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I drive a VW ID.3, and while it has traditional door handles, there is a feature that drives me crazy: it auto-locks the doors when you start driving. There is

I drive a VW ID.3, and while it has traditional door handles, there is a feature that drives me crazy: it auto-locks the doors when you start driving. There is no way to turn this off. In case of a crash, the doors won't open from the outside. But they will also not open from the inside in case the electronics related to the central locking is damaged in the crash. I don't understand how this is considered a safety feature. In every single other car I'd driven there was a way to permanently disable such feature. Not in ID.3.

gpderetta 1y ago
There are crash sensors to trigger air bags, pre-tension seatbelts, cut off the fuel pump and so on. You would think that some engineer must have thought about auto-unlocking doors!
- siva7 1y ago
  Only after the user story has been written in blood.
- dfox 1y ago
  The reasoning behind the auto-locking feature is that when the doors are locked it adds to rigidity of the car and thus decreases the likelyhood of the passanger cabin collapsing on the occupants. Auto unlocking the doors would completely defeat the reason for that feature. The actual mechanism of how the door works as kind of "configurable deformation zone" usually involves somewhat thick steel rod running down the middle of the door that on hinge side abbuts similar strength member in the chasis and on the latch side connects to the latch. The latch has two distinct positions depending on whether the door is just latched or locked and the only latched position is not strong enough to hold the potential impact forces..
  - alwa 1y ago
    Huh! Autolocking behavior has bothered me for as long as I remember seeing it, and I’d love to believe that it improves safety against crashes (rather than notional “bad guys trying to open the door on your journey” or something). It’s only ever inconvenienced me, never helped. I’m having trouble finding more formal explanations for what you’re describing, though. I see a lot of talk about how the latching behavior links the door’s steel into the rest of the body, but very little about the structural aspects of the locks that link the handles to the latch’s release mechanism. I’m the farthest thing from a car engineer, but I wonder if you’d know of anyplace I could read more about this structural aspect of locking design? Every time I accidentally lock out a passenger, I get frustrated: I’d find grace and patience easier to muster if I understood how someday it might save both our lives :)
    - 542354234235 1y ago
      I am also not a car engineer, but from my reading of "Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Door Locks and Door Retention Components" [1] it is the latching that is meant to prevent the door opening, not the locks. However, even many modern cars have a mechanical linkage from the handle to the door. In a crash the mechanical linkage, particularly older style tension-type linkages, could unlatch the door when your body hit the door from the inside and physically moved the linkage [2]. A lot of doors use electric actuators now [3], and linkages are much better designed, but it seems like it could still be an issue, in theory. [1] https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2007/02/06/07-517/federal-motor-vehicle-safety-standards-door-locks-and-door-retention-components https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2007/02/06/07-517/... [2] http://www.autosafetyexpert.com/defect_doorlatch.php http://www.autosafetyexpert.com/defect_doorlatch.php [3] https://bestsellingcarsblog.com/2023/10/media-post-actuator-role-in-a-car-door-system-explained/ https://bestsellingcarsblog.com/2023/10/media-post-actuator-...
  - burnt-resistor 1y ago
    > The reasoning behind the auto-locking feature is that when the doors are locked it adds to rigidity of the car No, this is not the primary reason. The primary reason is safety from potential attack while in a confined, transitional space. My late grandparents' Lincoln Mark VII non-LSC had autolocking doors when shifting into drive in 1988.
- Timshel 1y ago
  They have, from the owner manual (page 106 https://ownersmanuals2.com/d/101316/volkswagen-id3-2025-owners-manual https://ownersmanuals2.com/d/101316/volkswagen-id3-2025-owne...) Automatic unlocking (Auto Unlock) All vehicle doors and the boot lid are automatically unlocked if one of the following conditions applies: — In an accident, when airbags have triggered. — Or: the electronic parking brake is engaged and the ignition is switched off. —Or: the door release lever has been operated. This applies at speeds up to around 15 km/h(around 9 mph).
  - gpderetta 1y ago
    This makes sense! But see your the sibling comment.
rightbyte 1y ago
> But they will also not open from the inside in case the electronics related to the central locking is damaged in the crash. Are you sure? Wont the internal handle unlock the door by mechanical means?
