Passive Door Locking Locks The Doors Of Your GM Vehicle Automatically: Feature Spotlight
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So, you arrive to your destination, park, shut off your car, and exit the vehicle. But since you still need to lock the doors, you’re not done yet… right? In a word, no.
With a little-known feature called Passive Locking available on most GM vehicles equipped with Keyless Access, the vehicle will lock its doors automatically after the following three conditions have been met:
- The vehicle has been turned off
- All of the doors have been closed
- At least one Remote Keyless Entry transmitter (key fob) has been removed from the vehicle
Passive Door Locking enables you to not even use use the lock button on the key fob or the button on the vehicle’s door handle to lock the vehicle. You simple park, turn the car off, get out, and walk away. And the vehicle does the rest (locks itself). How convenient is that?
For vehicles with Keyless Access, Passive Door locking can be enabled in the Settings menu of Chevy MyLink, Buick-GMC-Opel IntelliLink, or Cadillac CUE. Simply go to Settings > Vehicle > Remote Lock, Unlock, Start. From here, enable Passive Door Lock.
To note, if other electronic devices interfere with the key fob’s signal, the vehicle may not detect the key fob inside the vehicle. If passive locking is enabled, the doors may lock with the key fob inside the vehicle. And it’s probably not a good idea to leave the key fob in an unattended vehicle.
Do you use Passive Door Locking on your vehicle? Talk to us in the comments.
I had no idea. That’s awesome! Guess what I’m gonna do at my lunch break today?
This worked for my 2015 yukon xl. from the HOME screen (with all the big icons on it) I went to SETTINGS (upper right corner) then VEHICLE and scroll thru until you see REMOTE LOCK, make sure passive locking is set to OFF. Walk inside with your key fob, wait a bit, leave key inside go back out to garage and it will STILL be unlocked. Thank goodness. The owners manual was USELESS on this topic and I found dozens of dead-end solutions on line. This is the only site that helped. Thank you.
I agree whole heartedly! My new Cadillac CT6 owners manual did not explain how to set passive door lock. I kept trying over and over with no success. Finally, I did a search and arrived to this site. I followed each step and wa la I was able to set passive door locking after exiting vehicle. GM should be made aware and update their owners manual to reflect this fast, easy way to enable or disable passive door lock.
Do my 2015 gmc arcadia have passive locking if how do I set it
Agree! Reading both the physical and app version of the GMC manual it wasn’t clear to me that Passive Door Lock is the feature I wanted turn on, nor did it make clear how simple it is to toggle on/off via Settings on my 2019 Acadia control panel. This article fixed me up on both ends, so thanks for posting.
I turned mine off on my 2018 encore and its still locking?? I hate this feature Im ready to take it back to the dealer and have them disable it
Still trying to decide if I Like it locking by it’s self I guess we will try it for a while on our 2023 Serra 1500
Great feature until it malfunctions.. purse in the car with key fob, door Locks when I shut the passenger door with 2 year old in the back seat , strapped in !!!! Had to call Fire dept and break my window to get into the car because with NO door handles and all the fancy equipment they could not “break into ” the car !!
I’d be curious to know exactly what happened and if the feature truly malfunctioned, or there was some other reason for the event you experienced.
Logically, the car should not have locked when you have the key fob in the car. The only way that could have taken place is if the key fob ran out of battery.
What model and model year vehicle?
I just had something similar happen to my 2015 Sonic today. I started the car as I often do to let it warm up on a cold Carolina morning. I came back out to leave for work and all doors were locked with the car running in the driveway. I had to use a wire clothes hanger and a thin piece of metal to get access to the interior of the door to pop the lock. On another note i was able to gain access in under 3 minutes as a novice. Perhaps my Key fob has a weak battery and the car couldn’t detect the fob in the car. Thats the only thing I can figure happened. Maybe???
Our 2019 Tahoe locks itself with a key fob in the car every time we turn it off and walk away. It is NOT a dead battery in the key fob. This “feature “ is a huge nuisance!
Any fix for this? Our 2016 Yukon is doing this as well. Doors lock when drivers door is nearly completely closed.
My 2015 traverse just locked itself with my purse and key fob in it. it’s 10:25 pm and i am suppose to leave in the morning to drive 500 miles. Can’t get in the car! (NO, no spare key)
Call Reesers(266-1366) ,they can unlock. Then, get rid of the GM POS and do what 90% of us have done – go Japanese/Korean. They seem to care, more than I can say about american manufacturers.
