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      09-30-2020, 11:00 PM   #1
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Disable Auto lock

Hi guys, just picked up a X7. The X7 has a cool but sometimes annoying feature that auto locks itself when I walk away from it.
Well, the other day my wife left her bag in the car with the key inside and it locked her out in the garage while I had the 2nd key. I used the app to unlock remotely but is there any way to disable this feature? I'd like to manually lock the vehicle with the key, phone app or comfort access button on door handles.
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      09-30-2020, 11:19 PM   #2
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      09-30-2020, 11:48 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ApexM4CS View Post
Hi guys, just picked up a X7. The X7 has a cool but sometimes annoying feature that auto locks itself when I walk away from it.
Well, the other day my wife left her bag in the car with the key inside and it locked her out in the garage while I had the 2nd key. I used the app to unlock remotely but is there any way to disable this feature? I'd like to manually lock the vehicle with the key, phone app or comfort access button on door handles.
Wait, it locked while the key is inside?

Even the scooter thingy has black wheels
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      10-01-2020, 02:50 AM   #4
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Originally Posted by ducatiti View Post
Wait, it locked while the key is inside?
Yep! Leave it to BMW to allow such a dumb ass thing as locking the vehicle with another key in the car. Even a cheap ass Toyota won't let you lock the car if a key is left in the car. What's even worse is when your wife is sitting in the car with her key in her purse. When set to lock when walking away, I get out, walk away, the car locks and sets the alarm. If my wife starts moving around or opens the door the freaking alarm goes off! Happened to me for about the 3rd time just today.

What happens is the key fob goes to sleep after about 10 minutes if there is no activity/movement. So it doesn't detect her key because the key is in sleep mode. This is so hackers can't drive by and hack your key if it's close enough to their laptop.

You'd think they'd be smart enough to make the key wake up when she moves and disable the alarm when it detects the key. But no...Lets just have the alarm go off and your wife panic because she doesn't have a clue what to do. I'll say it again! Leave it to BMW to design something as stupid as this.

Last edited by mitch57; 10-01-2020 at 03:01 AM..
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      10-01-2020, 05:12 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by mitch57 View Post
Yep! Leave it to BMW to allow such a dumb ass thing as locking the vehicle with another key in the car. Even a cheap ass Toyota won't let you lock the car if a key is left in the car. What's even worse is when your wife is sitting in the car with her key in her purse. When set to lock when walking away, I get out, walk away, the car locks and sets the alarm. If my wife starts moving around or opens the door the freaking alarm goes off! Happened to me for about the 3rd time just today.

What happens is the key fob goes to sleep after about 10 minutes if there is no activity/movement. So it doesn't detect her key because the key is in sleep mode. This is so hackers can't drive by and hack your key if it's close enough to their laptop.

You'd think they'd be smart enough to make the key wake up when she moves and disable the alarm when it detects the key. But no...Lets just have the alarm go off and your wife panic because she doesn't have a clue what to do. I'll say it again! Leave it to BMW to design something as stupid as this.
This also happened to me, with my wife sitting inside the car as I walking away. The doors were locked and when she opened the door the alarm went off. It was very loud, every one in the parking lot was looking at me lol.
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      10-01-2020, 06:27 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by rainman109 View Post
This also happened to me, with my wife sitting inside the car as I walking away. The doors were locked and when she opened the door the alarm went off. It was very loud, every one in the parking lot was looking at me lol.
Yeah, BMW needs to get their act together on this issue. It's not Rocket Science but apparently it is for BMW.
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      10-02-2020, 08:53 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ApexM4CS View Post
Hi guys, just picked up a X7. The X7 has a cool but sometimes annoying feature that auto locks itself when I walk away from it.
Well, the other day my wife left her bag in the car with the key inside and it locked her out in the garage while I had the 2nd key. I used the app to unlock remotely but is there any way to disable this feature? I'd like to manually lock the vehicle with the key, phone app or comfort access button on door handles.
A bit OT, but nice stable as I can also relate (all you need now is a trailer to haul your M4 to the track ).....
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      10-02-2020, 10:21 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jmciver View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by ApexM4CS View Post
Hi guys, just picked up a X7. The X7 has a cool but sometimes annoying feature that auto locks itself when I walk away from it.
Well, the other day my wife left her bag in the car with the key inside and it locked her out in the garage while I had the 2nd key. I used the app to unlock remotely but is there any way to disable this feature? I'd like to manually lock the vehicle with the key, phone app or comfort access button on door handles.
A bit OT, but nice stable as I can also relate (all you need now is a trailer to haul your M4 to the track ).....
Quote:
Originally Posted by jsmonet View Post
here you go
Thanks!
VIR is a sweet 45 mins away thru nice twisty back roads so no trailer needed... it's the warm up road before and after the track
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      10-03-2020, 04:31 PM   #9
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Also, I think there is another function at play here. In the same menu as Comfort Access, there is another, independent option called "Automatic Lock". When selected, the doors will automatically lock after a few minutes of inactivity when the car is turned off - even if you are still in the car. I will speculate that is what caused the issue for the OP with the keys being locked in the car.