- freetonik 1y ago
  I am not sure. The driver's door handle unlocks all 4 doors, so at least that path is electronic. But I hope yes, each door's handle can also unlock the corresponding door's lock mechanically.
magnetometer 1y ago
The doors of an ID.3 will unlock automatically when the airbags are deployed. It's described in the AutoLock section of the owners manual.
- freetonik 1y ago
  Thanks! I stand corrected, I have missed that part in the manual.
- 3D30497420 1y ago
  This is part of the Euro NCAP standard: > Automatic Door Locking (ADL): System in the vehicle whereby the door latches automatically lock once the vehicle has reached a certain speed. They should also automatically unlock in the event of an accident, post impact. https://cdn.euroncap.com/media/43396/euro-ncap-rescue-extrication-safety-test-and-assessment-protocol-v10.pdf https://cdn.euroncap.com/media/43396/euro-ncap-rescue-extric... They also have a section for electric retractable door handles (5.3), including > It is assumed that by design the door handles will extend outwards ready for use when the SRS system deploys any airbag/detects a severe impact or the door handle remains in its retracted position but can be grabbed nevertheless by the first responder without any tool. I wonder if Tesla's don't do this? Or if it didn't in this case?
  - BrandoElFollito 1y ago
    "should" as in "recommended"? (I am not a native speaker of English)
    - 3D30497420 1y ago
      Honestly, not sure. I think this is open to interpretation (and maybe is clarified elsewhere in their documentation). Euro NCAP is a voluntary assessment program, so I believe all of these are just recommendations that will impact a vehicles scoring rather than mandatory safety standards.
- fooqux 1y ago
  That, presumably, is an electronic/computerized feature, not mechanical. So if the car is damaged enough to not have electricity, or that board was damaged in whatever caused the airbags to deploy, then the doors won't automatically unlock. Given the kinds of things that could make an airbag go off, I wouldn't bet on that feature working when needed.
seszett 1y ago
All modern cars have been locking the doors for the last 20 years or so, as far as I know. At least here in Western Europe. The door handles still work from the inside, they mechanically unlock the door unconditionally, meaning nobody can be trapped inside even by manually locking the doors. The exception is if you flip the "child safety" switch which disconnects the inside door handle of the rear doors.
- freetonik 1y ago
  >All modern cars have been locking the doors for the last 20 years or so, as far as I know. Yeah, and I would always disable that feature. Perhaps that was wrong to do, and now that I don't have a choice it's actually safer for me and my passengers.
  - piker 1y ago
    I hate this "feature". Was there a rash of children jumping out of cars that lead to its creation? It just seems like such a narrow set of facts where a child is big and smart enough to open the door but dumb enough to jump out and get seriously hurt. Opening a moving car door is presumably quite difficult given the aerodynamic pressure on the body. So the car would have to be moving rather slow and yet turning and moving fast enough that the child couldn't avoid disaster.
    - pmg101 1y ago
      I always assumed it to was prevent carjacking?
      - blooalien 1y ago
        > I always assumed it to was prevent carjacking? There can be more than one valid reason for a thing.
      - piker 1y ago
        I was talking about child locks which can be opened from the outside and increase the risk to children in the event of a car jacking.
SirFatty 1y ago
It's been a long time since I've had a vehicle (car or truck) that didn't auto-lock the doors.
- freetonik 1y ago
  I didn't say it's a new feature. I said the inability to disable it is.
Ccecil 1y ago
IIRC...on my older VW there is a way to set this to disable but it requires using OBDeleven/VCDS (or similar) via the CANBUS. Typically, there are a few different options of things you can enable/disable that have no other menu options. OBDeleven has "one touch apps" that makes this easy...but there is also other ways to do things using the adaptations or long coding. If you do any work on your own car having something like OBDeleven is pretty much required. You can't even change the rear brake pads without it.
burnt-resistor 1y ago
This has been around for 20+ years. It's a security feature that can often be disabled like here after Googling for 3 seconds: https://www.bitauto.com/ask/100122848912/ https://www.bitauto.com/ask/100122848912/ For safety, it's generally recommended to leave it on unless you want involuntary passengers.
- freetonik 1y ago
  I don’t know what this site is, looks like AI generated slop to be honest, but I can say that I have not found neither the option to disable it, not any report by any ID.3 forum user OR a corresponding entry in the user manual that would confirm the presence of this feature.
belter 1y ago
This can't be legal.

