Locked inside an Audi - Beware of VW's deadlock

venuvedam · 14th July 2018, 21:49

A profoundly unsettling experience today.

We came back from a trip and parked the car in our driveway. My wife, my son and I got out of the car. My daughter, however, was playing with a toy and did not exit the car immediately.

Meanwhile, my son, who was playing with the key, locked the car. For a minute or so, we did not realise that our nine-year-old daughter was still inside the car. She tried to open the doors, press the door unlock button and even sound the horn. Nothing worked. The car was totally dead and unresponsive.

Fortunately, we found she was not at the front door of the house when we were trying to open it. I immediately unlocked the car and my daughter came out - completely shaken and crying.

This is purely my fault I agree. But I was surprised that she couldn't get out of the car even if it is locked from the outside. To test, I entered the car; closed the doors and asked my wife to lock it. She did. Then I tried to get out of the car and I couldn't.

1. Doors were locked. Couldn't open them.
2. Door unlock buttons on both doors were unresponsive.
3. Boot open button did not work.
4. Horn did not work.

In other words, there was no way I could get out of the car. This realisation was completely unsettling. God forbid, what would have happened if it was my daughter in that situation without anyone knowing she was in the car?

The car in question is an Audi A6 Estate model (2018 version). I still can't come to terms with this finding. Am I missing something basic and really simple here? Can't believe there is no way a person *inside* the car can get out if the car is centrally locked.

thoma · 14th July 2018, 22:00

Horn does not work if the ignition is off, but I thought all VAG cars could be unlocked from inside unless child lock is enabled. Scary indeed.

SmartCat · 14th July 2018, 23:21

I wonder if all Volkswagen cars have this bug (or feature):
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...nside-car.html

venuvedam · 15th July 2018, 00:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by smartcat

I wonder if all Volkswagen cars have this bug (or feature):
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...nside-car.html

Thanks for this link. I could have posted my story there itself instead of opening my own new thread.

I will try to open the boot manually from inside.

Akshay1234 · 15th July 2018, 02:45

I think your car like most other VAG cars, has a deadlock. So when you lock it normally, none of this works on the inside. But if you press the lock button twice, then the inside handles work. Lets see if this works.

venuvedam · 15th July 2018, 03:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Akshay1234

I think your car like most other VAG cars, has a deadlock. So when you lock it normally, none of this works on the inside. But if you press the lock button twice, then the inside handles work. Lets see if this works.

Tried it just now. No luck. I even tried to activate the emergency boot release but unfortunately, even that didn't work. Maybe because the boot door is powered?

So, in essence, this is like a prison. You shove somebody into the car and simply lock it. They can't get out without breaking the window panes!

Scary - What if the electronics malfunction and the car doesn't let us get out? There has to be an emergency hatch to open the doors from inside. Otherwise, it is a serious safety issue.

sudev · 15th July 2018, 06:02

Thats very unsettling.

In instances like Mumbai flood people have lost their lives because the electronics shorted and they could not get out. Here, as you say, car becomes a prison.

Outside to inside protection is the need but inside to out should never be blocked.

AKSen2015 · 15th July 2018, 06:25

As far as I remember VAG cars especially in the Skoda Octavia , the windows and the windshield is very strong bordering on the unbreakable territory. A friend of mine had shared his experience of how he had locked himself in the car.

It is scary indeed , no doubt protection and build quality is an important USP of these cars but it should never lead to a scenario as to where one's prized possession turns into a prison.

hrman · 15th July 2018, 08:56

Is it possible that the child lock was on, because of which you couldnt come out? In Skoda, the car can be locked from ourside or inside. However, it can be opened by someone from inside, unless the child lock is on. Suggest you take it up with Audi and see if there is a manual overide or this can be disabled through firmware update.

It is a scary thought. What if it was a pet who can't even bang on the windows.

sudev · 15th July 2018, 09:40

I don't think so.

AFAIK no car has child lock on driver door. Plus mostly it's a mechanical disengagement that prevents opening from inside.

