Our Honda CR-V got burglarized Friday night in the parking garage at a large casino. One of the things the police asked was if it was locked to which we said yes because it locks automatically as you walk away with the key. But there was no sign of forcible entry so it was odd.
Since Friday we have paid extra special attention to whether it was locking - I would have my husband take my keys as well as his and walk away while i stayed behind and checked the doors. We think we have figured out the doors automatically lock as they should EXCEPT if we close the car doors then open the back before we walk away. When H is there we generally do open the back to get his walker out. If he has opened the back and closed it before I finish piddling round and closing the passenger doors then the auto lock works. If we already closed the other doors then open and close the back the auto lock seems not to work (it’s happened twice since we have been paying closer attention).
So be cautious and extra vigilant and don’t assume your car is auto locking every time. We learned this rhw hard way a little late and had several things stolen (we were going to a hotel after the event we were attending so had bags with stuff in them including our Kindle tablets plus I had foolishly left my purse so I wouldn’t have to lug it around and it had credit cards and my camera as we had taken it a few days earlier for my daughter’s grad school graduation). Probably a little over $1000 in property which we will survive but a lot of hassle with cancelling cards etc., and of course the camera had hundreds of photos that I am really sad to lose.
Interesting. I always use the clicker to hear it lock and the lights flash.
But a friend who’s involved (a bit) claims if you click in certain public areas, your code/frequency (whatever it is) can be hacked. No idea if this is so.
I usually hear mine beep when I walk away. Didn’t really pay attention Friday (first mistake) with getting H’s walker out and figuring out where we had to go for the event so honestly can’t say if it did or not. Plus were in handicapped parking just a couple if steps from the door to the elevators.
I have been clicking the button on the fob since to double check. We had got lulled into a false sense of security by the auto lock feature - that sense if security is well gone now.
I had also seen a thing on Facebook about them hacking the code. No idea if it is true but that did cross my mind Friday while we were talking to the Police.
Oh and a related warning - if you ever have credit cards stolen, while one if you is talking to the police the other should get on the phone and call the credit cards companies. We called as soon as we got to the hotel and they had been using the cards while we were talking to the police.
My car doesn’t have auto lock, so I have to touch the indentation on the door handle or use the fob.
The one feature I love is that I get an email alert within seconds if my car is in Park and not locked. H is notorious for leaving both are cars unlocked - but now I’m able to catch him in act when he doesn’t lock mine.
I don’t use auto lock, but my Nissan Altima does the opposite. When we get out of the store, if I use my fob to unlock the doors and the trunk, but close the trunk before we actually open a door, they lock again.
One of the news channels (CBS?) did a report on this. They said that criminals can copy the transmitted signal and get into your car. The recommendation was to not use the fob when leaving the car and to lock the car from the panel on your door. Been doing it ever since on all cars.
@swimcatsmom : Your #3 is very good advice. My wife had her purse stolen many years ago in a smash & grab when she left it on the front seat of her car while walking D up to her school [in a very quiet residential neighborhood]. Fortunately, she called me first thing, and I was able to cancel the cards before the thieves could do anything more than buy some junk food at the gas station mini mart a mile down the road. Their future attempts were foiled.
big sigh. sorry for the loss. Unless I am in the city, I do not worry about doors locking as I leave nothing in it. Of course, it locks itself anyway. But, in the city, and if I do have to leave stuff in it, I make the extra effort and use the lock on the door. I love not having to pull my keys out to start and lock the car.
My car doesn’t have that feature as far as I know. I wouldn’t use it even if it did, to be honest. The fob never leaves my purse. I just need to touch the door handle and the car locks, or if I’m in the back unloading something, there are two buttons -one to just close and the other to close and lock and that locks the entire car.
In both of our family cars these features are customizable. The dealer asks how you want them set up and does it before you leave the lot. It does create a bit of confusion if we trade cars.
OK, I guess I’m hanging onto my van–it has just the old fashioned lock and not as many electronics as the newer cars. This is unsettling! The nice thing is that it’s cheap to make copies of my key at most places that copy keys for just a few dollars. The van still works well anyway and can be serviced easily by most mechanics.
“How do you get an email? That would be nice.
I figured that out about my trunk a while back.”
My car’s brand (Lexus) comes with a special app. It does all sorts of things - like remotely start you car. You can also remotely lock your car. It’s complimentary for the first 12 months so I haven’t looked yet at the cost to keep it. So e functions on the app are free for 10 years, so I’ll have to figure out what functions that arent free I want to pay for.
I’m with @HImom! Does anyone else feel overwhelmed with the electronics? We had a rental SUV in German last month that we never did figure out how to lock consistently. It was hit or miss and we could not get the correct sequence; there must have been some variable in door closing,etc that we didn’t consider.
I also am not sure what I think of the fobs which I’ve had in 4 or 5 recent rental cars. I’m always afraid I’ll loose it in the car. Perhaps I should have found a consistent corner of my purse for storage, but the purse tends to be a black hole…
Call me old fashioned, but I’m not sure I see an advantage for the fob over a key. Dissenters views happily entertained!
I suspect soon enough your car will be started by a biometric option, or as a trust agent of your phone, that kind of thing.The whole fob/key scenario is already old school. I love the idea of remote access via an app etc but in the suburus this is all stuff you have to pay for, and am not into that.