New Mazda3: I keep forgetting to lock my door

[JEDI]

2015 mazda3 iSport hatchback

it has electronic ignition, which means my keys stay in my pocket.
all my previous cars I had to put the key in the ignition.

the problem is since the keys aren't in my hands when I leave the car, I forget to press the button to lock it.
unfortunately, it doesn't have auto-lock.

at least once a week I forget to lock it and remember too late (either on the train or at work).
so far no theft.

bought it for $19k out the door. seriously thinking about getting another car because of this and the fact that the cigarette light is ALWAYS ON. (trade in value $13k )

suggestions?

 

[master_shake_]

isn't there an option in your radio for auto lock on exit?

 

[Demo24]

isn't there an option in your radio for auto lock on exit?

This, in the car settings menu you can choose what you want it to do as far as locking. I set mine to auto-lock when I walk away. One beep when the doors are all closed, another when I go more than 3ft away.

 

[JEDI]

This, in the car settings menu you can choose what you want it to do as far as locking. I set mine to auto-lock when I walk away. One beep when the doors are all closed, another when I go more than 3ft away.

nope.. my car doesn't have keyless entry.
that's the next trim level up.. iTouring.

for iSport, you have a press a button on the fob to open/lock.
no auto-lock.

wished I knew this nuisance b4 I bought the car

 

[Bryf50]

Open door, press lock button on door, close door. That's what I do. Just make it a habit.

 

[thesmokingman]

nope.. my car doesn't have keyless entry.
that's the next trim level up.. iTouring.

Can't you reprogram the mode?

Worst case, I would guess that the feature can be added in aftermarket if its important.

 

[tortillasoup]

I can't empathize with OP. I drive vehicles both with keyless FOBs and just regular keys. I always lock my cars just like I lock the house when I leave. Are you really that absentminded not to remember to lock that stuff? You're just going to have to work on your habits or something.

 

[fr]

Open door, press lock button on door, close door. That's what I do. Just make it a habit.

This is what I do. I always lock with the button on the door instead of the remote.

 

[Demo24]

nope.. my car doesn't have keyless entry.
that's the next trim level up.. iTouring.

for iSport, you have a press a button on the fob to open/lock.
no auto-lock.

wished I knew this nuisance b4 I bought the car

Ah I see now. There's a regular keyless entry and then 'advanced' keyless entry.

Dunno what you are referring to by the cig light though.

 

[shabby]

the problem is since the keys aren't in my hands when I leave the car, I forget to press the button to lock it.
unfortunately, it doesn't have auto-lock.

First world problems... you provide much hilarity to the garage section, thank you!

 

[nerp]

Learn to develop a new habit. Put a sticky note on your dash if you're so distracted all the time. Or, wait until your car is stolen or ransacked then you will probably remember to lock it each time.

 

[JEDI]

Open door, press lock button on door, close door. That's what I do. Just make it a habit.

yeah, I guess I have to re-train myself

 

[JEDI]

I can't empathize with OP. I drive vehicles both with keyless FOBs and just regular keys. I always lock my cars just like I lock the house when I leave. Are you really that absentminded not to remember to lock that stuff? You're just going to have to work on your habits or something.

the keys aren't in my hand when I leave the car.
no reminder to press lock on the fob.

when I exit the car, my mind is on the destination I'm walking to

 

[JEDI]

Ah I see now. There's a regular keyless entry and then 'advanced' keyless entry.

Dunno what you are referring to by the cig light though.

the cig lighter is always on in my mazda3, even when the engine is off.
I have a gps and dashcam plugged into it.

always have to unplug when I get home, else I risk running down the battery if I don't use the car for a couple of days

 

[zerocool84]

I can't empathize with OP. I drive vehicles both with keyless FOBs and just regular keys. I always lock my cars just like I lock the house when I leave. Are you really that absentminded not to remember to lock that stuff? You're just going to have to work on your habits or something.

This

I went from a 69' VW Beetle to an 05' Dodge Neon and now to a 2016 Accord with keyless entry. You just need to do it, it's not hard.

