[bandersen]

Ok…this is a ‘warning’ post….

Here is the scene….

Pulled into the station to top up…IPhone charging and on the armrest. Key on the armrest. Comfort Access ‘on’.

Fill the tank. As soo as pull the nozzle out, I hear a chirp..and the mirror motors move/close mirrors. My heart stops….phone is in the car, key is in the car. I try the passenger door -yup, locked all right. Hmm, driver back window cracked an inch…did I leave driver front down? Can’t tell. Walk around. Phew - window all the way down. I reach in and lift out the key. Unlock. Proceed. But could have been a bad Monday am. Dealer 1/2 mile away, so I was prepared to walk over.

Wash the car weekly - leaving the key inside the car/unlocked as I do so. This has never happened before. MY22, 20k miles, 11/21 IDrive.

[nZtiZia]

happened to my car while at the detailer. key fob was in the front cup holder. luckily, they were done, and I had my phone to use the Digital Key or app to unlock it. from that point, I always have one key on me at all times (usually the fob)

[1Boxer]

I always wondered what would happen in this situation as I leave my fob and my phone in the vehicle when I go wash my car, but then recently, one of the last My BMW app updates, now allows the Apple Watch to unlock the vehicle, which would solve this problem for me as my watch is always on my wrist.

[nZtiZia]

Originally Posted by 1Boxer

I always wondered what would happen in this situation as I leave my fob and my phone in the vehicle when I go wash my car, but then recently, one of the last MyBMW app updates, now allows the Apple Watch to unlock the vehicle, which would solve this problem for me as my watch is always on my wrist.

the latest MyBMW app update added additional features for watchOS, but support for Apple Watch as a Digital Key was released back in Fall 2021 I’ve been using it since then

[frankshhh]

Happened a bunch of times for me - Luckily every time I was in the vehicle with the key when it locks up. I feel like the remote access functioning isn't quite consistent.

[rmorin1249]

So it's normal for the doors to lock when comfort access is on even if there is a fob in the car? Seems wrong.

[nZtiZia]

Originally Posted by rmorin1249

So it's normal for the doors to lock when comfort access is on even if there is a fob in the car? Seems wrong.

it shouldn’t happen

[nZtiZia]

Originally Posted by frankshhh

Happened a bunch of times for me - Luckily every time I was in the vehicle with the key when it locks up. I feel like the remote access functioning isn't quite consistent.

“bunch of times”?

so you’re just sitting there with the key on you, nobody’s touching the door locks, then BOOM, it just locks? are you sitting on the key (and possibly the button)?

[frankshhh]

Yeah. It almost happened the same way every time: I have my key in my pocket, got into car with comfort access and close the door, and the car just locks right after I close the door before pushing the start button. Had to use the key fob and click unlock button inside the car.

And by saying bunch of times I mean 3~4 times during my 9 months ownership.

[frankshhh]

Originally Posted by nZtiZia

“bunch of times”?

so you’re just sitting there with the key on you, nobody’s touching the door locks, then BOOM, it just locks? are you sitting on the key (and possibly the button)?

And no I don't believe I could sit on the lock button. I have a car key cover/wrap which wraps around every single button except for the BMW button (lock button) so the lock button is essentially in a hole 1/4 inch deep.

For your information I also have "auto lock while you leave the car" feature on and my second key is always within 8 feet of distance from my parking spot in garage. Now that I'm thinking about it, a lot interference could happen there.

[nZtiZia]

Originally Posted by frankshhh

And no I don't believe I could sit on the lock button. I have a car key cover/wrap which wraps around every single button except for the BMW button (lock button) so the lock button is essentially in a hole 1/4 inch deep.

For your information I also have "auto lock while you leave the car" feature on and my second key is always within 8 feet of distance from my parking spot in garage. Now that I'm thinking about it, a lot interference could happen there.

8 feet? that could be it. just around that Comfort Access perimeter…

while I disabled the above feature, I still have “unlock when approaching car” enabled, and when I set my key fob on the workbench which is ~6’ diagonal from the tailgate, the car will intermittently ghost unlock several times

try putting the extra key in a Faraday pouch/box to see if the ghost locks stop

[Qsilver7]

I think I'll just learn to always keep my key on me unless all the windows are down. Leaving all the components that can unlock your car inside the vehicle is probably not a good idea in case something odd occurs. Plus, leaving your remote inside the car while you're outside the car also leaves the possibility to be car jacked.

I've already taught myself to NEVER lay my remote key down inside the trunk. The moment that you think you'll remember to pick it up...will be seconds after you've closed the trunk.

I take this thread as a reminder of things not to do...and things to do.

[eelnoraa]

Key on me all the time too. It doesn’t come out anyway, I don’t see how I would leave it in the car. But I think this this is easier for guys. For my wife, she keeps key in purse on passenger seat. If she is filling up, chances are purse will still be in passenger seat.

But I want to ask, is this a software glitch? Or this is the intended behavior for newer bmw? For all other cars I own or have owned, car cannot be locked if engine is off and key is inside.

