Keys locked in running car

[Zeppo_m]

My 22 yo daughter wanted to warm up the car on a 6 degree morning in her
2001 Subaru Forester, so she started it up, took the remote from the key
ring and locked the car. She just called saying the remote will not unlock
the car now and she's pretty frantic.

Will Subaru remotes not unlock a car while they are running? Is the cold
somehow stopping this from working?

Thanks in advance,
Jon

 

[M.J.]

My 22 yo daughter wanted to warm up the car on a 6 degree morning in her
2001 Subaru Forester, so she started it up, took the remote from the key
ring and locked the car. She just called saying the remote will not unlock
the car now and she's pretty frantic.

Will Subaru remotes not unlock a car while they are running? Is the cold
somehow stopping this from working?

maybe check/change the batteries in the remote

 

[Tony Hwang]

My 22 yo daughter wanted to warm up the car on a 6 degree morning in her
2001 Subaru Forester, so she started it up, took the remote from the key
ring and locked the car. She just called saying the remote will not unlock
the car now and she's pretty frantic.

Will Subaru remotes not unlock a car while they are running? Is the cold
somehow stopping this from working?

Thanks in advance,
Jon

Hi,
My honda won't lock(at least driver side door) if engine is running.
No spare key?

 

[Zeppo_m]

Hi,
My honda won't lock(at least driver side door) if engine is running.
No spare key?

It's in the pocketbook locket in the trunk.

Hopefully AAA will get there before she runs out of gas.

Jon

 

[VanguardLH]

My 22 yo daughter wanted to warm up the car on a 6 degree morning in her
2001 Subaru Forester, so she started it up, took the remote from the key
ring and locked the car. She just called saying the remote will not unlock
the car now and she's pretty frantic.

Will Subaru remotes not unlock a car while they are running? Is the cold
somehow stopping this from working?

Thanks in advance,
Jon

Have her get you, another family member, or a friend pickup a new
battery at some store and come over to give it to her. However, if she
called AAA (to use their flat band linkage catcher to open the door),
they should've given her an estimate of when they will arrive which is
probably before anyone else could show up with a new battery. Only your
daughter knows how much fuel is in the tank to know if it will still be
running (and drivable to wherever is the closest gas station) to know if
the next problem is a fueless car; however, AAA should provide gas
(at-rate for Basic plan, enough to reach nearest station for Plus and
Premier plans).

I suspect that by now (3 hours after your post) the situation has been
resolved. It's a bit surprising that your daughter has no spare key
(that is outside the car since a spare inside the car is worthless). It
doesn't sound like she was off somewhere away from home. Guess the next
stop will be at the hardware store to get a duplicate key made to leave
in her home (for such emergencies or when someone else has to drive the
car temporarily). Besides the battery going dead, the switch can go
defective on the remote control fob.

 

[Frank]

Bubba locked his keys in the car yesterday. We were really worried
because it took him two hours to get me and your father out.

 

[Zeppo_m]

Have her get you, another family member, or a friend pickup a new
battery at some store and come over to give it to her. However, if she
called AAA (to use their flat band linkage catcher to open the door),
they should've given her an estimate of when they will arrive which is
probably before anyone else could show up with a new battery. Only your
daughter knows how much fuel is in the tank to know if it will still be
running (and drivable to wherever is the closest gas station) to know if
the next problem is a fueless car; however, AAA should provide gas
(at-rate for Basic plan, enough to reach nearest station for Plus and
Premier plans).

I suspect that by now (3 hours after your post) the situation has been
resolved. It's a bit surprising that your daughter has no spare key
(that is outside the car since a spare inside the car is worthless). It
doesn't sound like she was off somewhere away from home. Guess the next
stop will be at the hardware store to get a duplicate key made to leave
in her home (for such emergencies or when someone else has to drive the
car temporarily). Besides the battery going dead, the switch can go
defective on the remote control fob.

Sorry I didn't get back to you to let you know it was resolved, but I had to
run to catch a plane.

She did have 2 spare keys. One was at my house on her desk and one at her
mom's house on her desk. Unfortunately, she is living at school 90 miles
away.

AAA showed up in a half hour, and popped the door with a flat band
'whateveryoucalled it'. Her car battery seemed fine and the remote works the
door locks ok once the key was out of the ignition.