gpderetta 1y ago

There are crash sensors to trigger air bags, pre-tension seatbelts, cut off the fuel pump and so on. You would think that some engineer must have thought about auto-unlocking doors!

siva7 1y ago
Only after the user story has been written in blood.
dfox 1y ago
The reasoning behind the auto-locking feature is that when the doors are locked it adds to rigidity of the car and thus decreases the likelyhood of the passanger cabin collapsing on the occupants. Auto unlocking the doors would completely defeat the reason for that feature. The actual mechanism of how the door works as kind of "configurable deformation zone" usually involves somewhat thick steel rod running down the middle of the door that on hinge side abbuts similar strength member in the chasis and on the latch side connects to the latch. The latch has two distinct positions depending on whether the door is just latched or locked and the only latched position is not strong enough to hold the potential impact forces..
- alwa 1y ago
  Huh! Autolocking behavior has bothered me for as long as I remember seeing it, and I’d love to believe that it improves safety against crashes (rather than notional “bad guys trying to open the door on your journey” or something). It’s only ever inconvenienced me, never helped. I’m having trouble finding more formal explanations for what you’re describing, though. I see a lot of talk about how the latching behavior links the door’s steel into the rest of the body, but very little about the structural aspects of the locks that link the handles to the latch’s release mechanism. I’m the farthest thing from a car engineer, but I wonder if you’d know of anyplace I could read more about this structural aspect of locking design? Every time I accidentally lock out a passenger, I get frustrated: I’d find grace and patience easier to muster if I understood how someday it might save both our lives :)
  - 542354234235 1y ago
    I am also not a car engineer, but from my reading of "Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Door Locks and Door Retention Components" [1] it is the latching that is meant to prevent the door opening, not the locks. However, even many modern cars have a mechanical linkage from the handle to the door. In a crash the mechanical linkage, particularly older style tension-type linkages, could unlatch the door when your body hit the door from the inside and physically moved the linkage [2]. A lot of doors use electric actuators now [3], and linkages are much better designed, but it seems like it could still be an issue, in theory. [1] https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2007/02/06/07-517/federal-motor-vehicle-safety-standards-door-locks-and-door-retention-components https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2007/02/06/07-517/... [2] http://www.autosafetyexpert.com/defect_doorlatch.php http://www.autosafetyexpert.com/defect_doorlatch.php [3] https://bestsellingcarsblog.com/2023/10/media-post-actuator-role-in-a-car-door-system-explained/ https://bestsellingcarsblog.com/2023/10/media-post-actuator-...
- burnt-resistor 1y ago
  > The reasoning behind the auto-locking feature is that when the doors are locked it adds to rigidity of the car No, this is not the primary reason. The primary reason is safety from potential attack while in a confined, transitional space. My late grandparents' Lincoln Mark VII non-LSC had autolocking doors when shifting into drive in 1988.
Timshel 1y ago
They have, from the owner manual (page 106 https://ownersmanuals2.com/d/101316/volkswagen-id3-2025-owners-manual https://ownersmanuals2.com/d/101316/volkswagen-id3-2025-owne...) Automatic unlocking (Auto Unlock) All vehicle doors and the boot lid are automatically unlocked if one of the following conditions applies: — In an accident, when airbags have triggered. — Or: the electronic parking brake is engaged and the ignition is switched off. —Or: the door release lever has been operated. This applies at speeds up to around 15 km/h(around 9 mph).
- gpderetta 1y ago
  This makes sense! But see your the sibling comment.

rightbyte 1y ago

> But they will also not open from the inside in case the electronics related to the central locking is damaged in the crash. Are you sure? Wont the internal handle unlock the door by mechanical means?

freetonik 1y ago
I am not sure. The driver's door handle unlocks all 4 doors, so at least that path is electronic. But I hope yes, each door's handle can also unlock the corresponding door's lock mechanically.

