# car traps
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-traps/296903
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [March 30, 2005, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-traps/296903 "2005-03-30T05:17:36Z")
**Posts on this page:** 14
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2005, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-traps/296903/1 "2005-03-30T05:17:36Z")
can your locked car doors be opened from the inside without a key? i understand that BMW, Volkswagens and Audis have cars where you can be locked inside. what do you think of this anti-theft feature?
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### Author:  [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2005, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-traps/296903/2 "2005-03-30T05:25:48Z")
Supposedly, the DeLorean suffered from a similar problem. An electrical short in just the right spot, and you’re trapped in your car until your mechanic can free you. Not really a good idea, IMHO.
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### Author:  [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2005, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-traps/296903/3 "2005-03-30T06:22:47Z")
i should mention that it is a built-in feature to prevent thieves from opening the doors when they smash the windows in.
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### Author:  [@pendgwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pendgwen)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2005, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-traps/296903/4 "2005-03-30T07:26:08Z")
Oddly enough this happened to me and my mother this evening. We were driving Dad’s car and somehow triggered an anti-theft mechanism that we knew nothing about. I was outside she was inside and the doors were locked. Obviously I coulnd’t open the door but for some reason she couldn’t open them from the inside either. We ended up rolling down the window so she could hand me the keys and I could unlock the door. So the first time I ever heard of this feature was about 6 hours ago. Still seems rather silly though. I’d guess that a car theif would just climb in through a smashed window rather than give up just because the door won’t open.
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### Author:  [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2005, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-traps/296903/5 "2005-04-12T06:14:34Z")
not many replies. maybe it’s no big deal or there aren’t many of these cars in the states.
* * *
bump card - go directly to top of page, do not pass the stickies, do not feed the hamsters.
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### Author:  [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2005, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-traps/296903/6 "2005-04-12T06:39:27Z")
I’m confused. Are you saying you can’t operate the manual locks or that there aren’t any? My T-bird locks won’t work without the ignition key on but I can manually lift the lock up.
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### Author:  [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2005, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-traps/296903/7 "2005-04-12T06:57:29Z")
no idea. either way it won’t open from the inside without the keys as that is meant to be an anti-theft feature.
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### Author:  [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2005, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-traps/296903/8 "2005-04-12T09:28:40Z")
Isn’t that a pretty bad safety hazard?
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### Author:  [@Walton\_Firm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walton_Firm)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2005, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-traps/296903/9 "2005-04-12T17:44:25Z")
My Renault Megane has the same feature. However, it does not get activated automatically whenever you lock the car; you need to press the “lock” button on the keycard five times in a row, or hold it down for five seconds or something like that.
The car has some other cool similar features has well. For example, if you have one of the keycards in the car’s card slot and then press the “lock doors” and “open trunk” buttons on the other card together, the card in the slot goes into a “restricted mode” where the car can still be driven, but only the door on the driver’s side can be unlocked and the trunk and glove compartment stay locked as well. This is intended for situations like valet parking, where you need to temporarily let someone else drive your car but you don’t want them to get too nosy or to invite a friend for the ride.
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### Author:  [@zippyh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zippyh)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2005, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-traps/296903/10 "2005-04-13T03:24:49Z")
I remember reading a story in Roundel (BMW Car Club Magazine) about a woman who was trapped in her BMW E34 (2 generations ago 5 series) with a dead battery. I think it was even at the dealer. They were unable to unlock it even with the key. I don’t remember how she got the wrench, but she was able to get out by hand cranking the sunroof open.
In my E39 (1 generation ago 5 series) the manual says that you can still unlock the doors with the key in the event of an electrical failure. Of course that’s assuming you’ve got a key outside the car. Maybe I’ll put the sunroof wrench in the glovebox.
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### Author:  [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2005, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-traps/296903/11 "2005-04-13T03:30:51Z")
A strange option for a car to have but in the event of a real emergency you can always break the side windows. They are designed to granulate if struck hard. Wouldn’t hurt to keep a metalic object in the glove compartment for those people with the lock situation listed above.
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### Author:  [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2005, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-traps/296903/12 "2005-04-13T03:41:41Z")
Yup. I can ‘double-lock’ my old Bimmer. You keep turning the key on the driver’s side to a second position that activates deadbolts or something.
I’m pretty sure you can still open it without battery power, but only with the key, and only the one door.
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### Author:  [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2005, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-traps/296903/13 "2005-04-13T03:42:19Z")
> [@Magiver](#):
>
> A strange option for a car to have but in the event of a real emergency you can always break the side windows. They are designed to granulate if struck hard. Wouldn’t hurt to keep a metalic object in the glove compartment for those people with the lock situation listed above.
[You mean like this?](http://www.lifehammer.com/)
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### Author:  [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2005, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-traps/296903/14 "2005-04-13T06:03:22Z")
An old friend of mine (Og rest 'is soul) bought a used Pontiac Firebird. That night, he drove home drunk and shut off the engine. He passed out with the key in the accessory position and the radio blasting. He woke up a few hours later in total darkness with a dead battery. He had only owned the car for a few hours, and he couldn’t remember where the manual door lock levers were. He stayed in the car, desperately needing to pee, until dawn’s early light.