General Automatic locking question

Currently reading:
General Automatic locking question

carstruck

New member
Joined
Aug 7, 2009
Messages
12
Points
2
Location
Staffordshire
Hi!
The Sedici handbook says that if no doors are opened within about 30 seconds after unlocking,then the doors will lock automatically again. This makes good sense to me but does anyone know if this should happen when you have unlocked the doors and are sitting inside! This happens with my car but I can't recall it happening for the first couple of years. I asked the main dealer where my car was serviced today and he said that it was normal. I find this hard to believe as it seems to me that it would be too easy to accidentally lock your keys inside and I don't always want to be locked in!

If anyone knows if this is correct or not I would be most grateful! :confused:
 
The doors will auto lock after 30 sec if doors are not opened regardless of if your in or out of the car. I can't see how this can cause any issues.
I do not like the idea of being locked in the car - I like to keep my doors unlocked when travelling in case of access required in the unfortunate event of an accident. With this locking feature, I have to remember to unlock the doors before pulling off. Also, suppose you happened to put you keys down in the car and close the door - your keys would be locked in after 30 seconds!

It is really puzzling me because I have had the car almost 4 years and have never found myself locked in before (which I feel sure I would have noticed before now if this was normal) so I wondered if this was a newly developed fault.
 
you have nothing to worry about, when you unlock your car (from the outside) and do not operate the handles then it should auto lock after 30sec.......

sit 2/ you have been on a journey (with the doors locked) and once you have reached your destination you pull the door lever to exit the vehicle.... which breaks the locking circut and therefor stops the car from locking when your out of the vehicle making it virtually impossible to lock keys etc in the car..... have you tried to operate your key while being sat in the car? i.e tried to press the lock and unlock buttons?

it should allow you to lock the vehicle but the second you put your key in the ignition to pos II then it should auto unlock

also in the event of an accident the ecu sends signals to unlock the doors when the airbags are deployed
 
OP how can you lock the keys in the car? You have to be in it to do that, auto relock only happens when you haven't opened the doors after unlocking. Thus meaning your keys are either in the car with yiu, or outside the car with you.

Drive lock where the doors lock when you are in montuno is a different feature all together where the locks activate as soon as you go over 20km/h. This can be deactivated in the cars menu.

In an accident as mentioned the airbag ECU sends a signal to unlock the doors and failing that there are windows that can be put through ;)
 
OK - so here's a scenario. I open the doors to get something out of the car - let's say some shopping, maybe from the boot or the back seat, and happen to put my keys down somewhere whilst I pick up the shopping and take it out. I shut the car, thirty seconds later the doors lock - the keys are now inside the car. OK - so I should be careful but it could so easily happen. Doesn't seem like a good feature to me. Would be fine if it didn't re-lock once the doors had been opened.

P.S. Pleased to know about the ECU sending a signal to unlock the doors in an accident.
 
Last edited:
Is this a hypothetical scenario? The 30 second auto-relock should only operate if ,say, the remote unlock button had accidentally been pressed, then rather than the car remaining unlocked, the central locking ecu will determine that no entry has been made, and make the car safe.
 
OK - so here's a scenario. I open the doors to get something out of the car - let's say some shopping, maybe from the boot or the back seat, and happen to put my keys down somewhere whilst I pick up the shopping and take it out. I shut the car, thirty seconds later the doors lock - the keys are now inside the car. OK - so I should be careful but it could so easily happen. Doesn't seem like a good feature to me. Would be fine if it didn't re-lock once the doors had been opened.

P.S. Pleased to know about the ECU sending a signal to unlock the doors in an accident.

As mentioned several times auto relock won't happen if entry has taken place :bang:

So your scenario will never happen!
 
Is this a hypothetical scenario? The 30 second auto-relock should only operate if ,say, the remote unlock button had accidentally been pressed, then rather than the car remaining unlocked, the central locking ecu will determine that no entry has been made, and make the car safe.
Hi, yes, this was sort of hypothetical to help to get my point across - but it really could happen in my car. it locks itself even after entering the car so perhaps a fault has developed with my locking/unlocking system. As I said at the onset, I don't recall this happening when I first had the car.
 