Whether or not you find the Automatic Lock function useful or not is up for debate I guess. But if you turn it off, this issue would probably never have happened. FWIW, I have this feature turned off to avoid what happened to the OP.....
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      10-03-2020, 05:18 PM   #10
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I personally love that it has the ability to lock when you walk away. I never have to take my key out of my purse.

I do know what you mean by the alarm going off when my husband was in the car still. However, I usually just leave the key with him before I get out of the car and then it doesn't lock in the first place. This happens rarely for us.

I have left my purse with the key in it overnight, and did not lock. So not sure why that would happen. Maybe I just got lucky that one night

Have you tried that again, where the car locked with the key inside it? Just to make sure it wasn't a one time thing?


This is a different issue, but my lights would stay on in my garage if I didn't lock my car. So it also helps with that.

Only negative I can say, is that I go out to my car in the garage and forget to unlock it first.
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      10-03-2020, 07:56 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mitch57 View Post
Yep! Leave it to BMW to allow such a dumb ass thing as locking the vehicle with another key in the car. Even a cheap ass Toyota won't let you lock the car if a key is left in the car. What's even worse is when your wife is sitting in the car with her key in her purse. When set to lock when walking away, I get out, walk away, the car locks and sets the alarm. If my wife starts moving around or opens the door the freaking alarm goes off! Happened to me for about the 3rd time just today.

What happens is the key fob goes to sleep after about 10 minutes if there is no activity/movement. So it doesn't detect her key because the key is in sleep mode. This is so hackers can't drive by and hack your key if it's close enough to their laptop.

You'd think they'd be smart enough to make the key wake up when she moves and disable the alarm when it detects the key. But no...Lets just have the alarm go off and your wife panic because she doesn't have a clue what to do. I'll say it again! Leave it to BMW to design something as stupid as this.
The key fob next to a phone seems to prevent the car from seeing it. Probably interference. I've noticed if I hold my key and phone together, the car has trouble sensing the key. It shouldn't lock with a key in the car. Is it in your wife's purse along with a cell phone?
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      10-03-2020, 08:35 PM   #12
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The car has to sense the key as you walk away from the vehicle, since the fob never left the car, the car remains unlocked. One thing I have noticed today, with the engine running, walking away from the car with the keyfob in my pocket causes the car to honk (twice in very short succession) every minute. I have not waited to see if it will turn off by itself or what will happen, but I can see how this is going to be annoying. Example, when I will need to put some fuel in the car and step outside while the engine is running. Is there anyway to turn that off ???
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      10-04-2020, 10:19 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jcarlilesiu View Post
The key fob next to a phone seems to prevent the car from seeing it. Probably interference. I've noticed if I hold my key and phone together, the car has trouble sensing the key. It shouldn't lock with a key in the car. Is it in your wife's purse along with a cell phone?
Yes. Her phone is in her purse with her keys. I will try and test that the next time we go some where together.

