Pet Peeve - Doors don't unlock!
 

Is it just me or is it a pain to always have to hit the unlock all doors button after I turn off my car so my wife can get our kid out of the backseat?

Is there a solution? I want the doors to lock while driving so I can't turn that off.

I had Patryk program my car this weekend and he said he programmed the car to unlock all doors when the car is off, but it doesn't work. I have keyless entry if that helps.

What am I missing? Any help greatly appreciated.

I think this is BMW. Mercedes and Range Rover are the same. I had a 2006 and 2007 Lexus, and when you turned the car off, the doors unlocked. I can see this as a feature, but it can also be unsafe if you are in a bad neighborhood, or possibly parked in a dark, underground garage. I actually like having the unlock the doors myself. I control the "safety aspect".

It gets annoying, for sure. My current process is:

1) Fold mirrors in
2) Turn engine off
2.5) Eject key (if it's in the slot; I have Comfort Access)
3) Hit unlock button on dash

Meanwhile, between coming to a complete stop and step 3, my passengers sometimes say they can't exit the vehicle and start talking about how they're "locked in" and "can't get out."

Then I have to go through the process of explaining how it works, each damn time. Or they wrench on the door handles and finally let themselves out. I can see a door panel coming loose because of this. Kind of dumb, if you ask me. At least let us choose. We can choose to use DRL's or where the air comes out of the vents on the fly, but not a basic locking functionality?

I don't know why BMW misses some of the obvious convenience features, e.g., on all my Fords the unlock button is on the drivers door, not the center of the dash. That makes it quite easy to unlock and lock the doors when getting out.

Except for the fact that on coupes, its easy to pull the window away from the seal, insert a coat hanger and hit the unlock to break into a car. I did that to my own Neon years ago when I locked the keys in it once.

I bet it is to save $ (suprise) for both left and right side drive cars in different markets.

Not a good excuse, as if that is a concern one can simply place it such that it requires a firm sideways, not up-and-down movement to activate.

Or as another alternative which would be more convenient that the current placement, put it on the console area in the center, not high on the center dash.

am I missing something here? When I turn the vehicle off you just have to pull the handle twice...second time opens the door. I never have to use the unlock button on the dash.

True but folks not familiar with BMWs pull once, panic, and either try to pull up the button, or pull real hard at the door handle.

The easiest way with passengers is just to hit the unlock button when pulling to a stop.

Penguin: Older BMWs had it on the console behind the gear shifter along with the power window switches too.

I believe you can have your x5 coded to unlock all doors when you put the car into park....