[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by ACM

4) Breaking off (removing outward) the Windshield with ones legs is easier than breaking other glass as the windscreen is fitted with a glue.

This is the single simplest thing everyone can do.

Cut out the seat belt if that is the case using a seatbelt, then push the windscreen out.

This became standard guidance in my previous organization (safety obsessed oil & gas major) after the Mumbai floods.

[karpusv]

^^ Just another way of thinking.
If the fire started in the engine bay in the first place, by breaking off the windshied outwards and trying to get out from there, would I potentially not be landing over the fireplace itself? And if the flame is already torching, then chances are my dashboard also is melting.

I agree that this is one of the easily try-able ways to exit. But I think it definitely depends on the severity of the fire.

[ACM]

Originally Posted by karpusv

^^ Just another way of thinking.
If the fire started in the engine bay in the first place, by breaking off the windshied outwards and trying to get out from there, would I potentially not be landing over the fireplace itself? And if the flame is already torching, then chances are my dashboard also is melting.

I agree that this is one of the easily try-able ways to exit. But I think it definitely depends on the severity of the fire.

Yep definately a different way of looking at things. The Rear Glass would be similary as easy as the front one to remove but getting the right angle to do it from inside the car will be hard. Still think the front windscreen is the best bet if doors do not open.

Originally Posted by varunsonu

Skoda laura is the only vehicle I have seen where there is no lock knob. The doors open with a dual tug of the door latch wherein the first tug unlocks the door and the second one opens it.
If i have locked the the vehicle from the remote, there is no way for me to open the door from inside the car without pressing unlock from the remote. You can actually lock people inside the car.
In conclusion, its all electrical.

my skoda's doors wont open manually from inside when they are locked from the remote. Are you sure yours do?

The Laura and Superb (don't know about other models specifically - have a button to lock and unlock the doors next to the gearstick. The doors automatically lock when the vehicle crosses speed of 20 kmph - but this can be disabled and the doors kept unlocked if one desires.

Why would one lock the door with the remote though with someone inside?

Originally Posted by akhilesh51

VW and Skoda lock system is actually the opposite of safe. The entire locking mechanism is governed by electronic sensors which are then controlled by a Body Controle Module (BCM). This is the reason behind the fact that a person cannot escape a VW/Skoda when locked by the remote.

To make matters worse, the central locking machine on the particular door can only be repaired/replaced when the door decides to unlock. We once had to wait 3 months for the rear RH door to unlock on it own and then drive the vehicle half locked to the service centre to get the unit replaced!!!

Imagine if all doors get locked and you are inside the vehicle!!!

Again why would one lock the doors with the remote instead of the button.

If one would remember access control doors in our offices which work of electronics, the principle is that when there is no power the doors much automatically be in open position. So whenever the office looses power (and if the access control is not on generator or invertor power) then the doors stay open.

We could gather from this that because a system is elecronics controled need not imply that when there is an electrical fault that the doors would continue to remain closed, rather the failsafe could ensure that the doors infact are all open. (of course in case of VW with a double tug from the inside not outside.)

Actually I remember a similar situation as yours with one of the doors not opening in my earlier TATA Safari (Latch Stuck) do also remember thinking that now it would be impossible to repair the lock (without damaging some other cosmetic part) as it would be impossible to openup the door pad either. Left the car with my local mechanic who then repaired the lock within a couple of hrs. I don't know how he opened the door pad or got the lock / door to open in the first place to repair it, but he did manage it. He told me there is a technique to do it.

[akhilesh51]

Again why would one lock the doors with the remote instead of the button.

This is just an example to show that VW/Skoda doors are electronically controlled rather than mechanically controlled. An when you do lock with the remote, the door will not open by 'double tug' from inside the vehicle.

If one would remember access control doors in our offices which work of electronics, the principle is that when there is no power the doors much automatically be in open position. So whenever the office looses power (and if the access control is not on generator or invertor power) then the doors stay open.

In case of power failure or dead battery, only driver side door can be unlocked using manual key from outside the vehicle. Central locking will not work. The other three doors will remain locked.

We could gather from this that because a system is elecronics controled need not imply that when there is an electrical fault that the doors would continue to remain closed, rather the failsafe could ensure that the doors infact are all open. (of course in case of VW with a double tug from the inside not outside.)

Having experienced the issue first hand, i can assure you that VW has no fail-safe mechanism in case of door jam due to electric central lock faults.

Actually I remember a similar situation as yours with one of the doors not opening in my earlier TATA Safari (Latch Stuck) do also remember thinking that now it would be impossible to repair the lock (without damaging some other cosmetic part) as it would be impossible to openup the door pad either. Left the car with my local mechanic who then repaired the lock within a couple of hrs. I don't know how he opened the door pad or got the lock / door to open in the first place to repair it, but he did manage it. He told me there is a technique to do it.

In case of Tata Safari, the central lock is mechanically controlled and latch stuck is usually due to cable break or motor jam which can be immediately repaired by TASC. In safari, door pads can be unscrewed and removed even when door is closed since the main screw are actually underneath the plastic grab handle. Hence, the door pad can be easily removed and then faulty parts can be changed.

In case of Jetta, the screws are mounted underneath the door which cannot be unscrewed unless the door itself is open. In our case, we had to wait 3 months for the door to open on its own and then take it to service centre and replace the faulty parts.

[tbppjpr]

Originally Posted by akhilesh51

This is just an example to show that VW/Skoda doors are electronically controlled rather than mechanically controlled. An when you do lock with the remote, the door will not open by 'double tug' from inside the vehicle.

