[onceler]

Anyone had this problem. Pulled into Audi/VW service dept with my Touareg to pickup my wifes Audi. My wife was in the passenger seat. I put car in Park, left the engine running, got out and closed my door. My wife got out of passenger seat and went to get into driver seat to drive home. Both doors. somehow locked and the Treg was left in the middle of the driveway with the engine running, both sets of keys inside.
Called AAA and they couldn't open it.
Went home with wifes Audi to get the plastic service key that comes with the car. Since all house keys were in the locked car, had to break a kitchen window to get in the house. Only to find that the plastic key was also inside the Touareg, left over from the last locking problem.
Car sat there running for 1 1/2 hours. When I got back, the VW servce tech said the only access to the car was through the left rear tail light, which had to be broken and removed to access a small white tab that opened the tailgate.
My cost: Kitchen Window-$50, Tip for tech to stay OT $40, Plus cost of taillight module which is still on order.
I tried to duplicate what happened and was unable to do it again.
Can the auto door locking feature be disabled???

 

[4x4s]

Anyone had this problem. Pulled into Audi/VW service dept with my Touareg to pickup my wifes Audi. My wife was in the passenger seat. I put car in Park, left the engine running, got out and closed my door. My wife got out of passenger seat and went to get into driver seat to drive home. Both doors. somehow locked and the Treg was left in the middle of the driveway with the engine running, both sets of keys inside.
Called AAA and they couldn't open it.
Went home with wifes Audi to get the plastic service key that comes with the car. Since all house keys were in the locked car, had to break a kitchen window to get in the house. Only to find that the plastic key was also inside the Touareg, left over from the last locking problem.
Car sat there running for 1 1/2 hours. When I got back, the VW servce tech said the only access to the car was through the left rear tail light, which had to be broken and removed to access a small white tab that opened the tailgate.
My cost: Kitchen Window-$50, Tip for tech to stay OT $40, Plus cost of taillight module which is still on order.
I tried to duplicate what happened and was unable to do it again.
Can the auto door locking feature be disabled???

Auto locks can be disabled in the 'doors' menu of the MFI.

 

[spockcat]

My German partner had this happen to him with a Ford Taurus rental car when on a business trip once. He pulled up at a stop light. Someone next to him yelled to him that he had a low tire. He got out to look at the tire, closing the door behind him. The car locked and he was left with this rental car, lock in the middle of the road, running.

Eventually a cop happened along and used a tool to open the door.

Why did it lock? He was used to driving a standard transmission in Europe. The Taurus was an automatic with the doors set to lock when the car was in drive. In Europe, he always set the emergency brake whenever he pulled up to a traffic light (this was one of the most annoying habits the guy has when you drive with him). So in the Taurus he had set the emergency brake and when he got out, he didn't put the car into park. When the door closed, the car being still in drive locked the door behind him.

I don't know if this is why your Touareg locked. Probably not since it seems that you need to be moving before the car locks. So it could be that one of you hit the lock button on the door or on the key when exiting. Or if you have keyless entry, maybe you hit the lock button on the door handle outside?

Anyway, as 4x4s said, the auto locking can be disabled through the MFI.

 

[Tahoe]

Wow. Those are both crazy stories. I hope I never have to go through any of that.

If you had Onstar could you have had them turn off the engine and unlock the doors? I know they can do that for situations where the car is stolen.

 

[V10ticket]

I think the "auto lock" feature only works when the TREG hits 8mph then

the doors lock. You can ( I think) lock the keys inside the thing

buy you getting out of the car (drivers side) then closing the door then

your wife gets out afterwords and accidently hits the lock button and

closes the door. Its the same way on the Jetta's etc.

 

[onceler]

Wishfull Thinking

I had hoped that I would get some responses from owners who experienced the same situation. Although she denied it, I suspected my wife of hitting the lock button when she got out of the passenger seat.
It looks like my problem was the result of human error and not a defect in the locking system.
As a caveat to the story, the new lens assembly plus labor to install it cost an additional $128.

 

[shamus]

Onceler, according to my sales rep, "it's impossible" to lock both sets in the car. That never sounded right to me. We never had problems locking the doors with one set of keys in the ingnition and the other in my wife's purse.

 

[onceler]

I beg to differ. Your sales rep is wrong. Read V10ticket's response above. I have the paid repair bill to get the doors open. The service manager at VW of Downtown LA will also confirm that it can happen.

 

[shamus]

I know. I was being a [email protected]##. The salesperson was trying to use that as a sales point. Of course this is also from the same dealer whose Serv Mgr told me mud was causing a thumping noise in the driveshaft. They replaced a bushing the next visit. He couldn't respond when I asked "you mean to tell me a 40K+ worlds best 4x4 has a problem with mud???" Next time I go in, I plan on sharing your misadventure with her!

 

[geneparkai]

I have the key-less ignition system and I was told by the VW technician that the car has sensors which will detect whether the keys are in the car or not and prevent it from locking with keys inside. That is, it will not lock when the button on the outside door-pull is accidentally pressed with keys inside the car. Not sure if this applies to cars without the key-less ignition system. When car goes past 8-10km/hr it will lock automatically when the auto locker feature is enabled, hopely you are in the car when the car is in motion. Have not experimented this yet but will let you know the result.