GTO · 15th July 2018, 09:48

Smartcat & Akshay1234 got it spot on. This is 'deadlock' - a feature present in all VAG cars. My brother's Jetta gives out a 'check deadlock' warning on the MID every time you switch off the engine.

To avoid 'deadlock', you have to press the lock button twice while locking the car.

Really stupid feature though. VW should abandon it.

aditya79india · 15th July 2018, 09:59

There is some kind of a regulation in some European nation that requires this as an anti theft feature. Even some variants of our models exported to Europe have this kind of a door lock. & I've been pretty scared of such a thing happening to my family. So I just keep a small hammer in the driver door pocket.

vishy76 · 15th July 2018, 10:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO

Smartcat & Akshay1234 got it spot on. This is 'deadlock' - a feature present in all VAG cars. My brother's Jetta gives out a 'check deadlock' warning on the MID every time you switch off the engine.

To avoid 'deadlock', you have to press the lock button twice while locking the car.

Really stupid feature though. VW should abandon it.

One correction, VW cars call it the SAFELOCK mechanism. It even appears on the MID post locking. It works exactly like the deadlock mechanism that the OP mentioned, but is named differently.

Here are the steps to enable or disable it:

- Pressing the lock button on the key fob once will activate the safelock function. The interior door handles will not function in this condition

- Pressing the lock button twice in succession should deactivate the mechanism and render the door handles usable

It is truly a stupid feature though. Can do more harm than good in most situations.

I will try this on my Jetta and get back possibly with a video.

Regards,
Vishy

green_ninja · 15th July 2018, 10:36

This feature is so dumb that they should have called it DUMBLOCK. Even if EU regulations demand it, shouldn't this feature be activated as a choice and not be default? Pressing the key fob twice should activate it and not vice versa. Looks like some EU politician left his brain at home on the day they wrote these regulations!!!

manjubp · 15th July 2018, 10:51

On the contrary, I did the same test on my 2014 Jetta with my son inside, every time when I locked the car, he was able to open all the doors from inside. This was repeated with Pressing the lock button on the key fob once, twice and thrice in succession, and each time he was able to open the door from inside, where as from outside the door was always locked.

So I don't see this risk in my Jetta HL 2014.

14th July 2018, 21:49	#1
venuvedam BHPian Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Reading UK Posts: 141 Thanked: 215 Times View My Garage	Locked inside an Audi - Beware of VW's deadlock A profoundly unsettling experience today. We came back from a trip and parked the car in our driveway. My wife, my son and I got out of the car. My daughter, however, was playing with a toy and did not exit the car immediately. Meanwhile, my son, who was playing with the key, locked the car. For a minute or so, we did not realise that our nine-year-old daughter was still inside the car. She tried to open the doors, press the door unlock button and even sound the horn. Nothing worked. The car was totally dead and unresponsive. Fortunately, we found she was not at the front door of the house when we were trying to open it. I immediately unlocked the car and my daughter came out - completely shaken and crying. This is purely my fault I agree. But I was surprised that she couldn't get out of the car even if it is locked from the outside. To test, I entered the car; closed the doors and asked my wife to lock it. She did. Then I tried to get out of the car and I couldn't. 1. Doors were locked. Couldn't open them. 2. Door unlock buttons on both doors were unresponsive. 3. Boot open button did not work. 4. Horn did not work. In other words, there was no way I could get out of the car. This realisation was completely unsettling. God forbid, what would have happened if it was my daughter in that situation without anyone knowing she was in the car? The car in question is an Audi A6 Estate model (2018 version). I still can't come to terms with this finding. Am I missing something basic and really simple here? Can't believe there is no way a person inside the car can get out if the car is centrally locked.
	(26) Thanks

14th July 2018, 22:00	#2
thoma Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Kerala Posts: 1,980 Thanked: 1,447 Times View My Garage	re: Locked inside an Audi - Beware of VW's deadlock Horn does not work if the ignition is off, but I thought all VAG cars could be unlocked from inside unless child lock is enabled. Scary indeed. Last edited by GTO : 15th July 2018 at 20:09. Reason: typo
	(1) Thanks

