Locked keys in van: Warning - easy to do!!!

[Hotel California]

So this thread is alive again .
Seems there's much fear of locking yourself out , some can some can not ....
@Jabberwocky and some others did some practicing at the Denmark meet recent and seems hard to lock yourself out
Not giving away where a have hidden my surf key guys , sorry ....
Just be inventive and seach for a place that suits you .

 

[westfalia]

So this thread is alive again .
Seems there's much fear of locking yourself out , some can some can not ....
@Jabberwocky and some others did some practicing at the Denmark meet recent and seems hard to lock yourself out
Not giving away where a have hidden my surf key guys , sorry ....
Just be inventive and seach for a place that suits you .

I hide mine in the same place as you.

 

[Loz]

I hide mine in the same place as you.

I think I have guessed the location now...

 

[AlanC]

It is easy to lock yourself out of a California. I did it in France a few years ago.

Having swiveled the drivers seat, I was leaning on the drivers door and inadvertently pushed down the pop-up button with my elbow.

Then, needing to clean my teeth, got out on the sliding door and closed it...ker-junk...went the locks and the keys were inside.

My solution was to push in the sliding window, then jamming it closed for the rest of the trip home. Luckily this is a replaceable item which was repaired when we returned to the UK.

Now we are both very much aware of having the keys about our person if we leave the van together.

Alan

 

[Karen Morris]

Prior to getting locked out, did you use the key or the driver’s door button to lock the van?[/
I

Why did you not use the lock/unlock button on the drivers door panel?

i was outside the van so could not access any of the inside buttons.

 

[Karen Morris]

i was outside the van so could not access any of the inside buttons.

I unlocked the van from the outside with the fob. Got in and then got back out to access the boot, shutting the side door behind me. That is when the whole van locked up.

 

[Loz]

I unlocked the van from the outside with the fob. Got in and then got back out to access the boot, shutting the side door behind me. That is when the whole van locked up.

In that case it is possible that the van did not see the side door open and auto-relocked, which it does if it doesn't see a door open. (security relocking)
Each door lock has a micro switch that tells the BCU (Body control Unit) whether a door is open.
So when you get 5 minutes, check on the instrument display that it correctly sees each door open and close. As it is possible that the micro switch on the sliding door is sticking.
If the switch is working correctly, you should see the door state on the status display.

(general thought)I have suspected this before, in which case it would be prudent to disable the auto re-arming of the central locking in VCDS or Carista..

 

[Karen Morris]

In that case it is possible that the van did not see the side door open and auto-relocked, which it does if it doesn't see a door open. (security relocking)
Each door lock has a micro switch that tells the BCU (Body control Unit) whether a door is open.
So when you get 5 minutes, check on the instrument display that it correctly sees each door open and close. As it is possible that the micro switch on the sliding door is sticking.
If the switch is working correctly, you should see the door state on the status display.

(general thought)I have suspected this before, in which case it would be prudent to disable the auto re-arming of the central locking in VCDS or Carista..

Thank you. It is currently with the dealership for other minor repairs and I have explained what happened so lets see what they say. I will also mention the above. So thank you for responding

 

[flying banana]

resurrecting this thread as just done it myself. went in the boot only,put the keys on the mattress. shut the tailgate and bam !!!! locked out. spare key ? where the f*** is that ? somewhere safe. my 'surf key' ? thats in the van !!!! aaaarrrgh. fortunately i'm at home. the guy who made my surf key for a tenner is making me another and sending it out ASAP. top service. saves me risking damage with coat hangers and wire etc.
bonus is i will then have 2 surf keys. i must fasten one to the van somewhere.

 

[Loz]

resurrecting this thread as just done it myself. went in the boot only,put the keys on the mattress. shut the tailgate and bam !!!! locked out. spare key ? where the f*** is that ? somewhere safe. my 'surf key' ? thats in the van !!!! aaaarrrgh. fortunately i'm at home. the guy who made my surf key for a tenner is making me another and sending it out ASAP. top service. saves me risking damage with coat hangers and wire etc.
bonus is i will then have 2 surf keys. i must fasten one to the van somewhere.

You can program out that feature and the auto re-lock after 30 seconds..

 

[flying banana]

You can program out that feature and the auto re-lock after 30 seconds..

yeah i need to do that. first time it's happened to me

 

[Hotel California]

@flying banana , surf key “in the van“ and your spare key “somewhere safe” but not accesable when needed , think you need to work out a new plan for your keys
good for you it was while parked up at home , hope your front door was not locked with key in the Cali?

 

[Footy69]

You can program out that feature and the auto re-lock after 30 seconds..

how do you programs out the feature please ? don't want to be doing that again !

 

[flying banana]

@flying banana , surf key “in the van“ and your spare key “somewhere safe” but not accesable when needed , think you need to work out a new plan for your keys
good for you it was while parked up at home , hope your front door was not locked with key in the Cali?

the surf key lives in the van for when camping. the spare key is a mystery up to now. but i believe it too, may be in the van !!!! what a moron. i'll let you know. i am ok to get in the house as i have a 'garden key' stashed for the front door. keys stashed everywhere and still locked out,i know.

 

[Loz]

how do you programs out the feature please ? don't want to be doing that again !

With VCDS

 

[WelshGas]

With VCDS

Can be done with Carista, at least on the T5.1, apparantly.

 

[Loz]

Can be done with Carista, at least on the T5.1, apparantly.