 

[socatoa]

OK, had the same problem and posted it somewhere on this site. Try this one Dad showed me 30 years ago and has worked with other VW's. wiretye a spare to the frame or somewhere under the car. I used the valet key, ran a black zip strip through the hole, wrapped it in black tape and secured it to the frame (hidden of course). Now all you have to do is find someone with a knife or sharp opject (broken bottle) and your in. Very crude, however for $40,000 and a web site dedicated to this vehicle it's smarter than any German Engineer and fool proof. Oh remember side and location of hide, It took me a good 5 min to refind it when I needed it. If someone else finds it, great! Take the insurance money and run!

 

[Rotormec]

I have the key-less entry system. I got curious from the original poster locking his keys in the vehicle. I tried everything I could think of to lock my keys in ...nothing worked. Therefore, I am in agreement that you cannot lock your keys in, with a serviceable system. I have the auto-lock feature enabled also.

I tried with the key in the ignition... doors would not lock. With both sets of keys inside...doors would not lock. Drove past the 8 mph to engage the auto-lock feature and opened the door and tried to lock with outside button...drivers door would not lock, but all other doors remained locked.

I even threw my keys in the cargo area and tried to lock the doors, still would not lock. My system works just as the manual says.

I don't know how the original poster did this, but I have not been able to lock the doors with a key fob inside the vehicle.

 

[TouaRhodesian]

I have the key-less entry system. I got curious from the original poster locking his keys in the vehicle. I tried everything I could think of to lock my keys in ...nothing worked. Therefore, I am in agreement that you cannot lock your keys in, with a serviceable system. I have the auto-lock feature enabled also.

I tried with the key in the ignition... doors would not lock. With both sets of keys inside...doors would not lock. Drove past the 8 mph to engage the auto-lock feature and opened the door and tried to lock with outside button...drivers door would not lock, but all other doors remained locked.

I even threw my keys in the cargo area and tried to lock the doors, still would not lock. My system works just as the manual says.

I don't know how the original poster did this, but I have not been able to lock the doors with a key fob inside the vehicle.

I can help you lock your keys in the car: Close all doors and lock with remote; open rear hatch (glass) with remote; place key in cargo area; close hatch. Key locked inside.

 

[Rotormec]

I tried what you suggested. Closed all the doors and locked with the remote. Unlocked rear hatch with remote, put keys in cargo area. Closed hatch.

All doors locked, EXCEPT rear hatch. I opened rear hatch took keys out and put them in the house out of range, and all doors and hatch re-locked automatically.

The only method I found, where I could lock my keys in was, lay my key fob in vehicle, grab my wife's key fob, lock the doors, put her key fob out of range and try and open the door. It would not open with my fob in the car.


So, if my keys are in the car, and I lock it with the other key fob, and move it out of range, I can not open the doors by the key-less entry. I must have my wife's fob since that was used to lock the doors.


Since the vehicle will not lock, with both key fobs inside, I still think the chances of getting locked out are remote, on a properly working system.

 

[sushiman]

Sound like the difference is keyless entry or not. I don't have it and I can most definately lock my key in the car.

 

[GSE]

I may be mistaken, but I do not think the auto-lock is active when the key is in the igntition, and the particularly when the car is running. I believe auto-lock functions when you unlock the car, open a door, and then close it again without starting it.

I would like to add a story about a VW locking itself. My 98 Jetta locked itself, by itself. I pulled up to a vaccumm at a gas station. I turned off the igntion and put the keys on the passenger seat. I stepped out of the car from the driver's seat, closed the door, and heard the doors lock, with the keys still sitting on the passenger seat. The door lock button on a 98 Jetta is in the center of the dashboard. There is no way I could have hit the button while getting out. The dealer told me I was nuts, and I must have done something. To this day if I get out of the car, the keys are in my hand.

BTW, thanks for the post, I will be disabling the "Auto-lock" once I get my T back from the dealer.

 

[TREGinginCO]

Auto lock only has to do with the vehicle in motion.

If you have "auto lock" turned on.... it will automatically lock the doors once it reaches either 3 or 4mph.

 

[GSE]

Thanks, I was mistaken, and almost made another.

 

[socatoa]

Ok, you where unable to lock the keys in, however it happened to me! Can there be a difference? Who knows? As stated in other posts, I did not spend 40k to hang out on a web page and figure out the nuance of this car/truck. I have learned more from this site than the dealer, and that scares me. I hope you can lock the keys in your VW, and that will validate my experience. Good luck and drive hard!

 

[TouaRhodesian]

Ok, you where unable to lock the keys in, however it happened to me! Can there be a difference? Who knows? As stated in other posts, I did not spend 40k to hang out on a web page and figure out the nuance of this car/truck. I have learned more from this site than the dealer, and that scares me. I hope you can lock the keys in your VW, and that will validate my experience. Good luck and drive hard!

Yes, there are absolutely keyless entry Touaregs that you can lock the keys in. I made the saleswoman prove it could be done when I was shopping for options, as I need to be able to lock the regular key in the truck. I ended up not getting keyless entry for other reasons, but nevertheless I have seen it done.

There must be thousands of Touareg variants out there, with subtle differences in features. Just like my I-can't-start-the-f'ing-truck-without-stepping-on-the-brake "feature" that most people don't have.