It doesn't do this all the time. It's done it about 3 or 4 times but since it hasn't done it other times I'm going to guess it's either because her key fob went to sleep or the battery needs to be replaced.
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      11-15-2020, 10:29 AM   #14
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Just wanted to follow up on thread. This happened to me the other day. My phone and key were in my purse on the front passenger side. I do have auto lock on when you walk away. However, I put my daughter in her car seat in the back after I set my purse in the passenger side and shut the door. (I always do this) I went to walk around to the driver side and the door locked! It must have thought I walked away with the key. But not sure why it would lock if it doesn't sense a key. Wouldn't it just lock when it senses the key going away? THANKFULLY we were still in our garage and I had a spare key to unlock it. VERY dangerous.
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      11-15-2020, 11:17 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kdesign7 View Post
Just wanted to follow up on thread. This happened to me the other day. My phone and key were in my purse on the front passenger side. I do have auto lock on when you walk away. However, I put my daughter in her car seat in the back after I set my purse in the passenger side and shut the door. (I always do this) I went to walk around to the driver side and the door locked! It must have thought I walked away with the key. But not sure why it would lock if it doesn't sense a key. Wouldn't it just lock when it senses the key going away? THANKFULLY we were still in our garage and I had a spare key to unlock it. VERY dangerous.
I'm confused. If someone is sitting in the passenger seat, the car actually detects it so it doesn't shut down or lock.

Im actually worried about the battery drain as there are times I run into the store while my wife and kids stay in the car. The stereo will stay on even if I turn off ignition, open door and leave with the key.

I'm guessing it's a setting but my car won't sleep or lock if someone is in it.
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      11-15-2020, 11:20 AM   #16
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I'm confused. If someone is sitting in the passenger seat, the car actually detects it so it doesn't shut down or lock.

Im actually worried about the battery drain as there are times I run into the store while my wife and kids stay in the car. The stereo will stay on even if I turn off ignition, open door and leave with the key.

I'm guessing it's a setting but my car won't sleep or lock if someone is in it.

My purse is the only thing in the passenger seat. My daughter is in the back in her carseat. It didn't detect anyone inside the car.
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      11-15-2020, 01:46 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kdesign7 View Post
Just wanted to follow up on thread. This happened to me the other day. My phone and key were in my purse on the front passenger side. I do have auto lock on when you walk away. However, I put my daughter in her car seat in the back after I set my purse in the passenger side and shut the door. (I always do this) I went to walk around to the driver side and the door locked! It must have thought I walked away with the key. But not sure why it would lock if it doesn't sense a key. Wouldn't it just lock when it senses the key going away? THANKFULLY we were still in our garage and I had a spare key to unlock it. VERY dangerous.
You're not alone. This type of thing happens to me all the time. I'm sitting in the driver's seat with my key in my pocket and my wife walks by the car and out the garage with her key in her purse. The car shuts down, locks the car, fold's the mirror's in all while I'm sitting there in the drivers seat with my key. I have comfort access set to lock when walking away.

Another scenario is when my wife is sitting in the passenger seat with her purse and the keys to BMW in her purse. I exit the driver's side and walk away. The car locks, folds the mirrors, shuts down and enables the alarm. All while my wife is sitting there in the passenger seat with her keys in her purse. If she moves around in the car or just wiggles around in the seat the alarm goes off.

BMW needs to get their act together on this issue. It's should be very simple to implement a fix. The car can sense both keys so it should not be locking the vehicle when it senses a key. But not BMW. You can easily lock your keys in the car with a BMW. Not so with other automakers.

I own two Toyota vehicles in addition to my X7. Neither one of my Toyota vehicles will allow you lock the vehicle if there is a key fob in the vehicle. Both Toyota vehicles are well over 10 years old. Yet a brand new BMW is to dumb to figure out when there is a key in the car and not to lock the car if the key is in it.

Very frustrating indeed!
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      11-15-2020, 02:14 PM   #18
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Folks - I just started a thread on this issue. See here.