A little correction here, doors in the VAG cars like Polo, Vento, Rapid can be opened by pulling the lever once, means the inside lever directly opens the door but it also disengages the lock for the outside lever. It doesn't matter whether you lock the door with remote or by pressing the switch in the door itself.

I think the older generation cars like Laura, Superb etc may have the two stage electric locking mechanism but newer generation cars like Polo, Rapid have the single stage mechanical door opening mechanism. Hope they incorporate the same in the other newer generation cars like Octavia, Superb. Though not sure how it works in the new Passat and Jetta.

[akhilesh51]

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

A little correction here, doors in the VAG cars like Polo, Vento, Rapid can be opened by pulling the lever once, means the inside lever directly opens the door but it also disengages the lock for the outside lever. It doesn't matter whether you lock the door with remote or by pressing the switch in the door itself.

I think the older generation cars like Laura, Superb etc may have the two stage electric locking mechanism but newer generation cars like Polo, Rapid have the single stage mechanical door opening mechanism. Hope they incorporate the same in the other newer generation cars like Octavia, Superb. Though not sure how it works in the new Passat and Jetta.

This feature is not present in our Jetta.

Anyhow, that too is also not safe. What if a person or kid was to accidentally tug at the door latch when the vehicle is in motion ? More like pit on one side and gorge on the other.

[tbppjpr]

Originally Posted by akhilesh51

Anyhow, that too is also not safe. What if a person or kid was to accidentally tug at the door latch when the vehicle is in motion ? More like pit on one side and gorge on the other.

We have discussed it many a times and I am again putting it. First of all the rear doors have child locks which can be engaged and can be prevented from opening form inside and kids are supposed to sit at rear. Yeah, one may argue that what about front doors? Then the question is why the child should sit on front seats?

And a normal adult won't play with door opening lever in a moving car unless he is not in right state of mind. This is just our habit of living with cars which have inside door locking hence we have mental block against any different and 'bold' system otherwise I find this type of system most safe and convenient.

[GTO]

Mr. Harish drops the following email:

The eye witness account says that the Civic was at high speed and it hit the side wall many times before catching fire.

Thanks

[coolkurt]

Hmm. That explains a lot of things. Probably not an internal malfunction then.

[mkovuri]

Well, it could still be a malfunction though. Why did the car hit the wall several times? Because it lost control. High speed is not an adequate reason for vehicles to misbehave. It happened to me once. t high speed when I was trying to stick to my lawn on a curvy road the G-forces snapped the steering mechanism and no matter what I would do, the steering wouldn't listen to me. I took it mechanic and he confirmed it was a rare malfunction that shouldn't have hapenned.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by mkovuri

Well, it could still be a malfunction though. Why did the car hit the wall several times? Because it lost control. High speed is not an adequate reason for vehicles to misbehave.

As you yourself write, it might be rare case, but high speed stability can be governed by many reasons. First, the driver himself. Only an experienced driver can have a good control on his car at high speeds. How many times a learner gives wrong steering inputs just to realise that at higher speeds, lesser inputs are required & should be given to the steering. Also, incorrect tyre air pressures & different pressures in different tires can lead to instability that will show at high speeds. It sounds funny that how & why this should happen in first place, but as you know, most of the equipment available at road side tyre 'walas' are flawed. I have myself experienced this & that too from the Maruti itself, when my car was actually delivered from the showroom, 10 yrs ago. We bought our car from a different city (for some personal reasons) and drove to ours which was some 150 kms drive. I decided to have some fun and hit around 100KMPH in my new vehicle that had just passed the PDI test. The car felt swirling and felt that it would go out of my control. I immediately slowed down. Later when I complained this to MASS, they checked the air pressure & it was more than 40-45 psi while I normally keep it to 30! Since then, I carry my own trusted gauge.

Also, incorrect/ over loading of luggage can result in bad handling of vehicle and there are n number of other factors too.

[CARDEEP]

The loss of control could be because of this:

http://editorial.autos.msn.com/blogs...a-dc6d38de5bfa

Basically Honda is recalling around 44K Fit (Jazz) in US for update of stability control software that may act funny in case of bigger tires.

However, it is just an opinion, & not a conclusion that it needn't be driver's mistake.

[bobbafett]

Originally Posted by akhilesh51

VW and Skoda lock system is actually the opposite of safe. The entire locking mechanism is governed by electronic sensors which are then controlled by a Body Controle Module (BCM). This is the reason behind the fact that a person cannot escape a VW/Skoda when locked by the remote.

You mean you have had a case where your door locked and couldnt be opened even from the inside?

That is really shocking!

However, I have a Skoda Yeti and my experience and understanding is that the Yeti has a pretty well sorted out system - atleast for unlocking form inside. The doors do not get locked from inside, irrespective of the central lock status. From inside you can always open the door just by tugging at the lever normally even if central lock has been engaged. That means that central lock acts only for external door handles. I belive the same would be the case for other Skoda cars too? That is certainly safer than having a system where you need to first unlock the doors by pushing the central lock button and then tug at the door lever.

[saket77]

Honda has recalled 1.43L cars in US for replacing faulty power window switches. According to the company, the switches can be a cause of fire with water getting into them.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/b...w/20828661.cms

[saket77]

& Now the Indian subsidiary does the same. Recalls about 43 thousand 2nd Gen Honda Cities manufactured in 2007 and 2008 to replace their power window switch. Looks like a global recall.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/b...w/20831253.cms

Regards,
Saket