[entendu]

Got a call from my wife (on her friend's phone) - she left her phone at home (so no phone key) and took her fob instead.

She got out and left her purse/fob in the middle row. After a while, the car locked itself. She called me and I was able to remotely unlock it, but how did this happen -- shouldn't the car realize the fob is inside?

[streborx]

When I travel, I always take the second fob in my bag. I've noticed that unlike my Lexus, I am able to lock the car with the fob in my pocket while the second fob is in my bag in the car. I guess with remote locking, this shouldn't be a problem. I haven't searched for an iDrive option to control this, but I don't recall ever coming across anything.

[gsobol]

I think the modern keyfobs have a motion sensor, and if the keyfob is not moving it stops receiving and sending signals. It's part of the security future to stop thieves with remote relays to be able to access your vehicle when you are asleep (as an example). Once the keyfob is not transmitting, it's the same as if you walked away from the vehicle, and it automatically locks.

[meccha]

How did your car lock itself up in the first place? There were a few occasions when I walked away with the key fob inside my pocket and the car didn’t lock. I realized after going back to the car hours later after seeing the mirrors unfolded. (The reason why the walk-away lock didn’t work was usually because the key fob was touching my keys inside my pocket.) On the other hand though, I don’t think my car ever locks itself while it is in my parking garage, where they leave car keys inside the cars when parked.

[MystroX5]

I didn’t think that was possible. In the manual it states over and over not to leave your key in the vehicle for security as it can’t be locked.

[gsobol]

I have noticed that when you walk away, but another passenger is still exiting the vehicle and has the door open, the car will not lock automatically once all the doors are closed. It will remain unlocked. Also, I have noticed that eventhough my wife's keyfob may be in the car when we exit, the car will lock once it sees my keyfob moving away from the vehicle. There is also a setting somewhere in the menu, that determines if the vehicle will lock itself automatically after a certain delay once powered off.

[mitch57]

Originally Posted by MystroX5

I didn’t think that was possible. In the manual it states over and over not to leave your key in the vehicle for security as it can’t be locked.

You can read all about it here. It's been an issue since the introduction of the X7. It appears BMW still hasn't fixed it with the LCI either. There's also an SIB (iDrive Update) that my dealer installed for the issue. Guess what? It didn't solve the issue! I'm still dealing with it.

[MystroX5]

Originally Posted by mitch57

You can read all about it here. It's been an issue since the introduction of the X7. It appears BMW still hasn't fixed it with the LCI either. There's also an SIB (iDrive Update) that my dealer installed for the issue. Guess what? It didn't solve the issue! I'm still dealing with it.

I have always had my BMW’s unlock on approach but not lock when walking away as I like to touch the handle to confirm locking. This goes back to not fully trusting the tech in locking my vehicle automatically.