Help me understand self-locking car doors!

[CathyA]

There are parts of my brain that are very metabolically asleep. This is one of them.
The guy at the Honda place tried to explain it to me, but I lost him at "Its when..."
haha He kept saying something like "its when you haven't opened the door".......which still didn't make sense to me.

I really don't like our cars locking themselves. I'm pretty good at locking them when I want them locked, and not locking them when I don't.

On DH's car, it locks automatically once we on the road about 5 minutes.
But I don't understand when mine auto locks. There are a number of occasions when I get out of the car and leave my keys on the seat (somewhere on our property). Is it going to lock me out while I'm gone (in the chicken coop, barn, mailbox, etc.)?

I know newer cars give you lots of options as to when/where/how you want the auto locks to function, but mine is built in. I have a 2001 Honda Odyssey van.
I just don't want to get locked out.
Please help me understand how this works!

[Alan]

If the ignition is off and the keys removed, the doors should not lock themselves. These days most cars will automatically lock the doors once started and in motion and unlock when parked and ignition is turned off.
If your worry is that you will be locked out after turning off the ignition, I think you're safe.

[Miss Cellane]

Check your owner's manual. For most cars, something has to happen for the doors to lock. My car locks the doors once I'm driving at least 8 miles an hour. My brother's car locks the doors when you put the car in drive.

Now, if I get out of the car and lock the doors, I use the remote fob to unlock them, so that I can get in. If I don't open a door within 30 seconds of unlocking them, they re-lock. But it's okay, because I'm still outside the car, holding the fob. Once I've opened the door, they won't lock again until either I manually lock them or I'm driving 8 miles an hour. I think that's what the guy at the Honda place was trying to explain. Doors locked, you unlock them but don't open them, they re-lock after a certain period of time. So if you stop and get out at the mailbox, the doors won't lock. Unless you choose to lock them.

[CathyA]

Thanks Alan.
but what happens if its really cold out and I leave the ignition on, to jump out for a few minutes to check on my chickens, etc.?
And I do remember a time when I didn't lock the car, and went into the house for several hours and when I came out of the house later, it was locked.
Maybe its possessed, just like my computer?? :)

[Alan]

I'd follow Miss Cellane's advice about checking the owners manual. I believe she's correct in that something must happen before the doors lock. Sitting still after the door has been opened and then closed should not trigger a lock.

Perhaps in your example, you accidentally locked it with a key fob?

[CathyA]

Thanks Miss Cellane. Yes, that's what the Honda guy was trying to tell me. Its so bizarre. I can be so very bright in some areas, but other things are almost impossible for me to understand! I think I need to play around with the remote and the car and maybe I can learn it that way. I would love to get a brain PET scan. I'm sure there are obvious dark areas in there!
Thanks Miss C and Alan.

[Miss Cellane]

Thanks Alan.
but what happens if its really cold out and I leave the ignition on, to jump out for a few minutes to check on my chickens, etc.?
And I do remember a time when I didn't lock the car, and went into the house for several hours and when I came out of the house later, it was locked.
Maybe its possessed, just like my computer?? :)

Don't close the door all the way, if you're worried. If the door isn't firmly latched, it *can't* lock.

In your case, I'd do a trial. Leave the car turned off with doors shut but not locked for varying lengths of time. See if the doors lock on their own. I suspect that what happened when you found your car locked was that either you locked the doors and forgot about it, or someone locked them for you. But I'd do some trials to see if they do auto lock after a set number of hours, because if they do, I suspect it's a flaw and Honda should be able to fix it for you. If this was a standard feature, their customers would be up in arms, because lots of people would be getting locked out of their cars daily.

[Rosemary]

We have a car with this "feature." It seems to be temperature-sensitive is the only thing I have to add to this thread. In winter, it will change itself from not auto-arming (our preferred setting) to auto-arming. It will also reverse the auto-arming phase so that it locks itself when we turn off the car. Sigh.

[bae]

I was once in the Yukon in nasty weather, and had stopped my truck to perform some necessaries. I left the truck running, as I walked to the nearest bush. About 10 steps from the truck, I heard the click-click-click of the automatic locking system engaging...

Luckily I had a spare key in my wallet. Or they wouldn't have found me until spring.

[CathyA]

LOL Rosemary........sounds like your car is possessed too. :)
I wonder if things like this happen when they're not supposed to, because the remote is getting old? I have my original remote and it quit working consistently. I replaced the battery in it, but its still inconsistent, so I'm thinking its the remote (not the remote's battery). But.......the Honda guy said a new one is around $100.! I'll keep the possessed one, thanks. haha Although your car locking when you turn off the car probably has nothing to do with the remote......but rather the gremlin under your hood.

[H-work]

When my mom (with dementia) was in my car, she would lock the door about every 5 minutes--nervous habit. She was in the passenger seat and had access to lock all the doors. When I'd get out, like to put something in the mailbox, I'd come back and all the doors were locked. Then it took me about 5 minutes (okay exaggerating, but it felt like 5 minutes, or 5 hours!) to explain to her how to push up on the lock to unlock the doors. So I got in the habit of never closing the door all the way.

[freein05]

I believe most if not all cars have a method to disable the self locking feature. I read my Honda manual and it states how you can disable this feature. I have not disabled it so I am not sure how it works. My Honda will not lock the doors if it is in park. It will only lock them if you are in drive and going over 8 MPH.

[bae]

I believe most if not all cars have a method to disable the self locking feature.

I ended up pithing the brain of the remote entry/locking system, and now simply use a physical key or the mechanical locking button on the door, because I really really don't want to end up eaten by grizzly bears because my car wants to save me from carjackers.

[CathyA]

Thanks everyone.