Locked in the Car and Unable to get Out - Food for Thought

[Hoss710]

I have heard of this issue with tesla's before. the? 1 I had heard in 1 case in Philadelphia where that car started to catch on fire. and they doors were locked with them stuck inside. a guy looking out his window saw it, grabbed his shovel and broke out the windows. I couldn't imagine it !!!

 

[etpm]

I find this very hard to believe. That a car door cannot be opened from the inside when the electric door locks won't work. Same for the battery in the trunk. This is a safety issue. Maybe even a life and death issue. My son has a Chevy HHR. The panel van version. And it also has the battery in the trunk. Next to the spare tire and partly under the inside body work. Which would make it really hard to jump because the spare tire would need to be removed and the battery shifted in order to gain access to both battery posts. I commented on this to my son as I was wondering how to jump the thing if it was loaded with cargo because it would be a pain to unload it to get access to the battery. He told me jumping is no problem because obvious provisions for jumping are under the hood so access to the battery is not necessary. I just cannot believe a car can prevented from opening from the inside for any electrical reason.
Eric

 

[MossRoad]

Tesla has a manual door release if your battery dies and you're inside.

 

[MossRoad]

I know no one does, but man, read your car's owner's/operator's manual. It's all in there.

 

[big bubba]

So how do you know when the oil is at full during an oil change? Wait for the sensor? Jon

couldn't believe it when i looked to check oil. everything is sensor driven.

 

[not2old]

My summer car is a 2014 CTS-V coupe. It has electrically operated door latches that will not let my wife open the door when I'm out pumping gas with the fob in my pocket. The emergency release in on the floor near the front of the door and is hard to reach. I now hear about it if I forget to open her window before getting out. I hate fobs and prior to this car I used a key only, never using the fob. It's highly annoying to want to get something out of the car and it has automatically locked with the fob in the house. It's gotten worse. Yesterday I bought a 2018 Grand Cherokee that has keyless entry and I now need another fob. Gone are the days when I had three f series trucks, all using the same key. They call it progress, but I think it's two steps back. Enough of a rant for now.

 

[oosik]

We locked the keys in the pickup once. The doors were locked too. Don't remember how we did it but if it was possible - we could do it. Fortunately we had a sliding rear window on the pickup. Took a while but finally poped the lock and the wife was able to skinny in thru the rear window opening.

 

[stuckmotor]

Would an elderly lady have the strength to bust a window with the hammer or have the funds to replace a broken window because of a dead battery and being locked inside. Bad situation in my mind.

I suppose the answer to those questions would depend on the elderly lady. If I ever heard of anyone using one of those gadgets to get out of a car, I don't remember it.

 

[ddbackhoe]

I suppose the answer to those questions would depend on the elderly lady. If I ever heard of anyone using one of those gadgets to get out of a car, I don't remember it.

Well, you just never know. My pocket knife is one of these,

8 in. Drop-Point Folding Knife with Glass Break and Belt Cutter

You don't need to be a first responder to appreciate this rugged folder. If being prepared for any scenario is important to you, this versatile knife is the perfect companion. The razor sharp 3-1/4 inch drop point blade is equally adept at cutting and thrusting. The integrated seat belt cutter...

www.catpremiumproducts.com

 

[BnRidge]

I know no one does, but man, read your car's owner's/operator's manual. It's all in there.

The saturn was my mothers. She had had a heart attach, pulled over, dead. Later that evening I went to get the car and drive it home. Put down a towel, turn the key, battery dead. Get the manual out? Some things should be readily apparent without a chinese puzzle to figure out. Things like blinkers, wipers, mirrors, doors, heat/ac should be accessible without hesitation. I once rented a "vehicle" in Syracuse, to take to Watertown ny. Long flight in, diverted due to snow, January, Watertown was expecting blizzard conditions, cold and dark, two grammas, adults, kids, full. Open it up, go to pop the hatch, wheres the latch? (Lincoln navigator or some similar beast). Three people searching for 5 min, nada. The dash was a mirage of buttons with kryptic labels. Finally threw the luggage over the back seat.

 

[Streetcar]

This happened to my wife's friend today. She is elderly and lives alone in a rural spot. She got in the car to go to their little weekly rug hooking session at the town library. Her habit is to lock the doors. She started cranking the car over and it wouldn't start. She cranked until the battery was totally flat. The the doors would not unlock w/o battery power. Panic... Finally she thought to call the dealer to ask how to get out. You can't !!! The dealer came over and jumped the battery before she could get out. Can you believe it.

It is going to be below zero tonight. Wonder if she was in a no cell service zone of which there are many around here or she had no phone with her. No good.

gg

With Ford Edge,wife left headlights on and drained battery. Car automatically turned off lights at 8 volts. Locks worked but it would not crank

 

[mikester]

I’ve never seen a vehicle without a manual lock lever. That sounds like a really poor design.

Sounds to me like the elephant in the room might be Dementia.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Didn't some elderly man die in a new Corvette a few years ago for the same reason? He was locked in the car and couldn't get out, and baked to death in the hot sun?

I seem to remember lawsuits flew over that one?

 

[Monster5601]

My wife's 2013 Equinox, if the doors are locked, the first pull of the inside door release does nothing, but the second pull will open the door. When her battery went out, she could get out of the car but neither of us could remove the ignition key until I put my jump box on the battery.

 

[Monster5601]

Didn't some elderly man die in a new Corvette a few years ago for the same reason? He was locked in the car and couldn't get out, and baked to death in the hot sun?

I seem to remember lawsuits flew over that one?

I remember that. It was unfortunate because his death (and his dog) didn't need to happen if he knew about the manual door release.

Texas man, dog, die inside Corvette when doors and windows won’t open

A 72-year-old Texas man perished inside his dream Corvette when its lock system malfunctioned and he was trapped inside with his dog, Leia.

www.nydailynews.com

 

[bmg88201]

I would love to take some of those auto engineers and put them one of those cars, take out the battery and tell them if you can’t get out of the car you are FIRED !!! In my Tacoma you can open locked driver’s door with the handle even if the battery is stone dead. I had no idea you could be locked inside a car under any circumstance. Don’t ya just love progress.

 

[bnold]

So, have we identified any cars that you can’t get out of with a dead battery?

Seems most listed have a manual release.

 

[MossRoad]

So, have we identified any cars that you can’t get out of with a dead battery?

Seems most listed have a manual release.

Someone sent me a link in a PM to this story. Battery wasn't dead, but the car was locked form the outside with the fob and the person inside could not get out and died.

Very tragic story. 1997 BMW.

No Escape: California Family Sues BMW After Teen Dies in Locked Car - The Detroit Bureau

The family of a 14-year-old Central California girl is suing BMW North America and a local school district over the teenager’s heat stroke death inside a locked vehicle from which there was allegedly no escape. TheDetroitBureau.com has the story.

www.thedetroitbureau.com

 

[KennyG]

Family had a 07 Saturn with a dead battery. The battery was in the trunk, with an electric latch on the trunk. No worky. Had to lower the back seat, crawl into the locked trunk from the inside, find the inside latch to get it open.

All the cars I have seen with batteries in the trunk have jumper terminals under the hood.

 

[MossRoad]

With Ford Edge,wife left headlights on and drained battery. Car automatically turned off lights at 8 volts. Locks worked but it would not crank

All of our Chevy's from 2000 on turn the headlights lights off after a few minutes if you leave them on with the engine not running.