easily reach when my hands and arms are full.
Heh, heh, that was my father thought about power steering and power brakes. On of the first cars I looked at when I was 16 was a 59 Sunliner, my dad didn’t like it because of the PS, salesman said just cut that belt, no more PS.
I ended up getting a 60 Dart 2dr sedan, only options 318, torqueflyte, and AM radio.
Wish I could have the Sunliner,
No need to carry anything. My house has a hidden key. So does my truck. It’s in a magnetic box tucked up and away from where anyone would consider looking. In the rare event I lock myself out…
Just a word of caution on those magnetic cases. When I needed the key 30 miles from civilization, it had rusted off. Also another one was frozen solid inside because they leak. I taped one inside my gas cover. Use a wire or something or find a place not exposed to the elements.
PS in those days didn’t have a very good road feel, felt artificial. My 70’s truck’s PS is only slightly better, don’t like the lack of road feel. But parking would be a bear without PS b/c front end of truck is heavy. My 70’s VW Rabbit lacked power steering, excellent road feel, but hard to park. My Corolla has power-assisted steering, good (but not excellent) road feel, and easy to park. Pretty good compromise. PS systems seem to be fairly reliable, for me just have required an occasional inspection and topping off of the fluid level. Truck’s PS pump has sprung a little leak, but at 50 years old and still working like new, it deserves to have a little leak … lol … .
That was true in city & suburban driving. For rural driving, I want my doors to be left locked so if I end up in a crash, rollover, or simply into a ditch, I would welcome whatever help I might get from any passing Good Samaritan. Emergency help can be 20 + minutes away away. Of course when I park in town, or shopping lots I always lock doors. Old habits hard to break.
–City kid retired to the country…
Excluding Television “staged accidents” where a vehicle can be T-boned at a 100 MPH, roll a half-dozen times, slide down a cliff, and the Fire Department arrives and finds all the doors jammed, the roof crushed but all the windows intact…
Not a reasonable scenario. Think of the Movie, “Top Gun: Maverick”, he’s flying the Hyper sonic Plane “Dark Star”; he’s flying faster than Mach 10 (over 7,500 MPH) and the plane disintegrates, Air friction at that speed heats things to 2,500 degrees. He’s is also at something like 80,000 feet (15 miles up…). When the place disintegrates, Maverick is thrown into that air flow that should have ripped every arm, leg, and head off his torso before it BBQ’d. And he still survived that long, long fall with no parachute… But we are to believe he did and he still walked to a bar for a quick one… (any case, I am a Tom Cruise fan and I believe he could have done it… LoL…)
If you end up in a “crash rollover” I’m pretty sure the passing Good Samaritan may find your doors jammed, but several windows broken out… As for you just simply winding up in a ditch, you will probably still be able to exit your vehicle and the passing Good Samaritan will only need to loan you their phone or give you a lift to town…
I believe locking doors are a good thing. In the “old days” pre-seat belts" I heard folks who rolled their car and say that they were ejected from their car and that is what saved them…
Now, present day, you are held in with a seat belt, and you roll your car, if the door flies open, you might be partly ejected (arms, legs, head, etc…) and the vehicle keeps rolling and when it bottoms out your body part might just be caught half in/half out and your head would not fair well with the door slamming on it… not to mention your arm or leg….
They were lucky to have been driving on roads that were lined with Tempurpedic mattresses and mounds of marshmallow fluff. In the real world, where there are guard rails, broken glass, and approaching vehicles that might not be able to avoid a person who was thrown from a vehicle, the outcome is not likely to be a positive one.
Did you mean to write ( doors left unlocked ) ? If so then you are wrong because it has been proven that locked doors increase your chance of survival .
My 1999 Honda Civic had a feature where, even if I manually locked the driver’s door while stepping out of the car, the driver’s door wouldn’t actually lock, the thing would pop right back up as if I hadn’t locked the door at all. It was that way so I wouldn’t lock my keys in the car. I had to manually press the lock button on the keyfob before the doors would all lock for me.
Fast forward to my 2010 Mazda CX-7 that I didn’t even need to put the key in the ignition(keyless start, but not push button) so I just wound up keeping my keyring on one of those little carabiners that I put on the belt loop of my pants/shorts.
I don’t know if this is possible for the OP to do, but going through the motions of putting something on your belt loop as you are getting out of your vehicle everytime might help.
Myears-ago girlfriend locked her keys in her car twice.
Long wait and much money to get in.
I hid a metal key which opens a door but will not start her car.
Easy for her to geto but no one will find. (Not magnetic holder criminals can find.)
She has used thextra key twice. (Yes,ame car I puthe license plates on another car which looked like it.)
Next time, buy an older car with hand-crank windows and no power locks. Then it won’t lock you out. There probably won’t be any annoying anti-theft system, it will be cheap to have extra keys made (no chip), and no alarm. The doors and trunk will not be motorized, and will not close on your hand while loading/unloading cargo.
Of course, you will still need to avoid leaving the key(s) in the car, and always lock the doors when the car is not in use. Otherwise, it is likely to be stolen.
I remember the 1987 Toyota Camry which my grandparents owned had that feature, minus the keyfob. It was a base model with no power locks/windows. You had to lift up the door handle while closing, or else the lock would pop up. I assume that was to protect against the wind blowing the door closed and being locked out.
My 2002 Daewoo Lanos, which is the base trim level, has a similar feature. There is a mechanical interlock on the driver’s door which prevents the lock from being moved to the locked position while the door is open. You must close the door first and then lock it with the key. Good idea, because on the base model, there isn’t even a buzzer to tell you that the key is in the ignition.