Hi Mr. Luft, this just happened to my wife’s 2015 GMC Yukon Denali. She came out of the store, opened the back door by pressing the button on the rear door handle to unlock her car, put her purse (with the key fob inside her purse) on the back seat with her shopping and all of a sudden she hears the locks go on and the interior lights turn off! She then closes the rear door and proceeds to open the front door but the front door (or any other doors including the rear hatch) don’t open! She presses the button on the door handle but nothing happens. Also she tried to open the rear hatch by pressing the button on the inside of the rear hatch handle, the amber turn signals would flash every time but the rear hatch would not open! she called me and I brought the spare key to unlock the car.
Trash-can the owner’s manual , its only purpose in life is to sell you something(which you are already stuck with !)… When this happened to me with the ’06 PT Cruiser(similar design) , I called the local garage(most all makes) and they have an expensive “non-lethal” break-in electronic tool …Thus ..no problem .. So, Cheryl, make your own manual, write down the solution – this may recur…
Two ”thumbs down ” , why ?
That happened to me too. Chevy dealership couldn’t help me. It was this winter when we had a terrible snow storm. Had to have a stranger take me home to get my spare keys. Purse, keys, and phone were locked in car. Had to take 1/2 day off work before I could get to work. Not a happy camper.
All you had to do was call onstar and request remote unlock.
With your phone all nice and warm inside your locked Chevy POS. You can always sit outside of it and watch the paint peel off right in front of your face.
I like to have a hide a key on the outside of the car. If you separate the key from the fob and hide the key on the outside and let the passive lock, lock the fob inside you will never be locked out. I like the feature.
It locked me out of the car as well. I had no idea the dealer told me nothing. Had to pay a guy to break in. I’m not a fan of the feature
Did you at least give the dealer a chance .. to redeem themselves ? OR , like me , are you disgusted with dealers ?
WTF Chevy? I’m out in the F-N boondocks in my “Brand new Chevy pickup truck” 2:00am and there was frozen rain coming down. I decided to pull under an overpass to take a leak. I no sooner shut my door and I heard the mother f-n doors lock with my truck running. Shortly there after I wished there was any GM unionized auto worker within striking distance cause I would had broken his jaw about that time. Anyways I was forced to brake a window or die of exposure from the cold. GM sucks big Ol donkey Wang’s for that F ck up. F ck you Chevy!
So, why wouldn’t you call Onstar to have them unlock your “ Brand new” truck. You are the moron getting out to take a leak. This proud union worker would kick your ass for being so stupid!
Last time I checked my 1993 ZR-1 with passive door locks was made before onstar existed
So, the guy with the ‘93 truck, you’re about 10 years early for passive locks. You may have inadvertently hit your power lock button but I wouldn’t blame the auto maker
BS!! Every car can be “broken into” by police or fire dept. Does not need door handles, and regardless of “fancy equipment”. Sounds like you just got some morons!
“Yawn” Corvettes have had this for years.
WHY DON’T THEY PUT IT IN THE EQUNIOX??
AND THE CROSS TRAFFIC AND BLIND SPOT WARNING
THAT SUV REALLY CAN USE THEM
bILLc
Your ”caps lock” on the keyboard is stuck on !
They do have these features on the 2021 Equinox. Don’t know what year it started.
Does anybody know if you can add Passive Locking system to an ATS AWD turbo?
BEWARE of this feature. I keep my cell phone next to my key fob and I have been locked out of my 2013 XTS Cadillac twice. I am on my way to disabling this “feature!”
How did you unlock your car in this situation? Both of my fobs are locked inside thanks to my children.
On star
If I had an active account at Onstar it would cost 2X as much as it costs to get someone to unlock the car (if you don’t go thru your car insurance). True was my choice to let Onstar lapse (and the $20 plus to ATT for “data”). BUT to reactivate my account to let them unlock the doors you have to be IN THE CAR to push the Onstar button.
Had my 2016 Buick Encore for 3 1/2 years no issues. All of a sudden it started locking the doors (inconsistently) when closing the doors. Happened 2X in the last month. First time at the gas station-walked 2 miles home in the cold/rain (phone/purse/keys in the care). I have left the keys in the car while pumping gas numerous times before without incidence. I believe it started with the recent use/misuse of the Remote start, but haven’t figured out the cause or solution.
You take your belt out and whip your local Chevy dealer til his ass is blistered!
Help me understand – I always keep my fob in my pocket, how do you use yours such that you could leave it in the car?
Fob must stand for “fag on board ” Huh Jim?
I bought a new 2016 Chev Trax in Dec. I have had problems with locks from day one. It is not keyless entry. I can have my car parked in my closed garage and doors are unlocked. My keys are in the house. I go to garage to get something out of car, open any door and car will automatically lock then unlock drivers door only. I have taken it to dealership 3 times and they don’t know what to do to fix it because it doesn’t happen there.
A great idea , but only in a ”perfect” world – which does NOT exist .
Disable !