My wife just mentioned a similar scenario that keeps happening to her:

She puts the car in Park, gets out, walks around to the other side to get one of our kids out of the car, but that door is always locked. She then has to walk all the way around again to the driver's door to manually press the Unlock button.

BMW: What the hell are you guys doing? Stop sucking so much.
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      11-15-2020, 06:24 PM   #19
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Does anyone know what the timeout on the keyfob motion sensor is?

X7 keyfob does contain motion sensor that shuts down keyfob while stationary for a period of time in order to prevent relay theft attack.

If the keyfob goes to sleep it's no longer detectable by the vehicle. If two keyfobs are present at one time and one goes to sleep while the other "walks away" the car no longer sees a live keyfob within it's monitoring parameter, then it will shutdown and lock. Same with the stationary purse on passenger seat, the car will detect last door close event, no keyfob, proceed to lock the vehicle. Kind of simple really, hence my question, what's the keyfob motion timeout?
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      11-15-2020, 08:00 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stockguru View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by kdesign7 View Post
Just wanted to follow up on thread. This happened to me the other day. My phone and key were in my purse on the front passenger side. I do have auto lock on when you walk away. However, I put my daughter in her car seat in the back after I set my purse in the passenger side and shut the door. (I always do this) I went to walk around to the driver side and the door locked! It must have thought I walked away with the key. But not sure why it would lock if it doesn't sense a key. Wouldn't it just lock when it senses the key going away? THANKFULLY we were still in our garage and I had a spare key to unlock it. VERY dangerous.
I'm confused. If someone is sitting in the passenger seat, the car actually detects it so it doesn't shut down or lock.

Im actually worried about the battery drain as there are times I run into the store while my wife and kids stay in the car. The stereo will stay on even if I turn off ignition, open door and leave with the key.

I'm guessing it's a setting but my car won't sleep or lock if someone is in it.
If someone is sitting in the passenger seat, by design, iDrive will not shut down until their door is opened. iDrive will remain on and shutdown automatically after a few minutes, 15 I believe. At least this is what occurs when I remain in the drivers seat after turning off the ignition.
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      11-15-2020, 09:27 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gsobol View Post
Does anyone know what the timeout on the keyfob motion sensor is?

X7 keyfob does contain motion sensor that shuts down keyfob while stationary for a period of time in order to prevent relay theft attack.

If the keyfob goes to sleep it's no longer detectable by the vehicle. If two keyfobs are present at one time and one goes to sleep while the other "walks away" the car no longer sees a live keyfob within it's monitoring parameter, then it will shutdown and lock. Same with the stationary purse on passenger seat, the car will detect last door close event, no keyfob, proceed to lock the vehicle. Kind of simple really, hence my question, what's the keyfob motion timeout?
The wife is sitting in the passenger seat. Why would it activate/lock the car and alarm the car when it knows there is someone in the car?
Additionally, I have instructed my wife to always shake her purse to make sure the key fob is awake before I exit the vehicle. Guess what? It still locks and arms the car. And before anyone asks, this is right after changing out the key fob batteries with fresh new batteries.

On top of that major blunder BMW likes to lock the passengers in the car with no way to get out. If a passenger is in the car without a key fob present and the doors are locked by key fob or comfort access, that passenger can not unlock the doors or windows. pushing on the door lock/unlock buttons does nothing. pulling on the door handle does nothing. I think there is some secret method to unlock it from inside but don't remember what it is off hand.

Either way, this is a disaster waiting to happen. Leave your friend or loved one in the car without a phone and they can't get out in an emergency unless they know the secret procedure to unlock the car from the inside.
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      11-15-2020, 11:11 PM   #22
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Honda figured this out in 2016 on the new Pilot. It has Walk Away Auto Lock. I never had an issue with it.

Seems odd that BMW can't figure out how to make this work right. I get my X7 end of this week hopefully and will have to play around with this feature before I use it.

The one thing I do like in my X3 is the ability to lock the doors while my wife is still getting out of her door. Then when she shuts her door, it locks automatically. In our XC90, I had to wait until all doors were closed before I could lock it.
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