Locked Out?

[andys]

Thought this may be of interest. It’s from Campervan magazine and is half a page of an owner complaining of a problem with the T6, which boils down to the deadlocks doing what they’re supposed to do, but the bit at the end was something I’d never come across before...

 

[Lord Mfwic]

I often worry that by opening just the tailgate on the remote to get something from the back. If you then put the keys on the floor in the back of the van and forget then close the tailgate you have locked the keys in the van. I once did this with a Cavalier whilst getting the shopping out but fortunately it didn't have deadlocks so a coat hanger sorted out the problem but with my T6, I would be screwed.

 

[andys]

I often worry that by opening just the tailgate on the remote to get something from the back. If you then put the keys on the floor in the back of the van and forget then close the tailgate you have locked the keys in the van. I once did this with a Cavalier whilst getting the shopping out but fortunately it didn't have deadlocks so a coat hanger sorted out the problem but with my T6, I would be screwed.

I’ve nearly done that myself too, but it was more the fact that an externally accessible wire could override the deadlocks that surprised me

 

[DaveBos]

Me too with a Calibre, didn’t have a coat hanger, so borrowed a mates van and drove 100 miles back home to get the spare.

 

[Bargy62]

I read the article that's probably why VW do and option of 4 keys
In case you lock your key in the van and you've left your spare in there and you've locked your wife in as well with the 3rd key
You've all ways got a spare at home

 

[.50]

I'd always worried about this as well as losing your keys whilst away on holiday in a vehicle, so when I go away now I put a spare key in a small watertight container and hide it about the van.

 

[Peatey]

I often worry that by opening just the tailgate on the remote to get something from the back. If you then put the keys on the floor in the back of the van and forget then close the tailgate you have locked the keys in the van. I once did this with a Cavalier whilst getting the shopping out but fortunately it didn't have deadlocks so a coat hanger sorted out the problem but with my T6, I would be screwed.

I did this 2 weeks ago just before we went away for the week, so now the wife carries the spare key in her bag, so heres hoping we dont lock that in as well!!

 

[Peatey]

I was once working on rally preparing a sapphire cosworth and we found a key tucked into a hole in the chassis rail

 

[David Stubbs]

While out camping a few years ago, we got locked out of our old T5 when it autolocked with the keys on the drivers seat. We had to sleep in the awning as we had been drinking. Got a lift back home in the morning as we were only 30 minutes away. Nowadays with our new T6, we both carry a key on a lanyard so it won't happen again.

 

[andys]

I thunk I've mistakenly drawn attention to the wrong bit of that post, I wasn't really talking about the autolocking function but how easy it is to gain access to a wire that will override all the deadlocks and allow entry!

 

[DaveBos]

I remember reading posts on the T4 forum about a well known method to break into a T5 in minutes, thankfully no one ever posted in detail how to do this.

 

[.50]

I thunk I've mistakenly drawn attention to the wrong bit of that post, I wasn't really talking about the autolocking function but how easy it is to gain access to a wire that will override all the deadlocks and allow entry!

I got the point of your thread but I dont think that the method you described for gaining acssess to a T6 is too much to worry about.

I dont think this method would be adopted by thieves as it is too time consuming.

Not like poor old Transit owners who's vans can be opened in seconds with a pair of tank pliers, or Vivaro/Trafic owners whos back doors can also be opened in seconds with a sharpened screwdriver.

If someone wants to get into your van, they will smash a window or just fold the top of the side load door down.

From my bit of reading about van security, I think the T6 comes out quite well.

 

[DaveyB]

While out camping a few years ago, we got locked out of our old T5 when it autolocked with the keys on the drivers seat. We had to sleep in the awning as we had been drinking. Got a lift back home in the morning as we were only 30 minutes away. Nowadays with our new T6, we both carry a key on a lanyard so it won't happen again.

This is exactly what we do.
We learnt after the wife locked a set of keys in our boat trailer. Had to borrow a drill and bit from another sailor and drilled out the rivets of the locking straps. Retrieved keys, took pop riveter out of the sailing toolbox in said trailer, and riveted it all back up again so remained secure.