That’s what I’m on here trying to figure out too!! I parked the car then got out for a second to close the garage and when I got back to the car it had locked itself – with my keys still inside the car. My brother tried to open the door and ended up scratching it pretty badly 🙁 called a locksmith after that.
How do I disable this on a 2011 Yukon XL? My wife has been locked out of the car multiple times by this “feature,” always with the keys still in the car. Today she was locked out with our toddler in the car, with her phone in the car, by herself. Luckily she had access to a land line and we are still on our free trial of on star. I would hate to have to pay 30 bucks a month just to avoid getting locked out of the car when ford has had keypads on the doors for 25 years now.
How do you disable this feature? My husband constantly leaves his keys in the truck & gets locked out.
The dealer should do this as a courtesy, but dealer service and courtesy make an oxymoron . …
Safe and Sound program only costs $19 a month with On Star. So worth it
I live alone, had both sets of keys in my purse along with my cell. Doors locked as I was walking around the car to the mailbox. Luckily I still have my land line. Called on star. Couldn’t remember my pin. All my passcodes are stored in my cell .
They were wonderful! With name and address and license plate number they unlocked the doors. They would not tell me the pin said I would have to reset it later. I do guessed it which they confirmed
I’m removing auto lock setting
2nd time this happened. First time dog stepped on door lock button.
It is so worth the money to have On Star!
OR, you could save yourself $19 a month and keep the spare set of keys IN YOUR HOUSE, or as I do, in a secret location on the car. No getting locked out for ME, and no need for BS Onstar tracking every move and sometimes incriminates people when accidents happen. F–K that!
I thought you could set the time before locking. I can’t figure out how to do this. Any help?
My son just picked up a Chevy Cruze today, his first new car and already he has a problem with getting the car to lock…I hope this isn’t an indication of things to come…. We have done everything the manual says to remedy this and to no avail…I may have to have my brother who works in the office in GM in the United States look into this as he has done in the past with his own experiences getting his GM product serviced…Hopefully this issue is resolved in a reasonable period of time
OK feature needs a delay. Unloading after shopping close door go into house set some parcels down, whoops cant get into car, have to go back into house find keys and unlock— pain in the rear— forces you to leave a door open and/or to always carry your keys . In 52 years of car ownership I have never had a car stolen, but I get in and out of the car and go to the office, stores, schools, etc. every single day!!!
Is there an iPhone app for locking/unlocking a 2011 GMC Acadia?
I have a 2015 Equinox and I can’t find where you would enable or disable this passive lock system. Is it available on the Equinox? Also, I thought that if your keyfob was in the car, it wouldn’t lock. I locked by keys in the car yesterday. Luckily, I have the OnStar app and was able to unlock my car.
Yes its called OnStar remote link check it out u can do whatever you like . Whether its start the car lock unlock ur doors or check gas an tire pressure also put in directions for navi if needed. Hope this help . Ur going to love i . I do
I just took delivery of a 2015 SRX which has the passive door lock system. For unlocking, you have two choices – Driver Door Only or All Doors. When Driver Door Only is selected, the driver door works as you would expect – only unlocks the driver’s door on first touch (of door handle button) and all doors on second touch. However, all other doors act as if the system is in the All Door mode. When locked, you can go to any of the passenger doors and unlock the whole car with a single touch. Anybody else with the same problem? Any resolution?
Resolved at dealership. My misunderstanding of how system worked. I had the keyfob in my pocket while I walked around and tried other doors. Even though I selected Driver Door only, it was because I had the keyfob near the other doors that they unlocked. A technician who did not have a keyfob tried opening a door on the opposite side of the car from where I was and it would not unlock. So, my issue all had to do with where the keyfob was relative to the door trying to be opened. Smart doors? The cars knows.
How can you disable passive lock so inconvenient when loading things in vehicle and doors lock I have a 2016 SRX Cadillac
If you’re just loading things and are around the vehicle, you can just leave one of the doors open… or the hatch/trunk. Otherwise, disable it from the Settings list in CUE.
See manual. Press and hold unlock until you hear the beeps. This will temporarily disable but not turn the feature off.
My wife locker the only key we have in the car. I tried to contact OnStar. We do not have the service, but I would gladly enroll tonight, if it would get me in the car. However, your rather unfriendly programming and policy only allows one way to sign up for onstar. Press the blue button! How in the heck and I supposed to push the blue button when your auto lock system locked all the doors and hatch? I am not a very happy person right now.
