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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think the bloody car should unlock from the inside!!

75 replies

AliceAnneB · 02/05/2015 23:16

Alrighty so today I had one of those surreal this can't be happening moments. I stayed behind in the car with DS (3) because he wanted to pretend drive the car. DH locked the doors of the car as he walked in the house. The car starts getting warm so I try to open the door. It won't budge. It stays locked. I try the centre console button to unlock all the doors. Nothing. I try all 4 doors - none will open. It's getting hotter in the car. So I try to honk the horn. Nothing. Now I start to slightly panic. Dh took my purse in so I have no phone and I can't get out of the car. I feel like a fool. But it's getting hotter and hotter. I'm silently thanking God and the universe for the fact that it's a coldish day for May. I try to wave at people passing. No one notices. The sun comes out - of course. It's really warming up. I start looking for something to break the glass. There isn't anything. I'm now taking off DS's clothes because damn it's hot in here for a cloudy day. Finally, finally a guy sees me frantically waving and banging on the glass and I shout to him that we are trapped and our house number. It was nearly cold today London today and it was not fun in that car. It made me realise how fast cars can overheat and that BMWs are shit. Who makes a car that you can't unlock from the inside?! The article below explains exactly what happened to us only ours is a 2009 BMW - so problem not fixed! That and I will never moan about the UK weather ever again.

www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/no-escape-california-family-sues-bmw-after-teen-dies-locked-n100881

OP posts:

Mintyy · 03/05/2015 23:11

I have of course heard of this, people locking pets and babies in cars and leaving them to die.

Not sure I could ever forgive a spouse of mine who was so preoccupied that they couldn't or wouldn't stop and think for a second.

Methe · 03/05/2015 23:18

It's not being preoccupied, it's force of habit.

iwaly · 03/05/2015 23:19

This has happened to us twice. I insist on cars with wind down windows in the back now as well as having one of those hammers. Mind you our cars are both more than ten years old.

Mintyy · 03/05/2015 23:22

I'd suggest that not being at a level of consciousness where you can override your habits for the sake of the safety of your loved ones is actually being preoccupied.

In any event, I would not ask my dh to forgive me if I caused the death of a loved one in this way, and neither would I be able to forgive him.

nickelbarapasaurus · 03/05/2015 23:24

namechange - for exactly the same reason as the OP's - because DHs deadlock the car out of habit.

i was once locked inside my OH's car when he was doing a house call - he'd deadlocked it with his key out of habit, and had spent a lot fucking longer in the house than was necessary (we were on our way out, and he'd gone in "for 5 minutes" on the way ), and i was starting to get pissed off because i couldn't get out.
i beeped the horn for fucking ages too ,and he didn't emerge.
I was fuming by the time he got back.

thankfully for me, i was under a tree, it was quite a cold day, and a very shady tree-lined road anyway.

It's frightening that people can get locked in cars, but it does happen, even on a cool day, it can get hot inside a car.
children (young ones) can die in that situation in less than half an hour, and a panic attack in any age person can have horrid consequences

nickelbarapasaurus · 03/05/2015 23:26

iwaly - totally agree - we've got a ford (54 reg), which has buttons on the doorhandles that you can pull up when the car is locked (not sure about deadlocked though), and it's a 5 door ,and the boot release button is completely mechanical and independent from the central locking system.

Original poster

AliceAnneB · 03/05/2015 23:48

The comment that most cars in the last 20 years have this issue just isn't true. I've had various cars over the last 20 years and none of them did this. All those cars were either American or Asian makes so maybe that matters? When this car goes the next one won't be a people trap! We were eyeing up the Volvo XC90 as we can't get all three kids across in the BMW. Anyone know if it deadlocks as well?

Some of you are seriously harsh on my DH. The man didn't purposefully try to harm me or our son. He lugged all the stuff in from the car from our day out and went in the house to start working on a DIY project. Locking the doors with the key fob is a fairly unconscious thing and I had the door open when he left. He was horrified when the man I flagged rang our bell to tell him. DH did have to endure my jokes that if I ever want rid of him it won't be his food he has to watch but rather falling asleep while I'm driving!

