6 ms·

Huh. I guess I always just press the button again if I'm unsure if the car is locked or not. "Effectively impossible to verify that the car was locked" seems li

by rconti 9y ago

Huh. I guess I always just press the button again if I'm unsure if the car is locked or not. "Effectively impossible to verify that the car was locked" seems like a bit of a stretch. I not-infrequently hit the lock button on my fob while I'm in the house just to see the lights flash on the car to confirm it's locked, particularly before I go to bed. This is the same behavior I've used on all cars I've owned that have (push-button remote) keyless entry for, I don't know, decades?

lisper 9y ago
This is part of the problem: every time you push the door button the lock state toggles. If it was locked, then pushing the button unlocks the doors. And the sound of locking and unlocking is identical. Once you're unsure of what state you're in, there are only three ways to be sure again: 1. Lock the car using the fob (which sounds the horn) 2. Unlock the car using the fob, and then lock it using the door button. 3. Pull on the handle.
- derekp7 9y ago
  Really? my key fob (Ford Fusion) has a separate lock and unlock buttons. Also, the auto-unlock feature can be disabled through a setup menu on the car dashboard. Furthermore, the spot where a physical lock stem would normally be has a red LED that lights when the door is locked. Finally, it if you touch the outside of the handle in a certain, the doors lock. Really nice feature.
  - lisper 9y ago
    Yes, the fob works that way. It's the door button that toggles. But the fob sounds the horn, so if you don't want to be obnoxious you have to use the door button (or lock all the doors manually).
    - derekp7 9y ago
      Only if I hit the lock button twice -- once locks, twice gives the horn beep as a "confirmation" (Ford seems to have really figured it out on this car model). But I can hear the mechanical lock activate from just hitting it once. Oh, and the door also has two buttons, one for lock, the other unlock. Never seen a car door with only one button that toggles. This is one of those cases where I wish all products had open firmware, so that you can install a best-of-breed user interface on all cars (not to mention, have my car fob also work on multiple cars from different manufactures, and also on the my house door lock).
    - rconti 9y ago
      Huh. I've never seen one like that. The ones I've seen (Infiniti, BMW, VW, others I'm sure) unlock when you put your hand into the door cup to grab the handle. They lock by touching an area to the side of the door handle in some way; an action that can't be confused with the opening action.
mseebach 9y ago
That's where this becomes a problem specifically for rentals. This is a car I'm unfamiliar with, my "enough" is a lot higher. My suitcase is in that trunk, I'd like to physically confirm that it's actually locked, and I haven't made some silly wrong assumption about which sound or blinking means locked or if I pressed the wrong button or whatever. I quickly get used to it, but it's a bit of a barrier every time. But the problem is really around rental cars more than the feature being a bad idea.
- rconti 9y ago
  Central locking has a bit of a learning curve anyway. Used to be, every door was locked individually. With central locking, now your trunk might be set to unlock with the car, or it might stay locked regardless of the central locking status. Or maybe you hit a button that unlocked (but didn't unlatch!) your trunk, and now it's just waiting for someone to press the button and open it. Those problems aren't made worse by this tech, though; they've been around forever, and it's certainly confusing in a rental car context. (How many drivers have called the rental car agency confused about not being able to get the car out of Park, not realizing they have to depress the brake to shift into gear?)

by rconti 9y ago

lisper 9y ago

This is part of the problem: every time you push the door button the lock state toggles. If it was locked, then pushing the button unlocks the doors. And the sound of locking and unlocking is identical. Once you're unsure of what state you're in, there are only three ways to be sure again: 1. Lock the car using the fob (which sounds the horn) 2. Unlock the car using the fob, and then lock it using the door button. 3. Pull on the handle.

derekp7 9y ago
Really? my key fob (Ford Fusion) has a separate lock and unlock buttons. Also, the auto-unlock feature can be disabled through a setup menu on the car dashboard. Furthermore, the spot where a physical lock stem would normally be has a red LED that lights when the door is locked. Finally, it if you touch the outside of the handle in a certain, the doors lock. Really nice feature.
- lisper 9y ago
  Yes, the fob works that way. It's the door button that toggles. But the fob sounds the horn, so if you don't want to be obnoxious you have to use the door button (or lock all the doors manually).
  - derekp7 9y ago
    Only if I hit the lock button twice -- once locks, twice gives the horn beep as a "confirmation" (Ford seems to have really figured it out on this car model). But I can hear the mechanical lock activate from just hitting it once. Oh, and the door also has two buttons, one for lock, the other unlock. Never seen a car door with only one button that toggles. This is one of those cases where I wish all products had open firmware, so that you can install a best-of-breed user interface on all cars (not to mention, have my car fob also work on multiple cars from different manufactures, and also on the my house door lock).
  - rconti 9y ago
    Huh. I've never seen one like that. The ones I've seen (Infiniti, BMW, VW, others I'm sure) unlock when you put your hand into the door cup to grab the handle. They lock by touching an area to the side of the door handle in some way; an action that can't be confused with the opening action.

mseebach 9y ago

That's where this becomes a problem specifically for rentals. This is a car I'm unfamiliar with, my "enough" is a lot higher. My suitcase is in that trunk, I'd like to physically confirm that it's actually locked, and I haven't made some silly wrong assumption about which sound or blinking means locked or if I pressed the wrong button or whatever. I quickly get used to it, but it's a bit of a barrier every time. But the problem is really around rental cars more than the feature being a bad idea.

rconti 9y ago
Central locking has a bit of a learning curve anyway. Used to be, every door was locked individually. With central locking, now your trunk might be set to unlock with the car, or it might stay locked regardless of the central locking status. Or maybe you hit a button that unlocked (but didn't unlatch!) your trunk, and now it's just waiting for someone to press the button and open it. Those problems aren't made worse by this tech, though; they've been around forever, and it's certainly confusing in a rental car context. (How many drivers have called the rental car agency confused about not being able to get the car out of Park, not realizing they have to depress the brake to shift into gear?)