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Locked inside my car. Can't get out. Car alarm blaring.

Did you turn off your car's automatic door lock system? I did, after getting trapped inside.

"Wish that !#! alarm would shut up," I thought. At least the car windows were cracked.

Last Friday, Karen and I were meeting at a park for a hike. Since Karen has a dog, we take her car to the trailhead. I arrived early.

Getting ready, I piled hiking gear on the grass. Locked my purse with keys in the trunk. Sat down in the driver's seat to blow my nose. My mistake: I accidentally pressed lock instead of unlock with the door closed. Trapped.

When I tried pulling the trunk lever, the car alarm started screaming. I can crawl from the front seat out the trunk. But the trunk lever was locked, too. It didn't work.

Looked longingly through the window at my daypack with extra car keys. Forgot my smartphone again. slaps forehead

"Karen will be here shortly," I consoled myself. When Karen arrived, I frantically motioned her closer.

"The car key is attached inside my pack at the top!" I yelled over the car alarm.

"The next time you get your oil changed, have them turn off the automatic door lock system," Karen said. "Good idea," I replied. "I'm filled with adrenaline."

Returning home, I looked it up in the Honda manual. It was easy to turn off.

LiterateHiker 9 July 23
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22 comments

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5

My car is so old that I have no idea what you are talking about. lol

I've no clue either.

Ditto! I don’t understand how someone can get locked inside their car. This is a first for me!

5

Ah! Technology! A friend of mine had a brilliant idea. He firmly attached short metal chains to all his trousers, inside the pocket, and then fixed his car and house keys to the chain whenever he went out.
Great, until one day, as he got out and auto-locked his car door the keys swung into the car as the door closed and locked. There he was, firmly attached by a strong chain to his car door. He had to remove his trousers, then cadge a lift back home, retrieve his emergency house key from its secret hiding place, grab a pair of trousers and his spare keys, then hike 2 miles back to his car.

Petter Level 9 July 23, 2019

@Petter

Hilarious! You're a great storyteller.

He thought he could outsmart technology. Good luck with that.

They actually make a chain that can be attached to one's BELT that can be attached to the keys. You should tell you friend about that. .... It's retractable too!

Hope he wasn't going commando that day.

@RavenCT This was 35 years ago, in Kenya.

@RavenCT, @UpsideDownAgain That would have made an interesting spectacle.

@Petter "The Gods Must be Crazy" sort of fella then? 😉

@RavenCT One of my favourite films, especially since I have personally experienced many of those situations, including nearly winching a Power Wagon up a tree or driving miles through the bush with no brakes and no clutch.

@Petter I love it! I have it and should pull it out and watch it again. It's a great film for laughing.
I can imagine you getting up to some of that. 😉

@RavenCT Believe me. Not one of those episodes is far-fetched. Right down to trying to hold a car with one hand whilst trying to get hold of a stone with one's foot to put under a wheel.
The film merely makes real-life situations a bit "larger-than-life".

2

Glad you did not get heat stroke or anything while waiting! My Toyota has a back seat secret panel that allows me to access the trunk from inside the car or from the trunk to the car. One of my biggest fears is being trapped in my trunk and not being able to get out...too many detective shows...ha ha.

Mine only lock once I am in forward motion with the key in the ignition.

I also have one of those hammer window things since my near disaster experience with a flash flood. Fortunately, I thought quick enough to roll down a window and unlock my doors before water took out the electrical system.

I was rescued through the open window.

@thinktwice

Glad you are okay. Your quick-thinking saved your life in the flash flood. Scary.

You're right: I am small enough to crawl from the front seat out the trunk. I thought of that.

When I pulled the lever to open the trunk, the car alarm started screaming.

It didn't work with the automatic door lock system engaged.

2

Oops

bobwjr Level 10 July 23, 2019
1
1

The same situation happened to me when I was smaller. I almost suffocated in the car due to the high temperature outside. I was running with my dad when I remembered I forgot my headphones. I returned back to take them, and by accident, I pressed the lock button. After one hour my dad found me in the car almost suffocated and half dead. When I got well, my dad gave me the number of locksmith near me and taught me how to turn on/off the central locking.