 

[MongGrel]

I can't empathize with OP. I drive vehicles both with keyless FOBs and just regular keys. I always lock my cars just like I lock the house when I leave. Are you really that absentminded not to remember to lock that stuff? You're just going to have to work on your habits or something.

Just a bunch of derp it looks to me.

Do he remember to shake after urinating ?

Sure, I'd recommend trading it in on an old Yugo.

()

 

[Humpy]

the cig lighter is always on in my mazda3, even when the engine is off.
I have a gps and dashcam plugged into it.

always have to unplug when I get home, else I risk running down the battery if I don't use the car for a couple of days

My 2014 has two under the center armrest, one switched and one unswitched. Yours doesn't? Also, I thought there was an auto-shutoff of some sort to prevent battery drain, though I've still never read the manual. It took me a year to accidentally figure out that two presses of the start button lets you play the radio and roll down the windows with the engine off.

 

[master_shake_]

https://www.staub.ca/catalog/partdetail.aspx?partno=FT-EZGO

i have a friend that installs these it's pretty cool.

 

[RossMAN]

JEDI,

Congrats on the new wheels, pics?

 

[heymrdj]

The 2015 Mazda 3 gets just one power port on all models except iSV, which gets the dual.

That being said, one mans gripe is another mans perfection. Unlike the OP, I actually use my car as a tool, and a 12v outlet that turns off is non-starter. I'm modded the fusebox of every car I've had that's been setup that way. I need power regardless of the engine running be it for my laptop, mobile printer, chargers or whatever. I just remember to turn off the items that could kill the battery. The newer cars haven't been an issue, everything modern has a voltage kill switch. The cars will kill power to acc. when battery voltage gets to the point that it could be an issue starting. A GPS would probably take 2 weeks to turn off. But I just press the power button on mine as I get out, as well as pressing the door lock. Why would I want to change FOB batteries sooner when I could just press the button on the damn door? I can't believe what makes first world issues these days.

 

[yh125d]

I can relate to this. My Focus. I can open it without the fob, lock it without the fob (though normally I just let it auto-lock), and then of course drive with it. Literally my keys go from my bookcase to my pocket in the morning, then pocket to bookcase in the evening. If it didn't auto lock, it would be unlocked most of the time

 

[SparkyJJO]

the cig lighter is always on in my mazda3, even when the engine is off.
I have a gps and dashcam plugged into it.

always have to unplug when I get home, else I risk running down the battery if I don't use the car for a couple of days

Gm does this by default. At least, my 98, 99, 02, and 07 GMs have been this way. They all have dual sockets too, not sure why they didn't make one switched and one always live.

But your battery must suck if you risk running your battery down, or it uses a tiny battery. I left my dashcam plugged in on my Silverado by accident and it sat and recorded 3 days straight of my garage door but never came close to running the battery down.

 

[freeskier93]

That's pretty idiotic, why would you offer a vehicle with push button start but no keyless entry? Having one but not the other completely defeats the purpose and concept of never having to touch the key. I would easily forget to lock it all the time too, then again I'm used to driving a soft top Jeep that I never lock anyway. Whenever I drive another vehicle I usually forget to lock/unlock it regardless...

 

[sontakke]

why would you offer a vehicle with push button start but no keyless entry?

So that buyer would buy the other option too?

 

[Demo24]

That's pretty idiotic, why would you offer a vehicle with push button start but no keyless entry? Having one but not the other completely defeats the purpose and concept of never having to touch the key. I would easily forget to lock it all the time too, then again I'm used to driving a soft top Jeep that I never lock anyway. Whenever I drive another vehicle I usually forget to lock/unlock it regardless...

My guess is actually cost savings. Same key for both models and same start button is one less thing to engineer differently. Mazda's been sharing a lot of components in all their models now and it seems to be working well for them. 2016 models changed things a bit and only the very base model has this 50/50 keyless part. It actually reduced the cost of the effective model I bought in 2014.

I sometimes miss the walk away feature when in my gti, that one makes you touch the door handle to lock it.