Auto locks have to stay out of this car! Auto locks suck. period.
All this does is to prematurely wareout the door lock motor and hinder you from getting
out of the car before you UNLOCK it yourself (in most applications.)

 

well i do lock the doors everytime i get in so it wouldnt be causing any extra wear... they also could have implemented the unlock from handle feature like audis/VWs have (prolly othes too) when when u tug on the doorhandle (interior) twice it unlocks.

 

You forget, these are the same people who let you close the windows after removing the key but forgot to let you close the moonroof. :D

The car is an enigma to me. Amazing attention to detail in some areas and total foolishness in others. Like they ran out of time, or money, or something ...

 

I've always wondered what drivers thought they were getting by having the doors lock automatically. What benefit does this add?

It doesn't add to safety, it detracts from it.

Locking a door isn't going to help keep it closed in some kind of accident. It's not like throwing a deadbolt and you get another piece of metal holding the door to the frame. What happens is that the outside door handle is disconnected from the lock mechanism.

Then, what if you are in an accident and unconscious? Locked doors only delay any rescue effort.

So, please, what is the attraction?

Hunter

 

Maybe you happen to drive into a bad neighborhood one day. While you wait at a stoplight, some thug opens your door and points a 9mm to your head and says "get out of the car". Not saying that there is a big chance of that happening, but hey, it could happen.

 

um yeah this isn't Johannisberg, South Africa

 

You don't have to be in Johannisberg for something like that to happen. My mom almost got car jacked 20 years ago in south Miami. If it wasn't for the driver behind her that helped her out by scaring the thug off, she wouldn't have came out of that situation unharmed.

 

Well, based on what people are saying about themselves and their lives and families and cars and garages, it doesn't sound like an extremely high percentage of 8 owners live in the projects. So, on the extremely rare occaision where I end up where I would rather not be, I lock the doors. Then, when I am where I feel more comfortable, I unlock them again.

 

You know, I really love the car and all, but if someone wants it bad enough to point a gun at me, they can have it. I'd rather be alive to drive the replacement...

 

The RX-8 is already a very good bang for the buck, but I wouldn't mind having some of these extra luxury features in the car. The automatic door lock is becoming a more and more mainstream feature. Even the 2005 Corolla S has this feature.

 

I'm another recent MINI ex-patriate.

You kind of take the rolling auto-lock feature for granted...I didn't research the convenience/programmable options of the RX-8 before I bought mine, but this is one of the features that I really miss from my MINI and other friends vehicles (along with the double-pull to open a locked door). I was hoping this was an option that could be enabled, but it appears that's not the case? Mine is an '05 model...any changes for the '05?

Ditto for the ability to open/close the windows and moonroof using the fob/key. Also, am I insane or do you really have to have the key in the "Start" position to operate the moonroof? I read the manual, but must have missed that part. I keep parking my car and shutting off the engine before realizing that I have to close the moonroof first. It makes the lack of being able to close the windows & moonroof with the key even more aggravating. I really didn't care much about the moonroof (after the MINI panoramic moonroof, you're spoiled for life), but I didn't expect its usability to be so grating. A one touch passenger down window is another simple and greatly used feature that I miss. That seems like a really odd thing to not have in a modern "coupe," especially for a car in the RX-8 price range.

I'm really digging my car, but the lack of some day-to-day conveniences that are found on less expensive vehicles can be really frustrating.

BTW, to address some earlier comments : with a lot of the auto-lock systems, the doors will auto-unlock when in a serious accident (I'm guessing the RX-8 probably doesn't do that).

 

in response to the passenger window switch complaint... i don't know if it will work but if u notice for the "auto-down" feature of the drivers window u have to push an extra little click that the passenger switch doesn't have. maybe if u just go get a drivers side switch and put it where the passenger switch goes it will solve the problem. again, i don't know if it will work or not, so don't blame me for a waste of money if u go buy it and it doesn't work, ask a mazda tech first.

 

Holy thread revival, batman!

 

You paid about 30k for this car, your not going to get everything you can think of even if it would be nice. My SRT8 challenger was 41500 and I don't even have "everything" just most of "everything"

 

^ +1 its never enough!!! lol

 

brought from the depths of the 8 forum!....