1

I just ran the test on my Chevrolet Volt looks like they beat Honda on this one with my remote inside the house I got into the car and shut the door the car locked after 30 seconds I pulled the door handle once the lock knob came up on the second pull the door opened. But boy gets pissed if I unplug the charge cable without unlocking it.

1

Is this what it's come to? I fear the Luddites might be on to something.

1

Whatever happened to those magnetic key containers that we used to put in the wheel well? Technology is the thing that keeps me in the classics.

1

What an experience!!

1

That'll give you something to laugh about, once the irritation fades away. 🙂

1

It strikes me that the car manufacturer went way too far in designing and installing a system that seems to be for trapping a would-be car thief. Trapping car thieves is not their job...your safety is. They (car manufactures and government safety requirements have run amok. Two others in point, the TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System) and the "Passlock" system on Chevy Colorados. The government mandated TPMS system works fine for the original owner who does not keep the vehicle for ten years. However, the less wealthy do not buy new cars, they buy used and the poorer they are the older the cars they buy. Many of those TPMS systems have a battery with a service life of about ten years. So the poor smuck who buys that car faces the certainty of having to replace all four of the censers (about $400.00 or so.) or driving with the TPMS constantly light on... sums ah bitches. 🙂

As for the Passlock System, it is a feature that is designed to thwart would-be car thieves from using a "shaved" key to start and steal a vehicle. However, when the vehicle gets old and the ignition key switch becomes worn, the vehicle will not start for fifteen minutes via the computer. After the obligatory fifteen minutes, the vehicle starts. Very annoying. Again, it is the economically disadvantaged owner who ends up with that problem, not the wealthier original owner. Note: If you are one of the Chevy/GMC pickup owners who has run into the Passlock problem, go to the Colorado forum websites and they will have a "fix", where you turn on the vehicle and cut a certain wire that makes the computer think the Passlock system has failed and your vehicle will start as it should...however the Passlock System light on the dash will always be lighted.

1

It seems like criminally bad design to have doors that can't be opened from the inside in certain circumstances. What if there's a fire? Building codes require two exits to avoid the possibility of being trapped inside for just that reason.

1

Um... the car manual should be in the car glove box... just a thought. <now, where should this go in "Tales of the Literate Hiker"?>.....
🙄

@bigpawbullets

Of course the car manual was in the glove box.

To turn off the auto door lock system, the first step is:

  1. Open the driver's door.
1

Well I hope you had a nice hike.

1

The back seats will generally have a lever to flop down and then the trunk has a pull lever too.

A feature that will make a car impossible to open from INSIDE seems really stupid.

What is even the reason for that?

@BufftonBeotch

Beats me. Ask Honda.

@BuffonBeotch

You're right: I am small enough to crawl from the front seat out the trunk. I thought of that.

When I pulled the lever to open the trunk, the car alarm started screaming.

It didn't work with the automatic door lock system engaged.

1

This is my never ending fear. I had no clue that the auto lock could be turned off. Now I am going to go check my manual. Thanks for the info. Sorry you had to go through that stress though.

1

Where's rod serling when you need him ?

Buddha Level 8 July 23, 2019
1

Quite the story Hope you never have to go thru it again

0

"Thousands of Japanese citizens drowned in the Tsunami in locked cars," Karen said today. "They couldn't get out and rescuers could not open the doors."

0

I'm going to have to try that with my Voltbut as I recall two pulls on the door latch on the inside will open it when locked, I'll let you know.

0

I sort of know the feeling. My car has so many safety features I am always getting the beeping sound and have to look around to see what is wrong. Since the engine cuts off when I stop I often forget to turn the car off - then comes the beeping. If a door or even the sunroof is open, beeping. If the parking brake is activated even a little when I start to move, beeping. Many times I get the beeping and have to consult the manual to find what I did or didn't do. Try to change settings. One almost needs a crash course in which buttons to push and in what order. Technology doesn't always make life easier but it does make life more complicated.

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