14th July 2018, 23:21	#3
SmartCat Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 6,399 Thanked: 42,715 Times View My Garage	re: Locked inside an Audi - Beware of VW's deadlock I wonder if all Volkswagen cars have this bug (or feature): http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...nside-car.html
	(6) Thanks

15th July 2018, 02:45	#5
Akshay1234 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 10,265 Thanked: 12,316 Times	re: Locked inside an Audi - Beware of VW's deadlock I think your car like most other VAG cars, has a deadlock. So when you lock it normally, none of this works on the inside. But if you press the lock button twice, then the inside handles work. Lets see if this works.
	(6) Thanks

15th July 2018, 06:02	#7
sudev Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 3,838 Thanked: 3,179 Times	re: Locked inside an Audi - Beware of VW's deadlock Thats very unsettling. In instances like Mumbai flood people have lost their lives because the electronics shorted and they could not get out. Here, as you say, car becomes a prison. Outside to inside protection is the need but inside to out should never be blocked.
	(2) Thanks

15th July 2018, 06:25	#8
AKSen2015 BHPian Join Date: May 2018 Location: Kolkata Posts: 69 Thanked: 184 Times	re: Locked inside an Audi - Beware of VW's deadlock As far as I remember VAG cars especially in the Skoda Octavia , the windows and the windshield is very strong bordering on the unbreakable territory. A friend of mine had shared his experience of how he had locked himself in the car. It is scary indeed , no doubt protection and build quality is an important USP of these cars but it should never lead to a scenario as to where one's prized possession turns into a prison.
	() Thanks

15th July 2018, 08:56	#9
hrman Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,128 Thanked: 1,015 Times	re: Locked inside an Audi - Beware of VW's deadlock Is it possible that the child lock was on, because of which you couldnt come out? In Skoda, the car can be locked from ourside or inside. However, it can be opened by someone from inside, unless the child lock is on. Suggest you take it up with Audi and see if there is a manual overide or this can be disabled through firmware update. It is a scary thought. What if it was a pet who can't even bang on the windows.
	() Thanks

15th July 2018, 09:40	#10
sudev Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 3,838 Thanked: 3,179 Times	I don't think so. AFAIK no car has child lock on driver door. Plus mostly it's a mechanical disengagement that prevents opening from inside.
	() Thanks

15th July 2018, 09:48	#11
GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 70,493 Thanked: 300,290 Times View My Garage	Re: Locked inside an Audi - Beware of VW's deadlock Smartcat & Akshay1234 got it spot on. This is 'deadlock' - a feature present in all VAG cars. My brother's Jetta gives out a 'check deadlock' warning on the MID every time you switch off the engine. To avoid 'deadlock', you have to press the lock button twice while locking the car. Really stupid feature though. VW should abandon it.
	(9) Thanks

15th July 2018, 09:59	#12
aditya79india BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: DELHI Posts: 370 Thanked: 515 Times	Re: Locked inside an Audi - Beware of VW's deadlock There is some kind of a regulation in some European nation that requires this as an anti theft feature. Even some variants of our models exported to Europe have this kind of a door lock. & I've been pretty scared of such a thing happening to my family. So I just keep a small hammer in the driver door pocket.
	() Thanks

15th July 2018, 10:36	#14
green_ninja BHPian Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: TN37/66 Posts: 100 Thanked: 395 Times	Re: Locked inside an Audi - Beware of VW's deadlock This feature is so dumb that they should have called it DUMBLOCK. Even if EU regulations demand it, shouldn't this feature be activated as a choice and not be default? Pressing the key fob twice should activate it and not vice versa. Looks like some EU politician left his brain at home on the day they wrote these regulations!!!
	(5) Thanks

15th July 2018, 10:51	#15
manjubp BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 646 Thanked: 569 Times Infractions: 0/1 (5)	Re: Locked inside an Audi - Beware of VW's deadlock On the contrary, I did the same test on my 2014 Jetta with my son inside, every time when I locked the car, he was able to open all the doors from inside. This was repeated with Pressing the lock button on the key fob once, twice and thrice in succession, and each time he was able to open the door from inside, where as from outside the door was always locked. So I don't see this risk in my Jetta HL 2014.
	(3) Thanks