First EV & Leaf / simple question about locking

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podge2207

New member
Joined
Jan 22, 2022
Messages
1
Hi, I finally dipped my toe into the EV pool and picked up my 2021 Leaf 10 two days ago. This was after test driving several similar priced EV's. Hope it will be the correct choice!

The instruction book is huge and takes a lot of "Looking at". I am hoping that someone on here may be able to answer a simple question that I can't find covered in the manual.

Is it possible to set the door locks to automatically lock after driving away (usually 5 or 10 mph)? If so, how do I do it? I think this is fairly essential in this day and age.

Ta.
 
For sure it can be done, just can't remember how. My daughter has her Leaf programmed that way and I personally hate having to always unlock the door when someone gets in or wants to get out but the option is there if you want it. I'm sure someone else will come along and know the exact sequence to change it.
 
Read the owner's manual, page 3-5 for 2013, on how to set the automatic door locking feature. It's not a leafsyp thing.
 
I'm glad that someone wants to be locked in the car unless they put it into Park or shut it off. I'd prefer to have the doors unlock as speed drops to say, 2MPH.
 
LeafSpy Pro actually has many door lock related settings, see page 23 of the manual:

http://www.leafspypro.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/LeafSpy-Help-1_2_1-iOS.pdf

Much more granular control than the stock options
 
podge2207 said:
Is it possible to set the door locks to automatically lock after driving away (usually 5 or 10 mph)? If so, how do I do it? I think this is fairly essential in this day and age.

Ta.
I believe the default settings already do this, but that doesn't happen until you reach 15 mph. The intelligent door lock settings allow you to either have all doors lock when moving and reaching at least 15 mph or the other setting is to only lock and unlock all the doors when you go into park or drive, so more of an instant lock setting. I think LeafSpy will let you turn it all off or combo it. The manual(s) probably has a better description of it all.

I'm currently using the auto-lock at 15 mph setting myself.
 
alozzy said:
LeafSpy Pro actually has many door lock related settings, see page 23 of the manual:

http://www.leafspypro.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/LeafSpy-Help-1_2_1-iOS.pdf

Much more granular control than the stock options

I've tried it. There is no longer an option, as there was on my '18, to have the doors unlock as the car slows or stops. You have to put it in Park, now. I curse that regularly, because I sometimes open the door to check the distance to our nearly invisible curb. Around View can't see it in low light.

I tried to DL the LS Help file, but Firefox informs me that the connection is insecure, and the download could be tampered with between the origination and the destination.
 
I have an older LEAF, but perhaps the beta version of LeafSpy Pro has implemented a workaround to restore that functionality? Worth a shot...
 
podge2207 said:
Is it possible to set the door locks to automatically lock after driving away (usually 5 or 10 mph)? If so, how do I do it? I think this is fairly essential in this day and age.

Ta.

Congrats and Welcome!

Unless there's an issue, the doors should already be automatically locking after driving away and reaching 15 mph.
You can find info on the Automatic Door Locks on Page 3-6 of the 2021 Leaf manual. It indicates that "All doors lock automatically when the vehicle speed reaches 15 mph (24 km/h)."
 
You turn on the auto door locking feature by simply turning the car on to dive mode and then hold down the door locking buttin in the lock direction for 5 seconds until you hear the beep. To disable, just do the opposite.
 
Daman said:
You turn on the auto door locking feature by simply turning the car on to dive mode and then hold down the door locking buttin in the lock direction for 5 seconds until you hear the beep. To disable, just do the opposite.

I'll be surprised if this works for the Gen II Leafs, but I'll try it.
 
@leftieBiker Does it work?

I ABSOLUTELY HATE the auto door lock thing. I don't care that they lock, I care that they don't unlock when the car is stopped.

My wife drives the Leaf and when we go to visit her parents on Sundays I deliver eggs to several people in that area. Car is stopped, doors still locked. I can use the unlock button (but shouldn't have to, I should be able to just pull the handle like on every other car I've owned with electric locks) to get out but unless she puts it in park AND hits the unlock button the rear doors are still locked and I can't get in the back. This is a real PITA.

And while some see the auto lock feature as a safety thing, I see it as an anti safety thing. Pulling the handle from the inside should unlock and open the door. You can set the child locks on the back doors if necessary. What happens if you are in an accident and the doors are locked? Can't get out fast. If you get out using the unlock button, you still can't open the back doors to get the kids out.

This is pretty much the only thing I dislike about the Leaf. It should be a user modifiable "feature".
 
Thanks for posting this topic. I have so many things to still learn about my 4 month Leaf.

My 2022 auto-locks the door locks at some point after I get going. I think it's speed based. So the responder that said once up to 15 mi/hr - that tracks for me. And thanks to who posted about where in the very BIG manual the setting is is - I'll check this out.

Not sure if I'll turn it off or not. I'm used to manual control over my locks. My old car (BMW) had a nice big button in the center console that I could find in the dark through touch and I used it for both lock and unlock. Although the car would auto-unlock once the door handle was pulled (presumably only in park, never tried otherwise).

