Door locked by itself - 2007 Sonata

Today when I stopped to get gas, my door locked by itself. Luckily I had a
spare key in my wallet. The key was still in the ignition(turned off).
After I got back in, I checked the key - it was a fraction of an inch pulled
out. I had not pulled on it when I turned the engine off. All I touched
when I got out of the car was the gas cap button. My wife has complained
that this has happened to her before also.
As it turned out, I had an appointment later in the day with the dealer to
get an oil change. I told them about it and they later told me that they
could not find anything wrong. I got the distinct feeling that I was been
blown off. They also said that its the first they have heard of that
occurring..
In my opinion there are two problems here,
1) why did it lock in the first place.
2) Why did it lock with the key in the ignition.
I explained that on my 2003 Sonata that I had to pull the key out about 3/4
of the way to make it think the key was out (when you are working on
something with the door opened it ding-dongs all the time with the key in),
with the 2007 its only that fraction of an inch. I think that its not
correct for it to it to be that sensitive.
Has any one else had this problem? Has anyone's wife complained about this
problem and you assumed she messed up? Maybe you should have listened to
her.
At this point I am a little leery of this car, not sure what to do except
put a hide a key someplace on the car for a backup.


--

 

That's a new 'Feature', to teach people "NOT to leave the keys on the
ignition when they get out of the car. This is a major NO-NO, so Hyundai
is helping their customers. ;-)

 

good idea when at gas stations or any where to get into the habit of
taking the keys with you.Just in case some clown jumps in while you
are paying for the gas Groceries etc etc and takes off on a joy
ride .To me is a good bit of security that the car locks itself when
keys removed yours seem exceptionally touchy though

 

The locks on the 2007 Sonata shouldn't lock unless such an input is
received (or, if programmed, the vehicle reaches a preset speed).

This will be a difficult problem to find, given the intermittent nature.
This doesn't of course mean you shouldn't take it to be looked at, but
unless the dealer can reproduce the condition, the'll pretty much be
limited to anything Hyundai can tell them about similar problems
nationwide. It's possible they may pull the interior door panels to
investigate for pinched wires and such, but I'd doubt they'd get into too
much disassembly unless they had significant reason to believe they were
going to find something.

Comparing the 2007 to a 2003 will yield little of any value. There's
virtually nothing that's the same on either car. Also consider that it's
unlikely all of any particular car's design features will be exactly as
you'd prefer. The best you can hope for is to have the manufacutrer act
because you've made your opinion known to them. And believe me, they do
listen to these things.

Also, once the door is shut, the locks will again lock with the key in the
ignition. At this point, the car assumes you're inside. For now, the best
advice I can offer is to not leave the keys in the car. Furthermore, if
the vehicle believes the key to be in the ignition, the remote won't work,
so taking the remote with you isn't likely to be the solution, either.

I agree there's something wrong with the car, and that you have a right to
have it fixed. Unfortunately, finding the fix is likely to be costly to
you in terms of time and inconvenience.

 

I leave the car running while pumping gas and it has not locked on me. In
the case of hte OP, it would be good practice to either remove the key or
lower a window until some conclusive cause is found.

As for going inside to pay, thee is a bit of security if you have the proper
type of remote starter installed. With mine, I can hit the button on the
fob and then remove the key and leave the engine (and AC or heat) running
while you do into the store. You can lock hte doors if you want, but putting
your foot on the brake without hte key in the "on" position kills
everything.

I really like the remote starter when temperatures are extreme in either
direction.

 

Isn't it breaking the law to leave an unattended vehicle with
the engine running, either on the highway or a public place?

 

Our 2007 Sonata does the same thing with the key pulled partially out of
the ignition. We do this when we put it in the garage so we don't have to
search where the other one put the keys. I never took it to the dealer
because of the intermittent nature, as HT suggested. Maybe there will
eventually be a TSB on it.

 

Ed that is illegal in OZ There lays the problem of posting to groups
that are multi national.
Illegal to leave keys in ignition at any time when the vehicle is
unattended ( $200 fine in this state)
Filling a vehicle with engine running
and the fine is as per
"What are the penalties for non-compliance?
Answer: Maximum penalties provided on conviction for breaches of the
Explosives and Dangerous Goods (Dangerous
Goods Handling and Storage) Regulations 1992 are $50 000 or if the
breach is a continuing one, $5 000 per day.
These penalties apply to everybody including the licensee, console
operator, mechanic and even the customers."

But wait there is more another fine is just about to come into force
This one is a Federal ping under urban pollution controls act
Up to One mIllion dollars (although I think it is aimed more at large
particle emitters than the normal fuel station customer)
It gets worse now there are various toll free lines to Govt Depts and
purpose is to Dobb in observed offenders

So we here for all sorts of reasons take our keys -mainly though to
deter the scum bags who delight in hopping in vehicles and buzzing
off. More than not the vehicle is nearly always found wrapped around a
tree or pole or bunt out

We have had far too many instances where the scum have taken off with
babies in the back and in a couple of tragic instances all died when
the noddy lost control and crashed ------- Different eh :0

 

No - you've got it wrong. It's no major NO-NO to leave your keys in the car
for such things as filling up the tank. That's only for the foolish people
of the world. It's really the Korean version of a joke. Different sort of
sense of humor and all...

 

It's only a good idea if that's what you think is going to happen. Many of
us don't live in areas where that is terribly likely, and many of us fill up
at pumps where we simply put our card in, pump the gas and get back in the
car. There are even some of us that can remember to take our keys out in
areas where it is more advisable to do so.

 

Depends on where you live.

 

One could say a different slant on humour perhaps

 

Like this old guy who offered to buy us a cup
of coffee if we gave him a lift to san Francisco,
200 miles away!

 

In Calfornia and I believe a number of other states it is illegal to
leave the car running while refueling.

Old_Timer

 

Ditto Michigan. In fact I think it's illegal to leave a car running
unattended anywhere. The law caused quite a flap when remote starters
became popular 'cuz technically it was illegal to remotely start your car in
your own driveway! Not sure of the current law now that I'm living in warm
Arizona.

 

Don't know, don't care. Probably is in some places.

The news recently had a story about cars being stolen while people warmed
them up while they finished their coffee in the morning. With a remote, it
is still secure. Hit the button and the doors lock, engine starts and runs,
but stops as soon as you hit the brake unless the key is in the on position.

Common sense dictates you don't start a car in the garage. The button has
to be held for about 4 seconds so a bump won't start it accidentally. It
will shut down at a pre-determined time also so that it cannot be left
running all day. Mine will go 10 minutes. When I park the car at night, I
also put the heated seat button in the on position.

This is my second winter with it. I won't have a car without it.

 

This is the second year for the law in California that requires
headlights to be one in bad weather, i.e weather that is
bad enough to have the windshield wipers on. Still many
drivers that don't have their lights on under these conditions.
Apart from it being the law, it is also commonsense to be
seen by other drivers.

 

Untill your fuel stocks run out over and the past catches up with
you:0

 

No, is not a joke, I wish it was, if you live in a little town, like the
one I was born in, yeah, but things had changed, and not for the good.

Do that in a big city .... you are asking for BIG trouble.

 

Well, not really. We're not talking about walking away from a running car
here. We're talking about getting out to gas the thing up.