I'm having her get the remote battery replaced and get some duplicate keys
made today.

Thanks to everyone for their help and suggestions.
Jon

 

[Jonathan Heard]

Based on my manual for a MY 2005 Forester, the remote is not supposed to
work with the key in the ignition. Not sure of the logic; but it is true on
my care. I suspect the battery in your daughter's remote is okay.

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

Based on my manual for a MY 2005 Forester, the remote is not supposed to
work with the key in the ignition. Not sure of the logic; but it is true on
my care. I suspect the battery in your daughter's remote is okay.

Is it possible she could have locked it with the door button? If the
driver's door is the last one to close, the alarm can be set by pushing
the lock button on the driver's door and closing the door. I've never
tried that with the car running though.

Carl

 

[Zeppo]

Is it possible she could have locked it with the door button? If the
driver's door is the last one to close, the alarm can be set by pushing
the lock button on the driver's door and closing the door. I've never
tried that with the car running though.

Carl

Carl,
Anything is possible. It's the type of thing you might without thinking
about it and not remember what you did later.

She was pretty upset when I talked to her so I didn't push it.

Jon

 

[Frank]

Carl,
Anything is possible. It's the type of thing you might without thinking
about it and not remember what you did later.

She was pretty upset when I talked to her so I didn't push it.

Jon

My contribution was facetious but it is something we all need to learn.
I've been carrying an extra key in my wallet ever since I locked the
keys in the car over 50 years ago. Also, I never get out of the car and
leave the motor running except maybe when checking transmission fluid.
There are countless cases of cars being stolen while unoccupied with
motor running or car running amok with nobody in it.

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

My contribution was facetious but it is something we all need to learn.
I've been carrying an extra key in my wallet ever since I locked the
keys in the car over 50 years ago. Also, I never get out of the car and
leave the motor running except maybe when checking transmission fluid.
There are countless cases of cars being stolen while unoccupied with
motor running or car running amok with nobody in it.

I have 3 (now adult) daughters. Multiple trips to unlock the oldest's
car taught me to get and use those magnetic key boxes and hide them
under/on the car. AND keep a spare key with me AND at home.

Now, if boyfriends wouldn't leave scissor jacks and lug wrenches on the
roadside after spare tire installations.....

 

[Zeppo]

I have 3 (now adult) daughters. Multiple trips to unlock the oldest's car
taught me to get and use those magnetic key boxes and hide them under/on
the car. AND keep a spare key with me AND at home.

Now, if boyfriends wouldn't leave scissor jacks and lug wrenches on the
roadside after spare tire installations.....

Hey, at least their boyfriends know HOW to change a tire.

Jon

 

[John O]

Hey, at least their boyfriends know HOW to change a tire.

Jon

Yeah, what do jacks cost compared to your time to go rescue the darlings?

--just got a call from my own 17 year old darling, she needs to add oil, and
can't get the filler cap off. Damn GM pos. lol.

Anyway, most kids don't have the basic mechanical aptitude some of us
developed when growing up. We had no cable TV, pong sucked after 20 minutes,
no Guitar Hero, no Internet......we took apart bikes and stuff. (and read
books, but maybe that was just me) Kids building PCs today don't know why
the CD and floppy use those little screws and the HDD uses the big ones. #1,
#2 philips? ha.

Seriously, I'm creating a training program for tech colleges and I have to
write a dang tutorial on threads and tools. If we could just eliminate the
metric crap from North America it would all be a lot easier. ;-)

-John O

 

[Neville MADDEN]

Seriously, I'm creating a training program for tech colleges and I
have to write a dang tutorial on threads and tools. If we could just
eliminate the metric crap from North America it would all be a lot
easier. ;-)

The US must be about the only country that is non metric. Was it too
hard to change over...too hard to count to 10.

Time to move with the rest of the world.

Neville
CASINO NSW
Australia

 

[John O]

The US must be about the only country that is non metric. Was it too
hard to change over...too hard to count to 10.

Time to move with the rest of the world.

Nah, then I couldn't buy a quarter-pounder, a pint, or a foot-long. We'd all
starve.

-John O
-too old to switch now

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

Nah, then I couldn't buy a quarter-pounder, a pint, or a foot-long. We'd all
starve.

-John O
-too old to switch now

We have metric because the French couldn't do fractions!