My new Leaf doesn't not auto-unlock when the door handle is pulled. Driver side or passenger side. This makes my hubby in the passenger seat get annoyed... so I guess it would better if they could auto-unlock. And I would have a less annoyed hubby :D

But there are certainly other settings that I would LOVE to override or configure my way:

1) I would love to get rid of the incessant beeping on the "seat belt warning". When I pull out of or into my driveway or garage I purposely do not have my seatbelt on as it's too restrictive to me. I'm a very short person and lift my butt out of the seat to back out of my garage or my driveway to get underway. And I like doing this without my seatbelt on. But once I'm underway I always put my seatbelt and have done for the the last 30 years plus after seat belts became the law.

2) I would love to turn off or down the damm "sonar" noise that my car makes when the car in in reverse. This one did send me to the manual and there is a way to defeat this noise or at least turn it down. Which I plan to do soon :D

But If anyone knows of a way to make "put your seatbelt on" ding go away or re-config it to be less annoying I would appreciate it. Even if it means buying one of those LeafSpy devices I would do that in a heartbeat as I HATE the seat belt dinging noise. If it chimed like 3 times and shut up or chimed 3 times and then stopped for a second or 3 before doing it again I would even find that to be a relief. Thanks. I've never had the seat belt ding on any car I've owned (only when I rented late model cars) until now and it doesn't make me anymore likely to wear my seatbelt. Okay maybe it does since I want to turn of that damm ding. But it makes me resent the car. But I always use my seat belt with driving is underway because seatbelts save lives.
 
Have you tried adjusting the vertical-sliding mount for the seat belt, so it's draped over you the correct way?

If your '22 is the same as my '21, settings-wise, you can modify or disable the auto lock/unlock feature with LeafSpy Pro. I have mine set to unlock when the car is put into Park. I debated turning it off, which also an option, but I'd rather not be sued if some kid falls out of the car. I think you can also lower the "sonar" volume, but I haven't tried that.
 
LeftieBiker said:
Have you tried adjusting the vertical-sliding mount for the seat belt, so it's draped over you the correct way?

If your '22 is the same as my '21, settings-wise, you can modify or disable the auto lock/unlock feature with LeafSpy Pro. I have mine set to unlock when the car is put into Park. I debated turning it off, which also an option, but I'd rather not be sued if some kid falls out of the car. I think you can also lower the "sonar" volume, but I haven't tried that.


Hi LeftieBiker, yes, I've used the vertical-sliding mount in my Leaf for the seat belt and it helps, but I still get strangled by the seat belt. Not as much as my 1998 BMW did, but the seat belt still "travels up" and doesn't stay put. Cars are not designed for someone of my height and body type. I've never been in car that has a comfortable seat belt adjustment for having the seat belt on and backing up the car without it getting in the way. Though several cars I've rented have had the vertical sliding thing and it's been better. Even my 1998 BMW had the vertical-sliding thing but the upper mount of the seat belt was higher, plus that car was a coupe and the attachment was much further back which made the overall length of the belt longer which made it travel up more.

So, I've always found it easier to have the belt off when backing up (such as backing out of a tight spot) so that I can "sit up" and see over the back seats and out the back and side windows to see all obstacles and other cars, etc. I know there's a back up camera on my Leaf and it seems all "modern" cars have them too, but I'm so not used to trusting it (yet?). I prefer to look. Granted the proximity sensors do help and the 360 degree deal I have on my Leaf do help, but they beep too much as well. For instance backing out of the garage in my rental house, my drivers mirror comes within ~ 5 inches, very close to the left opening of the door so it lights up orange and also beeps. But I have gotten used to ignoring it. It also seems to beep / light up on the right hand side / rear of the car and I can't see anything that could be setting it off - other than my husbands car being nearby. But it seems like it would be too far to trigger the proximity sensor. But only my husband's parked car is anything nearby - so it must be that. But on the other hand I haven't hit any backing out either :D These noises aren't as annoying as the "sonar" noise though :D

And thanks about the LeafSpy device. I have to look into this device.
 
I hear you about the proximity alerts. When I park my housemate's car in the garage because a storm is coming, it's a tight fit, so backing out again is excruciating because of the increasingly panicked alert noises. Her '20 leaf SV+ seems to be the Pinnacle of Leaf years overall, but I still miss my '18 SL40 at times. That car didn't get so freaked out by everything.
 
LeftieBiker said:
I hear you about the proximity alerts. When I park my housemate's car in the garage because a storm is coming, it's a tight fit, so backing out again is excruciating because of the increasingly panicked alert noises. Her '20 leaf SV+ seems to be the Pinnacle of Leaf years overall, but I still miss my '18 SL40 at times. That car didn't get so freaked out by everything.

:D I'm learning to deal and change the settings as needed. But doing so with caution. I think the beeping doesn't *really* bother me a ton, it's that my husband gets concerned and then says stuff and then gets me worked up and on and on :D I'm sure that says more about my marriage then the Leaf, but.... :D

When I drive solo it's not a big deal backing out of the garage. I just "know" where the beeps are going to be and carry on....

That all said yesterday after reading this thread and spending sometime in front of the dash of my Leaf with the owners manual open and thumbing through the settings on the console, I experimented on setting changes.

I'll see going forward on the next trip out of the garage, if there's any difference.

Cheers,
--jan
 
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