Just Learned A tough Lesson About New Rental Cars

I'm in Grand Rapids freezing my nuts off at a customer. Woke up this morning with snow and ice on the car. So I warm it up and proceed to scrape the ice and snow off of the windows. Then I decide to grap a cup of coffee before I head out. Well, I get back and the doors won't open. I'm thinking the doors are froze shut.

So I call the roadside assistance and I'm promotly told it's a anti-theft device for the doors to self lock with the keys in the ignition. Man, do I feel like a moron. Had to call the customer and explain what happened and luckly they took it well.

Just hope someone learns from my embarrasment! Ok, daily rant over...

 

My father in laws car would do that. We'd get in and the doors would lock. I thought it was creepy, so I'd unlock my door. Seriously, what if you were plunged into water and the electrical shorted out? (Not that it would have happened when I was in the car)

I think the reason they do this is so kids can't just open the door and fall out. (In say, the last 5 decades, how many times do you think that a kid has done that?) My gripe is : stop protecting us from ourselves. How does the car's doors locking prevent theft? Assuming the theif has the keys/he's in the drivers seat, if the doors lock, he can just unlock them and get out.

Dumb and dumber on the auto industy's part!

 

If the cars electrical system shorted out then you simply get out the old school way ...Unlock the door with your hand

 

i fell out of a car before. it was an old big ass station wagon, the back door opeed going around a turn, and i grabbed it to try to shut it, and it pulled me right out. i dragged ont he ground holding the door, with the rear tire spinning right nest to my head. my brother tried to tell my parents, but the were talking and didnt listen right away. i probably was pulled a couple 100 feet. got up wasnt crying until my dad flipped on me (i was about 9).

 

I'm a dork.

 

I think it's more to protect you while YOU are in the drivers seat, so that if a thief was trying to jack your car he can't just walk up and open the door and yank yo punk ass out. A friend of mine used to have a car like this, and what he always did was left the keys in the car like not in the open but he left the keys in the car and kept his remote in his pocket. If I had a car that did this I would keep the remote on one of them quick release key chains so I could have the keys in the car while running and the remote I could click off and take with me. Kinda like I do now with my house keys. I go out start the car, and go back inside while it warms up...well if all my keys were in the car I'd have to shut it back off then lock the bolt lock. So this allows me to lock the doors to the house and keep the car running. Nice little trinket to have.

 

Most lock when you put the car in drive, and unlock when you put the car in park.... I have an 05 and my wife an 04... I have never heard of a car just locking bacause it is sitting there in park.....

 

BTW what kinda car was it? However, it should not have locked until the shifter is put into a gear. I've not seen any that lock when you put the key in and start the car.

 

Could it be that you got in the car, started it up, and by habit locked the door as you got out and then locked yourself out?

 

Re: Re: Just Learned A tough Lesson About New Rental Cars

The only way I could see someone locking themselves in is if the car was butted up against a concrete wall, you put it in drive, get out, and close the doors.....

 

Great idea that makes sence. However, when you rent a car they use a permanent loop that can't be seperated.

I'm kind of getting angry. Roadside hasn't shown up yet. I'm about ready to rip the antenna off and use it to break the rear door window out. I've got to get to work and make my flight this afternoon.

 

Just a little FYI about car doors while sinking. If your door is locked or unlocked isn't going to make a difference in most cases bacause you aren't going to be able to open it against the pressure anyway once you are a few feet under. That's why you break the glass to equalize pressure... then you swim out. That's why you buy you one of those little hammers with the cutter for the seat belt and the hammer to bust the window. The spring loaded center punches work well too for breaking the glass.

Many of the cars with electric doors locks aren't capable of being unlocked manually when the power is out.

The rental I'm driving locks the doors once it's in gear and moving. I've never had one that will lock the doors with the transmission in park. I would have been pissed not embarrassed.

 

Nope. It's a Buik Rendaveu (Spelling). When I called the roadside assistance he knew exactly what had happened. It's part of the ant-theft device to keep the car from getting stolen---at least that is what he said.

 

Well with that said, I think I would have been pissed as well and bitched at the guy because it should have been something that they told you prior to renting the car. Thanks for the headsup on what car...as I rent cars from airports to get to customers for my job as well. NOTE to self don't take a Buick Rendeveau lol Sorry about your luck bro.

 

that's what my wife has, and trust me it doesn't lock without you putting it in drive.... and it's rendezvous....

 

You can look in the owners manual most have different settings you can adjust to your pleasure..lock when put in gea, lock upon closing, lock after 10MPH..look in the book.

 

Trust me, this one self locks. I'm sure it is part of the rental companies setting. And it's the most fugly car I have driven all year. Don't get me started on the rear view mirror. Anyway, hope you got a good deal on it.

 

Wife's parent's bought it for her as a graduation present... they had a GM card and got 6k off of it or something... they ended up paying 13k after rebates and GM card.....

I don't recall the rear view mirror being that bad.... I do know the instruments are a little wierd but besides that the thing has TONS of room, gets GREAT gas mileage, and we've run up almost 70k miles on it without having to do anything but change the oil.... Oh, sorry, a front wheel bearing went out at around 50k, but that was probably because I drive the shit out of that thing, and it was the left front, the one that takes the most beating on an exit/entrace ramp....

 

This is what the book says, at least the electronic version....

Programmable Door Locks
Memory door locks are available to enable Rendezvous owners to program the automatic door lock system to perform a variety of tasks, including automatically locking all doors when the driver shifts the vehicle out of PARK.

 

My Acura TL has that but you can program it different ways, I now have it set so that when you put it in gear they lock, the when you put it in park they unlock. I learned my lessons while locking myself out.