As mentioned several times auto relock won't happen if entry has taken place :bang:

So your scenario will never happen!
At last! Most Easterly, this is exactly my point - you say that auto relock won't happen if entry has taken place but it does! I unlock the car, get in and it re-locks - so do you think I do have a fault after all? :bang:
 
Last edited:
At last! Most Easterly, this is exactly my point - you say that auto relock won't happen if entry has taken place but it does! I unlock the car, get in and it re-locks - so do you think I do have a fault after all?

Right, it does indeed sound like there is a fault. Does it happen only if you go in via one particular door or if you go in via any door :confused:
 
Right, it does indeed sound like there is a fault. Does it happen only if you go in via one particular door or if you go in via any door :confused:
I haven't checked that out as I only usually enter by the driver's door. I will try the other doors and see what happens. Thanks. I have noticed that my key fob is beginning to work intermittently so perhaps the battery is getting low. Do you think a low key fob battery could cause this problem? if so then the answer is easy!
 
I doubt that the low battery will be causing that issue. When you open the drivers door does the interior light come on or if the key is in the ignition does the dash say the drivers door is open when it's opened (not sure if your car has that feature)?

I'm just wondering if you've a fault with the door switch on the door so that car thinks it's never been opened even if it has.
 
I doubt that the low battery will be causing that issue. When you open the drivers door does the interior light come on or if the key is in the ignition does the dash say the drivers door is open when it's opened (not sure if your car has that feature)?

I'm just wondering if you've a fault with the door switch on the door so that car thinks it's never been opened even if it has.
Will check that out tomorrow and let you know. Thanks!
 
I doubt that the low battery will be causing that issue. When you open the drivers door does the interior light come on or if the key is in the ignition does the dash say the drivers door is open when it's opened (not sure if your car has that feature)?

I'm just wondering if you've a fault with the door switch on the door so that car thinks it's never been opened even if it has.

Most Easterly Pandas, you are a genius! I tried unlocking then getting in the passenger side; the interior light came on and the car did NOT re-lock. When I do the same on the driver's side the interior light doesn't come on it re-locks. So you are dead right - using the drivers side, the car thinks that it has never been opened even though it has. Any ideas how I can sort this out? :)
 
I'm not 100% sure on the setup on the Sedici but where the wiring goes from the door into the 'A' pillar of the car is there a round plug that you can unplug? Might be black with a grey half circular tab you pull upwards. If so try unplugging it and re-plugging it in again, might just be a bit of dirt in there. I sometimes have this with my Stilo and the external temp display on the dash. Unplugging this plug and then replugging it resolves the issue for a few months at a time :)

Let us know how you get on (y)
 
I'm not 100% sure on the setup on the Sedici but where the wiring goes from the door into the 'A' pillar of the car is there a round plug that you can unplug? Might be black with a grey half circular tab you pull upwards. If so try unplugging it and re-plugging it in again, might just be a bit of dirt in there. I sometimes have this with my Stilo and the external temp display on the dash. Unplugging this plug and then replugging it resolves the issue for a few months at a time :)

Let us know how you get on (y)
Thanks very much, I'll take a look and let you know hgow I get on. Very grateful to you for helping to sort this. P.S. My son has a Stilo too and loves it!
 
I'm not 100% sure on the setup on the Sedici but where the wiring goes from the door into the 'A' pillar of the car is there a round plug that you can unplug? Might be black with a grey half circular tab you pull upwards. If so try unplugging it and re-plugging it in again, might just be a bit of dirt in there. I sometimes have this with my Stilo and the external temp display on the dash. Unplugging this plug and then replugging it resolves the issue for a few months at a time :)

Let us know how you get on (y)
Today I just pressed the plunger with the rubber cover repeatedly, (which activates the light when entering on the drivers side), and this seems to have done the trick. So perhaps as you suggested it had just stuck. Hey presto - the car does not re-lock any more and is behaving as it should!

I can't tell you how pleased I am, but must admit that I am a bit embarassed at not guessing that the fault was connected with the door switch/interior light which perhaps I should have done. In my defence, I have rarely been driving at night recently (which is why I hadn't noticed that the interior light wasn't working) and even if I had noticed it, I am not sure that I would have made the connection with the re-locking issue. Anyway, all's well that ends well and thank you again for helping me to resolve this (when my main dealer said that there was not a fault and it was normal!!!). Wish you were my main dealer!! :):):):):):)(y)
 
Back
Top