[mitch57]

Originally Posted by nZtiZia

“bunch of times”?

so you’re just sitting there with the key on you, nobody’s touching the door locks, then BOOM, it just locks? are you sitting on the key (and possibly the button)?

Originally Posted by frankshhh

Yeah. It almost happened the same way every time: I have my key in my pocket, got into car with comfort access and close the door, and the car just locks right after I close the door before pushing the start button. Had to use the key fob and click unlock button inside the car.

And by saying bunch of times I mean 3~4 times during my 9 months ownership.

Originally Posted by frankshhh

And no I don't believe I could sit on the lock button. I have a car key cover/wrap which wraps around every single button except for the BMW button (lock button) so the lock button is essentially in a hole 1/4 inch deep.

For your information I also have "auto lock while you leave the car" feature on and my second key is always within 8 feet of distance from my parking spot in garage. Now that I'm thinking about it, a lot interference could happen there.

Happens to me FREQUENTLY! By frequently I mean at least a dozen times since I took delivery of the vehicle in 2019.

I'm sitting in the drivers seat with my key fob in my pocket. My wife get's out of the car with her key fob in her purse. She walks into the house and "BEEP!" the car locks and the mirrors fold in and the alarm is now activated. ALL while I'm sitting in the driver's seat with my key fob in my pocket.

Both key fobs have new batteries and I change the batteries in both key fobs every 6 months.

This is a known BMW issue and there is an SIB on the problem. However, the SIB does not solve the issue. My dealer applied the fix listed in the SIB and it did the same thing as soon as I got home from the dealership.

This seems to be par for the course with BMW. I've just learned to deal with it. I have no confidence in BMW ever fixing any of these little gremlins that seem to plague BMW for years on end. Sporadic Interference my Ass!

[nZtiZia]

Originally Posted by eelnoraa

Key on me all the time too. It doesn’t come out anyway, I don’t see how I would leave it in the car. But I think this this is easier for guys. For my wife, she keeps key in purse on passenger seat. If she is filling up, chances are purse will still be in passenger seat.

But I want to ask, is this a software glitch? Or this is the intended behavior for newer bmw? For all other cars I own or have owned, car cannot be locked if engine is off and key is inside.

it’s a bug. shouldn’t be able to lock the vehicle if key fob inside the cabin. older bimmers didn’t have this issue, only the newer models with newer iDrive. I seem to recall this issue started when hands-free proximity locking and unlocking was released. when we had to push the key fob button or physically put our hands on the handle, it wasn’t an issue.

[Guy Fleegman]

Bizarre. Sometimes my car will lock up & mirrors fold in when I approach WITH the fob in my pocket. And I have all the auto lock/unlock functions deactivated.

It's rare to the point of never that I'd exit the car without a fob or phone, but the gas station situation is a definite concern.

[sigmabody]

Proximity is pretty strange. My X5 regularly locks when I move 2ft away to put the charger away when leaving, so much so that I've taken to opening the door and leaving it ajar when getting into my car in the morning (ie: open door, then remove charging cable to put away, then get into car). I'm literally still within touching distance of the vehicle. And it's consistent: will lock virtually every time if I don't leave the door ajar.

Meanwhile outdoors I can walk 15ft away before it locks.

It also gets really confused when two fobs are in/around the vehicle, but given the general software quality, that doesn't really surprise me. The key fob proximity thing has always been strange, though.

[icj_45e]

There are instances when people would want to lock their fob inside the car. X5 has a few different options to unlock 1)key card; 2)smart phone/watch; 3)metal key within fob
When I go surfing, I intentionally lock my fob in the car. I put the metal key within the fob in my wetsuit while I surf, and manually unlock car via driver side door handle key hole to get back into car.

[nZtiZia]

Originally Posted by icj_45e

There are instances when people would want to lock their fob inside the car. X5 has a few different options to unlock 1)key card; 2)smart phone/watch; 3)metal key within fob
When I go surfing, I intentionally lock my fob in the car. I put the metal key within the fob in my wetsuit while I surf, and manually unlock car via driver side door handle key hole to get back into car.

as convenient as Digital Key is, I will almost always carry the key fob because like you mentioned, there are times when I don’t want to carry the fob or iPhone such as swimming, amusement parks, etc. in such instances, I’ll have my Apple Watch or key card or both on me, and leave the fob inside the car

[jad03060]

If your fob is in the same pocket as say a phone, or other fob, the two potential signals can create some weird symptoms. I know with my two older BMWs, if I had both of their fobs in my pocket, I could not get reliable reaction from the vehicles at all. If I moved them apart, all worked well again.

[Dschlosser15]

Stupidest thing ever to let key fob get locked in car. Since my wife locked the keys in the car 3 times the first week or two we had our 2024 X5, echo never happened once in our 8 year old 2016 X5, we found that opening the trunk and putting the key let’s say in her purse in the trunk when you close the trunk teh car beeps and unlocks the driver door. Doesn’t do that if left in the front seat.

Again stupidest thing ever

[gqgambler]

I keep the key card in my wallet. Always have two keys on me that way.