# Auto Locking Parked Tiguan



## TheMiddle (Jul 2, 2019)

Hi There,

I’m sure I’m missing something but checked the manual and had a good read of the threads here so thought I’d better put a post together.

Can anyone tell me if the Tiguan (2018 SEL 4Motion UK) is supposed to lock itself, after being parked, but left unlocked for a period of time?

The manual does say there are a number of scenarios, where after 45sec or so it will lock itself; for example, if unlocked but no doors opened the car will lock itself. But it seems crazy that if you forget to lock the car it just stays unlocked! 

Does anyone else have any thought on this?

Thanks,
TM


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## jimtunes (Mar 29, 2010)

TheMiddle said:


> Can anyone tell me if the Tiguan (2018 SEL 4Motion UK) is supposed to lock itself, after being parked, but left unlocked for a period of time?
> 
> The manual does say there are a number of scenarios, where after 45sec or so it will lock itself; for example, if unlocked but no doors opened the car will lock itself. But it seems crazy that if you forget to lock the car it just stays unlocked!


If it's anything like the US Tiguan it will happily stay unlocked for all of eternity. I've owned a lot of VW/Audi cars in my life and none have ever locked by themselves. The only time that it will is as you noted, you unlock the vehicle but then never open a door.


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## JSWTDI09 (Feb 22, 2009)

jimtunes said:


> If it's anything like the US Tiguan it will happily stay unlocked for all of eternity. I've owned a lot of VW/Audi cars in my life and none have ever locked by themselves. The only time that it will is as you noted, you unlock the vehicle but then never open a door.


It also automatically locks all doors when your speed exceeds about 7 or 8 mph. My Tiguan spends much of it's time in my garage unlocked - it has never locked itself except for these 2 scenarios.

Have Fun!

Don


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

Certainly not something I would want my vehicle to do. If I want the vehicle locked, I will lock it.


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## n0thing (Mar 30, 2014)

You can code it to lock itself but it's immediately after it recognizes all doors are closed and the key has been removed. You cannot change it to wait a little while so it's a useless feature that'll drive you mad.


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## socialD (Sep 19, 2011)

TheMiddle said:


> But it seems crazy that if you forget to lock the car it just stays unlocked!
> 
> Does anyone else have any thought on this?


If you sign up for Car-Net, it will ping your phone telling you it's unlocked and nervous about it.:laugh: Then you can lock it via the app.


I've never had a car with keyless that would lock itself just on walking away and I get a new one every 2-3 years with never the same make back to back.


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## n0thing (Mar 30, 2014)

socialD said:


> If you sign up for Car-Net, it will ping your phone telling you it's unlocked and nervous about it.:laugh: Then you can lock it via the app.
> 
> 
> I've never had a car with keyless that would lock itself just on walking away and I get a new one every 2-3 years with never the same make back to back.


I've had it on Honda, Mazda, and GMC vehicles we have owned. It's more common than you think.


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## socialD (Sep 19, 2011)

n0thing said:


> I've had it on Honda, Mazda, and GMC vehicles we have owned. It's more common than you think.


Ah I see that's a relatively recent thing for Honda(starting with some models/trim '16s?). My experience with Honda/Acura older than that was just the simpler auto re-lock if you unlock but don't open the door.


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## CtTigSEL (Sep 22, 2018)

jimtunes said:


> If it's anything like the US Tiguan it will happily stay unlocked for all of eternity. I've owned a lot of VW/Audi cars in my life and none have ever locked by themselves. The only time that it will is as you noted, you unlock the vehicle but then never open a door.


I can say without question that you can lock your keys in a running Tiguan ... or that the Tiguan will lock on its own while running 

I have the vag mod set so that we can lock with the remote while the car is running. Well a couple weeks ago while rushing around getting ready to leave for a race weekend with the RV, I backed the Tiguan up to a shed in our yard (windows all rolled up mind you because of the blistering heat), popped the trunk with the inside button, closed the drivers door, loaded the stuff from the shed into the truck, closed the trunk and as soon as the trunk closed the Tiguan :beep: :beeped: and locked all the doors.


Uuhh what just happened? I'm thinking to myself, and yes sure enough the car was locked and running. I accidentally dropped the key in the trunk when I loaded the items from the shed.

The week prior our daughter lost my key to the Tiguan, so we only have 1 now key fob and I can't find the valet key. 

After an hour of trying to get a coat hanger to unlock the door, I gave up and called our roadside assistance. The tech used a small bladder to crack the top of the door and then a fiberglass rod to put a window down.

