Car locks itself randomly
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 16
Likes: 0
C43
Car locks itself randomly
Hi people,
Today I went to a self service car wash and once i started washing the car, this got itself weirdly locking and unlocking itself.
At first i thought the buttons on the key were pressing while this one was in my pocket, but i figured out soon this was not he case. i actually took out the key from my pocket and held it in my hand when wiping my car afterwards. Thing is, it had a couple of “cycles” lock-unlock-lock not necessarily staying locked neither unlocked. It is really ****ing random.
I first noticed this behaviour while i took my car in dealership for replacing the LEDs in the mirrors, the ones that light the floor when you open the doors or unlcok the car. I guess they are called puddle lights, but i might be mistaking. This happened when working on passengers side mirror, but i considered the problemes were actually the “security feature” when you unlock the car and do not open the driver door, it self locks after 15 seconds or so.
but today was a very weird, different, whole new level of ****ed up ****. I noticed the symptoms more when i had the water jet pointed at the mirror, but it might be just a coincidence...
any clues on what the hell should i tell MB to check?
thanks!
sorry for bad english
Today I went to a self service car wash and once i started washing the car, this got itself weirdly locking and unlocking itself.
At first i thought the buttons on the key were pressing while this one was in my pocket, but i figured out soon this was not he case. i actually took out the key from my pocket and held it in my hand when wiping my car afterwards. Thing is, it had a couple of “cycles” lock-unlock-lock not necessarily staying locked neither unlocked. It is really ****ing random.
I first noticed this behaviour while i took my car in dealership for replacing the LEDs in the mirrors, the ones that light the floor when you open the doors or unlcok the car. I guess they are called puddle lights, but i might be mistaking. This happened when working on passengers side mirror, but i considered the problemes were actually the “security feature” when you unlock the car and do not open the driver door, it self locks after 15 seconds or so.
but today was a very weird, different, whole new level of ****ed up ****. I noticed the symptoms more when i had the water jet pointed at the mirror, but it might be just a coincidence...
any clues on what the hell should i tell MB to check?
thanks!
sorry for bad english
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 1,026
Likes: 282
From: Omaha, NE
'16 AMG GTS, '21 AMG GLE53
LOL - there’s nothing wrong with your car. When you have the key in your pocket, outside of the vehicle, and you’re spraying at the car wash, it’s making the same contact with the door handle as if your had is touching it to lock/unlock. Leave the key in the cup holder, problem solved.
Out Of Control!!
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 11,479
Likes: 5,359
From: San Francisco Bay Area
2019 C63CS
Yes, that's absolutely normal as mentioned above and happens on any car with keyless lock/unlock. If you keep the key fob on your person while washing the car then the conductivity of the water through the nozzle is enough to trigger the capacitive sensors in the door handle into thinking that your hand is near it. Keep the key inside of the car or far enough away from it while washing the car.
Member
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 160
Likes: 66
From: Lake Stevens, Washington
2014 E350 & 2017 GLE 400
As stated above that's part of the keyless go feature, with the key in your pocket then hitting the sensors in the door handles will cycle the lock and unlock feature. Put the key inside the car, problem solved.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 16
Likes: 0
C43
Yes, that's absolutely normal as mentioned above and happens on any car with keyless lock/unlock. If you keep the key fob on your person while washing the car then the conductivity of the water through the nozzle is enough to trigger the capacitive sensors in the door handle into thinking that your hand is near it. Keep the key inside of the car or far enough away from it while washing the car.
LOL - there’s nothing wrong with your car. When you have the key in your pocket, outside of the vehicle, and you’re spraying at the car wash, it’s making the same contact with the door handle as if your had is touching it to lock/unlock. Leave the key in the cup holder, problem solved.
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Member
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 241
Likes: 71
From: Colorado
2019 C43 AMG Coupe
If you're really concerned about it, take the key out of range next time you wash the car and see if it happens again. I'm confident what you are experiencing has nothing to do with your LEDs and is, instead, what the others on this thread have described.
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Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 16
Likes: 0
C43
taking the car to the dealership tomorrow for tranny and ecu updates, touchpad replacement and will ask them to run a diag for the door as well.
Newbie
Joined: Apr 2020
Posts: 7
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2018 C43
I do this everytime I wash my car
Out Of Control!!
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 11,479
Likes: 5,359
From: San Francisco Bay Area
2019 C63CS
Yes, that's another option. Clicking the lock button twice turns off the keyfob and yes, the newer keyfobs still have that feature. The newer keyfobs also have a motion sensor in them that turns them off if the key hasn't been moved for the last 2 minutes. This is so that thieves can't steel the car from your driveway by picking up the keyfob signal from inside your house and relay it to another device near your car to unlock and start it w/o being in possession of the key.