magnetometer 1y ago

The doors of an ID.3 will unlock automatically when the airbags are deployed. It's described in the AutoLock section of the owners manual.

freetonik 1y ago
Thanks! I stand corrected, I have missed that part in the manual.
3D30497420 1y ago
This is part of the Euro NCAP standard: > Automatic Door Locking (ADL): System in the vehicle whereby the door latches automatically lock once the vehicle has reached a certain speed. They should also automatically unlock in the event of an accident, post impact. https://cdn.euroncap.com/media/43396/euro-ncap-rescue-extrication-safety-test-and-assessment-protocol-v10.pdf https://cdn.euroncap.com/media/43396/euro-ncap-rescue-extric... They also have a section for electric retractable door handles (5.3), including > It is assumed that by design the door handles will extend outwards ready for use when the SRS system deploys any airbag/detects a severe impact or the door handle remains in its retracted position but can be grabbed nevertheless by the first responder without any tool. I wonder if Tesla's don't do this? Or if it didn't in this case?
- BrandoElFollito 1y ago
  "should" as in "recommended"? (I am not a native speaker of English)
  - 3D30497420 1y ago
    Honestly, not sure. I think this is open to interpretation (and maybe is clarified elsewhere in their documentation). Euro NCAP is a voluntary assessment program, so I believe all of these are just recommendations that will impact a vehicles scoring rather than mandatory safety standards.
fooqux 1y ago
That, presumably, is an electronic/computerized feature, not mechanical. So if the car is damaged enough to not have electricity, or that board was damaged in whatever caused the airbags to deploy, then the doors won't automatically unlock. Given the kinds of things that could make an airbag go off, I wouldn't bet on that feature working when needed.

seszett 1y ago

All modern cars have been locking the doors for the last 20 years or so, as far as I know. At least here in Western Europe. The door handles still work from the inside, they mechanically unlock the door unconditionally, meaning nobody can be trapped inside even by manually locking the doors. The exception is if you flip the "child safety" switch which disconnects the inside door handle of the rear doors.

freetonik 1y ago
>All modern cars have been locking the doors for the last 20 years or so, as far as I know. Yeah, and I would always disable that feature. Perhaps that was wrong to do, and now that I don't have a choice it's actually safer for me and my passengers.
- piker 1y ago
  I hate this "feature". Was there a rash of children jumping out of cars that lead to its creation? It just seems like such a narrow set of facts where a child is big and smart enough to open the door but dumb enough to jump out and get seriously hurt. Opening a moving car door is presumably quite difficult given the aerodynamic pressure on the body. So the car would have to be moving rather slow and yet turning and moving fast enough that the child couldn't avoid disaster.
  - pmg101 1y ago
    I always assumed it to was prevent carjacking?
    - blooalien 1y ago
      > I always assumed it to was prevent carjacking? There can be more than one valid reason for a thing.
    - piker 1y ago
      I was talking about child locks which can be opened from the outside and increase the risk to children in the event of a car jacking.

SirFatty 1y ago

It's been a long time since I've had a vehicle (car or truck) that didn't auto-lock the doors.

freetonik 1y ago
I didn't say it's a new feature. I said the inability to disable it is.

Ccecil 1y ago

IIRC...on my older VW there is a way to set this to disable but it requires using OBDeleven/VCDS (or similar) via the CANBUS. Typically, there are a few different options of things you can enable/disable that have no other menu options. OBDeleven has "one touch apps" that makes this easy...but there is also other ways to do things using the adaptations or long coding. If you do any work on your own car having something like OBDeleven is pretty much required. You can't even change the rear brake pads without it.

burnt-resistor 1y ago

This has been around for 20+ years. It's a security feature that can often be disabled like here after Googling for 3 seconds: https://www.bitauto.com/ask/100122848912/ https://www.bitauto.com/ask/100122848912/ For safety, it's generally recommended to leave it on unless you want involuntary passengers.

freetonik 1y ago
I don’t know what this site is, looks like AI generated slop to be honest, but I can say that I have not found neither the option to disable it, not any report by any ID.3 forum user OR a corresponding entry in the user manual that would confirm the presence of this feature.

belter 1y ago

This can't be legal.