Double Locking - dangerous “feature”

[BruceH]

The double lock feature is extremely dangerous and there should be an emergency manual override from inside the vehicle. Yesterday (10 Dec 2019) at the Noosa boat ramp car park, I unlocked my Discovery 4 SE with the smart key and hopped in but it said that the smart key was not found. I hopped out, locked and unlocked it and tried again, but with no success. Sitting in the drivers seat I tried placing the key under the steering column as per the manual and that didn’t work either. I then pressed the lock button and then the unlock button again but the vehicle did not unlock. Instead, it had activated the double lock “feature” with me inside the car. I didn’t push the button twice within 3 seconds which would normally activate it. I only pressed the button once. I could not get out. The doors would not open. The ignition wouldn’t turn on and the windows wouldn’t open. I didn’t have my phone with me and there were not many people around. My son was down at the boat ramp with our JetSki and he had no idea why I was taking so long to bring the trailer down. It was about 4pm, but in the Queensland summer it is still extremely hot and it is very dangerous to be locked inside a car. After reading the manual and trying everything I thought I would have to smash my way out. The alarm was going off and resetting over and over again. I was getting very hot and sweaty in the stifling heat. I gestured to a passer by and they were able to go tell my son who phoned my wife. The passer by also phoned the police who then drove to our holiday unit with my son, where fortunately my wife had our second set of keys. By the time they returned with my wife, my son and the keys, I had been locked inside the vehicle for over half an hour. The passer by phoned Land Rover to ask them for advice. They unbelievably said that no one could help, but they could possibly get a technician to call back as soon as one was available. Not helpful in an emergency situation. The police and bystanders (as there were a few more by now) were absolutely appalled that a car could lock someone inside. This may be great security, but it is stupidly dangerous!!! The manual warns not to activate double locking with anyone inside, but this was due to some fault with the smart key. I subsequently replaced the battery and that was not the problem. I will be taking the key to a dealer at the first opportunity to have it tested. Fortunately I am fine, but under different circumstances without help, the outcome could have been much worse.

 

[joey]

Sorry to hear about your issues. Not a fan of the double lock. I would recommend key battery and Vehicle battery as well.