Do Cars Lock Automatically? [Here’s What You Should Know!]

Locking your car after you arrive at a destination can be done by inserting the key into the lock and turning it. In this article, I will explain if cars will lock automatically.

Most modern cars have the feature to lock automatically. A car may auto-lock itself after a preset period of time such as 60 or 90 seconds, when it exceeds a certain speed, when it is moved out of the “park” position, or when the key fob is moved a certain distance away from the vehicle.

It’s now industry standard for cars to have a sensor that detects when you walk away from your car with the key fob, and the doors will auto lock. 

Below, I will explain if it’s possible to turn the auto lock on and off, if the settings can be adjusted, and which cars don’t have an auto-lock feature.

What Car Models Have an Auto Lock?

Key fobs and auto car lock systems started becoming commonplace at around the year 2000. So, if a car is older than that such as a 1999 model or older, then it’s more than likely the car does not have an auto lock. 

And, if you need to put the key into the lock on the door, or you can only manually press the lock on the door sideways to lock it, then in virtually every case it won’t have an auto lock. 

Therefore, you should refer to your owner’s manual to see if it does have an auto-lock and whether it can be turned on and off. But, if your car is newer than the year 2005 it will almost always have an auto-lock feature.

Also, provided your car has a fob that can be used to lock and unlock your car, it will typically always have an auto lock. And, if a car has an LCD screen near the center console, it will almost always have an auto-lock on it. 

Auto locks are only available on cars that have an electronic type locking system. However, many cars also have a manual lock and an electric lock system. To get an idea of whether your car has an auto-lock here’s a table that shows if the most popular car makes have an auto-lock feature:

Car Make	Does it have an auto lock?
Toyota	Yes
Honda	Yes
Ford	Yes
Chevrolet	Yes
Nissan	Yes
Mazda	Yes
Subaru	Yes
Lexus	Yes
Jeep	Yes
Tesla	Yes
Kia	Yes
Mercedez	Yes

As you can see from the table all of the most popular brands of cars have an auto lock. This includes the 4 main types of auto lock such as when the key fob is taken a certain distance away from the car, or after a set amount of time.

Issues with auto locks on cars

The auto lock that occurs when a car reaches a certain speed can sometimes be very inconvenient. The reason is that on many makes and models such as Ford the auto-lock will not allow you to unlock a door unless the ignition is turned off.

This can be a problem if you’re dropping someone off outside a mall, or school. Luckily, this auto-lock feature can be disabled on most cars. It is a little bit tricky, and you will need to refer to your owner’s manual or contact the support team for your car model. 

To get an idea of what’s involved here’s a short video that shows how to turn off the auto lock feature on Ford vehicles:

Whereas, on many Toyota cars there are two settings. For automatic vehicles, it will auto-lock when you take it out of ‘park’. And then unlock when you put it back in ‘park’. Or, it will auto-lock after you go over a certain speed. 

As an example, a Toyota’s LCD screen will have about 5 different settings. Such as, whether all the doors unlock when you unlock the driver’s door and setting an automatic lock after a certain amount of time.

Here’s a really good video from Kevin Young, a Toyota dealer, where he shows what settings are available on Toyotas with an LCD screen:

Will Your Car Lock Automatically if You Forget?

It’s fairly easy to forget to lock your car especially if you’re in a rush, or distracted by something. Nowadays, all cars have electric-type locks that are computer controlled. So, here’s a summary of whether a car will lock if you forget.

As a general rule, a car will lock if you forget. But, this is only if the auto-lock timer is set to on. On some cars, the auto-lock timer is set to off by default. Typically, this setting can be changed using the settings on the LCD screen. 

The setting is typically called timed lock, or auto lock. It can be set to off, or on. When it’s set to on you can also set how long before it will lock. 60 seconds, 90 seconds, and 120 seconds are common. 

Some cars also have a sensor that detects if the fob has gone away from a car a certain distance and will then auto lock. It’s best to check the setting is enabled on the LCD screen on your car. 

If your car doesn’t have an LCD screen then refer to the owner’s manual for your car to see if it has this feature, and how to turn it on and off.

Will a Car Lock if You Leave the Fob Inside the Car

The fob for a car allows you to lock and unlock your car. It’s fairly easy to forget the fob in your car especially if the fob doesn’t need to be inserted into a specific place for the ignition button to work. Here’s if your car will lock, or auto lock if you leave the fob in your car.

Generally speaking, it’s not possible for a car to auto lock with the fob inside the car, provided the fob has a working battery. The one exception is if you use a second fob for the same car to lock the fob in the car. The doors will automatically unlock instantly if you lock them with the fob in the car.

Some cars such as Toyota will give a long beep to indicate that the doors are not locked and that the fob is still in the car. A car with the fob inside will allow you to lock the doors using the lock button, or the manual lock switch on the door. 

But, when you do, it will instantly unlock. Some cars have a lock button on the car handle. If you exit your car with the fob inside and then press this button, it won’t lock, and the car will make a long beep to indicate there’s an issue with locking the car.

Cars with a pin pad on the exterior of the car

Some car makers, such as Ford, have a pin pad on the exterior, where you can lock and unlock a car using a unique code. Cars like these can be put into ‘beach mode’ which will allow you to lock the fob in the car using the pin on the exterior of the car. 

This is helpful if you’re going to the beach, or another similar situation where you don’t want to carry the fob with you.

What Happens if You Leave Your Fob in Your Car?

A fob is very handy, but like most things, it’s easy to forget every now and then. The fob is required to lock and unlock your car and is, therefore very important. So, here’s what happens if you leave your fob in your car.

If you leave the fob in your car, the car will not lock. Some car makes such as Toyota, will even produce an alarming sound when you try to lock the door indicating that the fob is inside. Furthermore, if you try to lock the car with the fob inside, it will either not lock or unlock right away.

Many cars require that the fob is inserted into a slot in the car for the ignition button to work. In these types of cars, if you open the driver’s door with the ignition off, it will produce a loud beep and show a warning message on the screen. Or, a light on the dash to say that the fob is still in the slot, and should be removed and taken with you.