Not checked Carista, but there are 2 things to do to make it totally good, the comfot opening of the tailgate and the auto relock after 30 seconds.
one great thing Carista got this week is the option to start a regen.

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

Not checked Carista, but there are 2 things to do to make it totally good, the comfot opening of the tailgate and the auto relock after 30 seconds.
one great thing Carista got this week is the option to start a regen.

Is there an annual fee for a Carista license?

 

[MeltedGoldfish]

Is there an annual fee for a Carista license?

You get a month free when you buy the gadget, then after that it’s £10 for a month, £20 for 3 months or £47 a year. You can stop/start any time. You can still use the diagnostics without the licence but if gives you limited info.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[flying banana]

Had another key made to gain access. Job done. Found my spare key too. It was very safe in the house.

 

[mountainman]

Yes VW, I hope you are listening, that is a mad piece of logic built into your security that allows this to happen!! Fix it, please.
This is what happened to me:
Wild camping in a forest near Arrochar, Scotland. Keys in the ignition, ignition off. I go to sleep, but before I do I lock all the doors using the switch on the drivers door. In the morning I jump out of bed and get some breakfast then think about getting ready for some hill-walking, so need my boots from the back. I leave via the side-door, closing it behind me to keep out the midgies. The tail-gate won't open and shock horror, neither will the side-door. This can not have just happened to me! I quickly check the other doors in complete disbelief. Surely the bloody thing can't have been that stupid! I stare at the keys in the ignition, I stare at my i-phone on the dash. I then think, my god, what am I wearing. There was one other camper about 50m away and that was it. If it hadn't been for them, the answer could so easily have been, nothing!!!! The other van was all curtains drawn, it was 0630. I was wearing jeans, sandals, T-shirt and thankfully I had my wallet. I hitch-hiked into the village some 5 miles away (imagine doing that in your pants, or less) and used the public phone to get my wife to find the number and call out the recovery service. Now here is the lucky bit. An Arrochar RAC man, calls in on duty and gets given my job and is told I am hitching back to the van. So it is him who picks me up!!! Two plastic wedges, two inflatable bags and a long flat piece of mild steel later we are in. Whole gastly episode lasted just 60 mins, and I was in the middle of nowhere. Not bad outcome in the end.
I am now completely paranoid and wont leave the van without the keys. I have tried without success to repeat this at home. So i am baffled!! Watch out!!!!

Some of us are slow learners, so this has happened to me again since. Don't get out of your van without the keys. Just don't do it.

 

[steve_b]

I just got a surf key cut : https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/surf-key.38469/post-481711

it's a flat one so you can wear on a chain around your neck if you like in an attempt to avoid a third time!

 

[B J G]

Carista Regen.
Finally got time to try it out.

Carista Instructions are to do a road run at 2>2500rpm for 10 to 15 mins.
Also found that it said that a regen isn't reguired with soot reading under 22gms.

I had a reading of 16.5gms which coincidentally the regen was running when I last parked up days before.
Emission warning light comes on when regen selected on Carista, engine must be running.

Set off on Dual Carriageway at 2400rpm in manual 5th. DSG box. Put cruise on.
Carista shows time lapsed and live soot level, my Wife monitored it to keep phone use legal.

After over 10 mins soot level started to drop steadily, dash warning still on.
Came off and started to return home.
Now over 15 mins, nearer 20 mins. Dash light went off at 9 grams soot level and continued to drop to about 8.2 at which point it started to slowly increase.

MPG reading was 26.5 during Regen process.

Conclussion being that it is very useful to check on soot level and if doing short runs will indicate when action is needed to hopefully avoid a 'breakdown'.
If soot level is high and going away on a long trip it could be initiated at the start and the rev criteria maintained until the dash light goes out.

 

[GrahamB]

Carista Regen.
Finally got time to try it out.

Carista Instructions are to do a road run at 2>2500rpm for 10 to 15 mins.
Also found that it said that a regen isn't reguired with soot reading under 22gms.

I had a reading of 16.5gms which coincidentally the regen was running when I last parked up days before.
Emission warning light comes on when regen selected on Carista, engine must be running.

Set off on Dual Carriageway at 2400rpm in manual 5th. DSG box. Put cruise on.
Carista shows time lapsed and live soot level, my Wife monitored it to keep phone use legal.

After over 10 mins soot level started to drop steadily, dash warning still on.
Came off and started to return home.
Now over 15 mins, nearer 20 mins. Dash light went off at 9 grams soot level and continued to drop to about 8.2 at which point it started to slowly increase.

MPG reading was 26.5 during Regen process.

Conclussion being that it is very useful to check on soot level and if doing short runs will indicate when action is needed to hopefully avoid a 'breakdown'.
If soot level is high and going away on a long trip it could be initiated at the start and the rev criteria maintained until the dash light goes out.

Very useful info thanks @B J G . I just got a Carista and will be trying this myself to check it out.
Btw think your post is in the wrong thread!

 

[B J G]

Very useful info thanks @B J G . I just got a Carista and will be trying this myself to check it out.
Btw think your post is in the wrong thread!

Had a hunt around for that and put it here as follow on to @Loz mention of regen being added.
couldn't find the one that I wanted which was on a non Carista main thread.

Incidentally I noticed that Carista had a Notice when first logging on that there was addition support for older vehicles added to the Software. Didn't say what was actually added..