The Bolt will lock itself with you on the outside and the key inside !!

[PackardV8]

Be aware the latest, greatest electronics and software can seriously f*ck your day. The only not-bad thing was this happened at home, rather than in some dark and sketchy part of the world. Could have been a VERY BAD THING if it happened in bad weather, bad area or a rest stop 100 miles from home.

Leaving to attend a meeting, my wife locked the house, placed her purse on the rear seat, closed the rear door and went forward to unplug the charge cable. Not known for certain, but it's possible but she brushed against the driver's door handle; in any case, the locks activated and when she unplugged the cable, the theft alarm activated.

When she plugged in the charge cable, the alarm ceased, but the display showed "Theft Attempt". My guess is the software is dumb enough to sense the key in the back seat is far enough from the receiver, so it must be outside. So if the sensor thought the key was outside, and she meant to lock the car, what triggered the theft alarm? Will the Bolt always think it's being stolen if the charge cable is removed while the doors are locked? If it thought the key was inside, why would it lock the door from the outside?

The larger problem was when leaving, she had locked the house; the house key and phone both were in her purse in the now locked Bolt; so no phone, no keys. She was able to go next door, ask the neighbor to call our daughter, who was fortunately available, to bring over a house key and fortunately my Bolt key was on the rack inside.

(And yes, we've since replaced the normally available hidden house key. When we added the Bolt, my wife wanted a house key on the Bolt fob and I just grabbed the hideout key and hadn't had another cut.) But as mentioned, a house key wouldn't have fixed anything if the above sequence had occurred 100 miles from home.

Anyone else had his Bolt lock him out? Is there any possible work-around to get into a locked Bolt when the key is inside?

jack vines

 

[peteblair]

What settings do you have the car set to for the auto lock / unlock in the settings screens?

I have mine set to not lock with the key in the car and I have left the key with my kid in the back seat and it chirps at me that I am leaving my key in the car and it won't auto lock the car.

As a fallback though. Make sure you both have the Chevy App installed on your phones as you would both be able to unlock the car remotely in the case either of you did get the key locked in the car.

 

[PV1]

I just tested it. The buttons don't work if the fob is inside the car, to lock or unlock. How it can tell where the fob is so accurately is astonishing (buttons work if the fob is within an inch of the outside window on the inside). I made sure the auto-lock and auto-unlock were the first things I turned off when I got my Bolt.

The "Theft attempted" was probably for the charge cord (separate alarm from the vehicle and fortunately can be disabled in Energy options).

As fallbacks and preventions, I always keep a door open or window down if the keys are in the car. I never have both my phone and the key fob out of my pocket at the same time, and I keep the spare at home where it won't be used but is easily accessible.

Even if you don't have OnStar (or disabled it as some have), there is still the keypass functionality on the MyChevrolet app that allows Bluetooth connections to the car for key fob functions, seeing range/charge level, charging status, and tire pressure. This works no matter where the fob is (can't achieve Ready, but will pre-condition if the fob is out of range).

 

[PackardV8]

Thanks for the reminder about OnStar. On our other vehicles, I decided OnStar was an overpriced anachronism and never paid for the service after the trial; thus, I didn't even think of it being currently operable on the Bolt. But those other vehicles never locked me out, either. The paranoid amongst us might with some validity think this Bolt software glitch is a ploy to make continued OnStar subscription a necessity.

Also, she decided the myChevrolet and OnStar were too technical for her, so she never wanted them on her phone. This just reminds me having is usually better than not having. Of course, since her phone was locked in the Bolt, OnStar would only have been available through the kindness of strangers and myChevrolet not at all.

Also, thanks for the tip about going into Setting to change the locking function. Why the default loaded is one which can be disastrous is the question.

jack vines

 

[dandrewk]

There are many safeguards to prevent this sort of thing happening. First, there is a setting that virtually eliminates it. Even without that, the car chirps loudly if you close the door with the fob still inside. And even if you have managed to avoid these safeguards, you can still unlock the car via a smartphone app, or by calling OnStar, prove you identity and then have then remotely unlock it.

Stuff happens, but really it is/was FAR easier to accidentally lock your keys in the car with non-electric keys. It's best to be forewarned and forearmed, otherwise it may turn into a massive inconvenience.

 

[dandrewk]

Thanks for the reminder about OnStar. On our other vehicles, I decided OnStar was an overpriced anachronism and never paid for the service after the trial; thus, I didn't even think of it being currently operable on the Bolt. But those other vehicles never locked me out, either. The paranoid amongst us might with some validity think this Bolt software glitch is a ploy to make continued OnStar subscription a necessity.

Also, she decided the myChevrolet and OnStar were too technical for her, so she never wanted them on her phone. This just reminds me having is usually better than not having. Of course, since her phone was locked in the Bolt, OnStar would only have been available through the kindness of strangers and myChevrolet not at all.

Also, thanks for the tip about going into Setting to change the locking function. Why the default loaded is one which can be disastrous is the question.

jack vines

The remote functionality to unlock the Bolt is free, so I doubt this is some sort of sneaky way to force a subscription.

It's the default because most people expect a car to lock when you press the lock button. Even with the fob inside.

 

[jhm614]

I wonder if it was detecting the key that was in the house when it locked? Or if this is a straight-up bug?

 

[ldesaul]

This happened to me driving uber.
Dropping off a passenger who needed assistance exiting car, I exited, phone, fob in running car (in park), opened hatch to remove Walker. Then I went up to open passenger door and remove said passenger, set him up with Walker.
Fyi, autocorrect keeps capitalizing Walker. Not important here but notable nonetheless.
When I closed the passenger door, car locked. Hatch still open, doors closed. Again, phone (My Chevrolet app) , fob in car.
I had to crawl through hatch to unlock doors from back.
Larry Desaules
#NoGass

 

[ElectricSlide]

From decades back into my ICE days, I (or family members) locked keys in a car (often while running & parked) once too often. From then on, I always kept at least a valet key in a zip pocket of my wallet that saved me a few times.

When I got my 2019 Bolt, I had the dealer make a few “emergency key” copies of the mechanical key that unclips from the key fob. It will at least open the door, after popping off the door lock cover (check your manual or your dealer for details, if needed). They were somewhere between $5-$25ea, but well worth it in a pinch. If the copy is too large, you might be able to file/nibble the handle end of the copy down a bit to fit in a tiny pocket.

Hope this helps.

 

[desiv]

Haven't needed it for that, but that's one of the things I keep the MyChevy app on my phone for....
I mostly use it for preconditioning, but it can also lock/unlock the car remotely.
And no paid OnStar needed. I have a 2017 and have never paid for OnStar.
It's not the Bluetooth Keypass either, as I have never used that. It's just the MyChevy app using the free OnStar remote keyfob functions.