Call OnStar its that easy.. 1-800-4-OnStar. Hope this helps
I parked the truck in the garage widows up lowered the door to the garage got out of the pickup closed the door as the vehicle is in a locked area i never take the key out of the ignition just pull it out half inch to stop the buzzing door warning key in the vehicle, Now once in a while the doors lock not all the time just now and then. I do not have a remote start no I don’t pay for onstar. Don’t have satalite radio because of the fowl language on some stations so I just play CD’s. The other day I stopped at a construction site engine running, My small dog inside Hot day left the engine running in park, closed the door bang the door locked after five seconds. Called AAA after an hour wait they opened the door. So I removed the key remote lock from the ignition key placed it on my house/office keys which I keep in my pocket. every few weeks out of the blue I hear the horn blow doors lock after parking in the garage. Dealer said found nothing wrong. So tell me how to get the grimling out of my truck. When I try to get this POS to lock it will not but may or may lock on its own. Today all the door open sitting in the truck have a coffee break it locked all the doors, must have been a ghost that locked the doors.
2016 Regal Prem II 2.0L Turbo, confidence 1 w/passive entry push button start. Wife left the car with remote in pocket car running and the display warned no remote found. Car still running we drove off, stopped a block away and stopped the engine got out and the displays still on music playing never locked or turned off the radio so we locked the doors (window down) and to our surprise the car allowed us to unlock the doors, enter the car, start the engine which still said no remote found and we drove off again.
WOW would a thief like this new feature!!! No key needed to restart the car what a bad idea.
What gives Buick why does the system allow the vehicle to restart when no remote in the vehicle or near by over a long block away and it still starts.
Anyone have a clue why this happens? or is it a bug?
Biggest waste and annoyance. Just got a new Yukon. I locked the door. My wife and I went into Restaurant. My wife walked out and opened door without the key. Obviously she had left her purse inside the car and it did not lock because one of the fobs was inside car. Someone could have stolen all our valuables. This sucks and I would never want one again.
2015 GMC locks the driver door with the engine running. THAT IS A POOR SETUP
(The 2015 Chevy/GMC pickup will leave you stranded because these vehicles will allow the driver door to lock with the engine running and you standing outside) My friends and I returned to the vehicle after a snowmobile ride. The owner of the vehicle Tony Britt remote started the vehicle to allow it to warm up as it was -3 degrees. I asked Tony for the key fob to get something out of the vehicle. I unlocked the driver door with the remote put the key in the ignition shut the door and all doors were locked with the engine running. WE called OnStar and asked them to please unlock the door. They said the 90 day free trial had not been activated. WE asked the OnStar person to please set up the 90 day free trial. He told us we had to push the blue OnStar button inside the vehicle. I guess he forgot why we were calling OnStar in the first place. So we explained it all over again to him that we were locked out of the vehicle with the engine running at -3 Degrees and no way to get out of the cold. Tony’s wife was at home in Baker City, Oregon 97814 She tried her best to get OnStar to allow the unlock of the vehicle. They said NO. We had to wait for Clay to drive from Baker City in his new Ford pickup to Boron, Oregon, just outside of Sumpter, Oregon with the spare key. Please don’t tell me this issue can’t be resolved with a simple REFLASH of the body control module. By the way I own a NICE 2014 4×4 GMC VIN#3GTU2VEJXEG379134 and that vehicle will not let the driver door to lock with the key in the vehicle with the engine running or not. The vehicles VIN#1GC4K0E89FF653331 is the vehicle that has this issue. Paul C Townsend proud owner of numerous GM vehicles.
Please >> GM. Get rid of the automatic door locks. At least permit Body Controller reprogramming to delete any auto door locking. This is so infuriating, that my next vehicle will NOT be GM. Toyota allows dealer reprogramming this out. GM’s stupid position that it “enhances” safety is nonsense. Doors do not stay closed any different in a crash with or without the locks engaged. Auto door locks on my Camaro convertible makes NO LOGICAL SENSE.
I have passive locking and love it when it works. Unfortunately I have found situations where it fails 100% of the time. I contacted GM… they said it was designed that way…??? BULL! Why would you intentionally design a function that wouldn’t work sometime?
Why won’t GM just step up and admit the defect, fix it and provide an even better vehicle and passive locking system? Where are their priorities?
I have 2008 Silverado 2500HD LTZ Crewcab diesel and our local GM dealer service manager verified and escalated a software problem and GM told him not to pursue a fix for the issue. It was a clear and replica-table software bug but GM engineering would not fix the issue. Go figure – GM could careless until someone gets killed and sues GM. That is a great reward for ALL OF US bailing out GM when they were ready to go under a few years back. Nice work GM!!
Thanks to Mark and everyone else – I will never buy a GM car because of their attitude towards consumers.
As for door locking, I want the doors to auto-lock ONLY when I am driving.
I do believe that all the car makes have this ”feature and defect” . Some handle it better than others .. Evidentially, GM has yet to learn … As to automatic doors locks , IF a man has an accident and the doors are still locked , and he is unconscious, and the vehicle is afire … … and I am outside , goings nuts ..
That’s called a Carbeque.
Going to try and turn mine off don’t like that feature