I'm getting punchy in my old age, and my 2024 G 63 didn't help.

I parked my G 63 in front of my garage, and I opened the big rear door to unload some boxes. I stacked the boxes inside the garage, and I locked the G 63 using the key fob lock button. I habitually glance at the side-view mirrors to confirm that the doors locked (the mirrors fold inwards when the doors are locked), and the doors were locked.

The next morning my neighbor knocked on my door to tell me that the rear door on my G 63 was wide open! Crud Someone must have broken into my G 63, right? Nope. I forgot to close the big rear door the previous evening when I unloaded the car.

I got to thinking about this, and I wasn't totally surprised that I forgot to close the big rear door (getting old and punchy). But, I was surprised that my G 63 and/or the Mercedes Me app didn't alert me somehow that I left the rear door open when I locked the car. I read the owners manual looking for anything on this topic, but I didn't find much that applied directly. I used an AI search engine to look for information on this topic, and here's what it told me:

"The 2024 Mercedes AMG G 63 will provide a warning if you attempt to lock the vehicle with a door not fully closed. The vehicle uses sensors integrated within the door latch to detect if any door is ajar; if a door is not completely shut, the instrument cluster or multimedia display will show a warning indicating which door is open. Attempting to lock the car with a door not closed will result in an alert, and the doors will not lock until all doors are properly shut. This is a standard safety feature on modern Mercedes-Benz vehicles, helping to prevent driving off or leaving the car with improperly secured doors."

Apparently, this is not the case...unless something is wrong with my particular G 63. I tested things by opening the rear door and using the key fob to lock the doors. My G 63 happily locks the doors, and doesn't do anything to alert me to the problem (horn honks, blinking lights, Mercedes Me push notifications, etc.).

I called my Mercedes dealer and asked them about this. They politely said "nah, sometimes G wagons do things differently, but none of our Mercedes models do anything to alert you if you try to lock the car while a door is open."

I spoke to a friend of mine about this situation (he has an older Ford Exploder), and he told me his Ford beeps the horn and the headlights blink (I think he said that) if he tries to lock the doors when a door is open.

Anyway, long story, but I'm curious if anybody knows if this is true about 2024 G 63s (and apparently all Mercedes models) not giving any alerts at all if you try to lock the doors when a door has been left open.

BTW, I'm going to sit in the car and go through all of the settings to see if there is anything applicable to door lock alerts.

 

I shared a similar experience a month ago. I had lunch with my elderly mother and took her in my '24 G63. When I dropped her off back at her house afterwards, I parked in her driveway. I retrieved a stepping stool that I keep in my trunk so that she can step down from the passenger seat more easily and safely. Once she got out, I closed both the passenger door and trunk door then remote locked it. We went into her house. When I came out after a couple of hours, I was horrified to find my driver's door was left completely wide open. My initial reaction was similar to yours - I thought someone had broken into my G63. Upon inspection, there were no signs of a break-in. I then realized I had completely forgotten to shut the driver's door because I was so focused on assisting my mother. In short, I was paying attention only to shutting the passenger door and the trunk, but not the driver's door.

I doublechecked and my MB app also did not issue me a warning on my iPhone. I think it's just a lapse/oversight in MB's coding for its app. The MB app is good, but it isn't great. At the end of the day, I supposed no harm no foul. I, too, am feeling the effects of aging. I just need to be more attentive and cautious in securing my G63. Nevertheless, I can't help but wonder if there'll be a day when I miscalculate the side step while getting out and fall FLAT on my face... I am hopeful that doesn't happen.

 

Hi. It never occurred to me to do a search on this topic before I posted about my door/door lock fiasco So far, you and I seem to be the only two people on the planet that are punchy enough to forget to close our doors. LOL. I guess the good news is that I've been driving for over 50 years, and I've only forgotten to close my door one time. I guess it could be worse...like forgetting to close the door while driving down the road

BTW, I too used to keep a small step-stool in the G 63 to help my mother-in-law get in and out of the truck She was 93, and was more graceful than Johnny Cash at 56 getting in his Ferrari. LOL

 

I checked my '19 G550's behavior this morning. It doesn't care about any of the doors being open -- you can lock the rest of them and walk away no wiser.

 

You're a better man than me. I despise my mother in law and would never allow her into my G63. Besides, I checked the manual and she would exceed the maximum load...

I'm trying to age gracefully like Brad Pitt and George Clooney, but it's a difficult task to accomplish without cosmetic surgery. I just need to be more focused on each task I do. Cheers!

 

What's interesting is that all the doors provide an instrument panel warning if any of them are not fully closed. Even the gas flap provides a warning. So there are sensors on all of them. That the car can be locked with any of them not closed seems an omission that would require only software to remedy.

 

Thank you for testing it on your truck. It must not happen often enough for Mercedes to add a warning of some kind, e.g., honks, Mercedes Me push notification, etc. Some car manufacturers do alert you if you leave a door open and try to lock the doors. I called my Mercedes dealer and the service department didn't know anything about this, so they transferred me to sales. The sales representative told me unequivocally that Mercedes does not provide an alert for this situation on any of their car models...not just the G series.

I guess I've gotten used to the nanny state protecting me from everything. For example, I no longer even think about drinking battery acid after all the warnings I've seen in owners manuals, etc. :-J

 

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, the MB app is far from perfect. @streborx is correct in that this seems to be a minor problem that MB can simply rectify by recoding its onboard software and send out a wireless patch. While we're on the app topic, my biggest annoyance for me are (1) MB disabled the remote window opener in the US (I heard it was due to some lawsuit), and (2) while you can start the vehicle remotely, the engine shuts down the moment you open the door, which in a way defeats the purpose of a remote startup.

 

I think the remote start / door open stop was related to anti-theft. There are ways thieves can scam door opener signals, and if the car is already running, it's gone.