"EXCUSE ME": REVISITED

One of the burning questions about being locked IN your own vehicle, was asked both in comments and, of course, at work, when it was reported.  "Was this caused by power locks and no power to the vehicle?"

That seemed to us at first to be the most logical answer. (see, we were thinking of you Bogie)  Almost every one of us that had that pass through our heads, have power locks.  However, ALL of us, upon leaving work that day, (and this was almost comical to watch) had to try our vehicles out (cars and trucks).  Just to see.  Can't be too careful, right?

Well, set your mind to rest.  Every one of our doors unlocked just by pulling the interior door handles (both sides).  The locks worked, inside and out, by mechanical means (unless you have child-proof locks engaged).  Several of us even talked to friends who work on cars, and regular mechanics, about this and none of them knew of any cars or trucks that wouldn't open by mechanical means (see remark about the child-proof locks above).

So, this begs the next question: just how DID this person manage to get locked inside?  As this was an early morning report, and the local paper wouldn't go to print for almost 18 hours on the days news, there were more important things to waste ink on.  None of us ever heard the reason for this occurrence.

The easiest way to check your vehicle is to lock it, then pull on the door handle on the inside.  The lock should pop right up, with or without, power.  For that matter, using the key, should open the locks from outside the vehicle...no power needed.  If not, have a mechanic check it out, for peace of mind.  After all, just because it worked on our vehicles doesn't mean yours isn't an exception.  So give it a try, just to be comfy.

Mysteries happen (still).

Comments

[bogie]

Apparently you have knobs for locks - I don't. Not a thing but a button on the arm rest that slides forward and backward. And no - pulling on the handle does not unlock the doors. Didn't for my old 4-runner, doesn't for my Xterra.

Hey, I've slammed my shoulder into th door because I didn't realize that I had hit the door lock instead of the window slide - maybe my fear isn't so irrational.