Luckily it was a free service call.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

CtTigSEL said:


> I can say without question that you can lock your keys in a running Tiguan ... or that the Tiguan will lock on its own while running
> 
> I *have the vag mod set so that we can lock with the remote while the car is running*.......


So, it wasn't VW's fault, but the owner.


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## gerardrjj (Sep 4, 2014)

But not as configured from the factory is the main point. 

My older Golf, it's possible to lock yourself out if you leave they key in the car and leave the car via a door other than the driver's. If you close the driver's door while it's locked the act of closing it unlocks it.
VW is pretty damned good at making it so you can't lock yourself out accidentally but if you REALLY want to, you can.


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## gads1 (Mar 1, 2015)

post your question in pre-sales forum on ross-tech (VCDS vag-com). they are fantastic.

https://forums.ross-tech.com/


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## tiguandude (Jul 23, 2020)

jimtunes said:


> If it's anything like the US Tiguan it will happily stay unlocked for all of eternity. I've owned a lot of VW/Audi cars in my life and none have ever locked by themselves. The only time that it will is as you noted, you unlock the vehicle but then never open a door.


My 2014 Tiguan will lock if you leave the bastard running with the keys in the ignition. Pain in the ass if you just want to jump out for a minute. Learned the hard way of course... got locked out while the engine was running. Cant find a way to turn that setting off.


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

tiguandude said:


> My 2014 Tiguan will lock if you leave the bastard running with the keys in the ignition. Pain in the ass if you just want to jump out for a minute. Learned the hard way of course... got locked out while the engine was running. Cant find a way to turn that setting off.


A stock VW vehicle will never ever do that. What fiddling had you done to it?


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## blueimp (Sep 5, 2019)

socialD said:


> Ah I see that's a relatively recent thing for Honda(starting with some models/trim '16s?). My experience with Honda/Acura older than that was just the simpler auto re-lock if you unlock but don't open the door.


my 2013 CR-Z (my daily prior to the Tiguan) had auto-lock. you can set how long after leaving the vehicle to auto-lock (so long as the vehicle is "off" and doors are closed). won't auto-lock if the key fob is detectable (within range) IIRC.

lack of auto-lock and having to manually close the rear liftgate is kind of annoying on my Tiguan (3rd row here) but not a deal breaker.


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## 2020Tiguan (Jul 15, 2020)

I was just searching around and came across the OBDeleven, where you can customize certain functions of your car. Auto-locking is one of them - it will auto-lock the car when the key is outside and all the doors are locked. Goto their website obdeleven.com


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## GTINC (Jan 28, 2005)

2020Tiguan said:


> ..... it will auto-lock the car when the key is outside *and all the doors are locked*.....


What is the point of it locking doors already locked?


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## phlegm (Apr 24, 2019)

2020Tiguan said:


> I was just searching around and came across the OBDeleven, where you can customize certain functions of your car. Auto-locking is one of them - it will auto-lock the car when the key is outside and all the doors are locked. Goto their website obdeleven.com


You might want to check post #4. If there's no time factor to apply, it could be irritating as suggested.


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## PZ (May 9, 2002)

2020Tiguan said:


> it will auto-lock the car when the key is outside and all the doors are locked.


 So, it will lock the car when it's already locked?


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## RCA777 (Sep 13, 2017)

Carista also allows you to enable "Auto Locking When Key Is Outside The Vehicle".

Locking: Automatic
Auto-lock doors when moving
Yes / No

Auto-unlock doors when key is taken out of ignition
Yes / No

Auto-unlock doors when shifting into park (P)
Yes / No

Locking: Beep & Blink
Allow configuring beep when locking/unlocking
Yes / No

Beep when locking with remote
Yes / No

Beep when unlocking with remote
Yes / No

Menu for configuring beep when locking/unlocking
Enabled / Disabled

Beep when locking/unlocking doors comes from the…
Alarm system / Horn

*Locking: Smart Key (KESSY)
Auto-lock when doors are closed and smart key is outside vehicle
Yes / No*


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## PG12 (Jul 30, 2020)

socialD said:


> If you sign up for Car-Net, it will ping your phone telling you it's unlocked and nervous about it.:laugh: Then you can lock it via the app.
> 
> 
> I've never had a car with keyless that would lock itself just on walking away and I get a new one every 2-3 years with never the same make back to back.



It is a mystery to me that VW/Audi struggle with this, when Porsche has perfectly functioning technology.


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