OP posts:

Permanentlyexhausted · 03/05/2015 23:50

Mintyy

Not sure I could ever forgive a spouse of mine who was so preoccupied that they couldn't or wouldn't stop and think for a second.

As I said, in my case it was simply force of habit (I rarely drive with other people in the car). But tbh, until I got back to the car to find my irate mother, it never even crossed my mind that they wouldn't just be able to unlock the door from the inside.

Permanentlyexhausted · 03/05/2015 23:52

Alice I said earlier that I did this with a Nissan so it can and does happen with Asian makes.

Original poster

AliceAnneB · 04/05/2015 00:01

I found the answer to why the hell I've never heard of this before. I'm American and an article I found stated only BMW and Land Rover sell cars in North America which deadlock. I therefore plead American ignorance. Somebody really ought to stick a little guide inside your visa - how not to be the dumb American who gets locked in her own damn car.

OP posts:

wigglylines · 04/05/2015 00:10

This happened to me. DS and I stayed in the car while DP went to the shop. I was pregnant at the time.

DP locked the car when he walked away, out if habit. Then realised what he'd done and unlocked it.

But then, about 5 or so minutes later, the car automatically locked itself.

Turns out it has a feature where if you unlock it but don't actually open anything, it assumes it was a mistake and relics it for you.

Luckily the windows was open a few milimeters, as it started to get hot and close, the feeling of being trapped was horrible.

I had my phone but DP had left his.

I was on the verge of calling the police when DP appeared.

caroldecker · 04/05/2015 00:48

I always leave my key with the car in these circumstances because of this

Cassie258 · 04/05/2015 08:30

If, as you say, one of the doors was open, he probably thought he'd save time by locking the door now so that it comes into effect when the doors are closed. I know when I'm faffing about getting dd out of DPs car he will lock it and walk towards the house so everything is prepared for when dd finally gets there.

Sounds like this is actually quite a common issue!

Cassie258 · 04/05/2015 08:33

And don't berate yourself Alice, id never heard of it until I couldn't get into my car even with the aa man breaking in and pulling the door handles/pressing the centre console button. He also hadn't seen it before.

DieselSpillages · 04/05/2015 08:39

This happened to me this weekend. I stayed in the car to send a text and DH left with Dc and absent mindedly locked the car. I realised with rising panick that I couldn't get out, or open the windows and it was getting hot. After about 10 mins DH send DD out to look for me thank goodness. I was really surprised at how much of a dangerous design fault this is.

PiperIsTerrysChoclateOrange · 04/05/2015 08:44

Thank you for this thread I had no idea that my car could do this, I tested it out with the keys in the car.

Radiatorvalves · 04/05/2015 08:49

It's happened to me. I was in waitrose car park with the alarm going off and I couldn't get out. DH had his phone on silent, so I rang the butchers and asked them to send the tall grey haired man out immediately as I was locked in the car.

I felt like an idiot locked in the car and the alarm was loud and annoying, but it wasn't as traumatic and dangerous as some of these situations.

LimeFizz · 04/05/2015 08:50

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

londonrach · 04/05/2015 08:57

Poor you op, my worse fear. Only just started using a life and refuse to use 3 door cars as there is no door in the back. I love my old skoda with no central locking and wind down windows and after reading your post may never ever change it. In fact i bought my car new and it took ages to find a car with wind down windows as i never want electric ones again after my ex fiat. Remind me to never buy a bmw... Glad you ok. Think letter to bmw as this is dangerous.

londonrach · 04/05/2015 08:57

Lift not life..

caroldecker · 04/05/2015 10:58

Pretty sure this issue is outlined in the manual

AliceLidl · 04/05/2015 12:41

Maybe it is in the manual but how many people read the manual for someone else's car?

Cassie258 · 04/05/2015 18:18

How many people read the manual for their own car?

DontBeAMeanie · 04/05/2015 18:23

Doesn't everyone keep their manuals in their car I keep it there so I can refer to it if I have a problem (such as getting myself locked inside the car. )

Cassie258 · 04/05/2015 18:31

Yes but you don't just sit there reading it when I first get a new car.

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