Locked inside my Alfa Romeo on a 38 Degree hot afternoon– Service Manager downplaying the incident

Larkdord on 06/02/2025 - 11:39
Last edited 07/02/2025 - 09:46 by 1 other user

Hey everyone, I recently had a terrifying experience with an Alfa Romeo Stelvio that I wanted to share, and I’d really appreciate any advice or insights from the community or share the experience so others could be aware.

So last month, I got locked inside my sister's car that I was keeping for a few weeks whilst she was away overseas. It was on a 38-degree Melbourne summer day I got in the car and got stuck for about 25 minutes. The deadlock feature 'apparently' kicked in just before the battery went flat, and I was completely stuck – the doors wouldn’t open, and none of the usual unlocking methods worked. I crawled to the back sweating like a dog, trying to figure out if there is a manual release. (I learnt later that there is a small release hidden behind a plastic cap) Despite multiple attempts to jump-start or unlock the car, nothing helped. Eventually, my neighbours had to break the rear passenger window to get me out. The timing was also weird I was at home alone with family also away and there was no way a spare key would've been available. Also called Alfa Romeo emergency roadside assist and they put me on hold for a few minutes and then gave me another number to call. At which point I thought there was no point to calling them.

After this ordeal, I visited the Alfa Romeo dealership and spoke to the service manager. He offered to request head office to cover the cost of my broken window, but he also asked me to pay for a new battery myself. Which is kinda Ok but was disappointed about how they underplayed the whole incident. I emailed the manager later asking for a investigation and if there is something broader they can do to avoid this from occurring in their cars. Nothing concrete came out of that.

This whole incident has left me a bit anxious about getting into my car, especially on hot days. I’m also concerned about the deadlock system and the fact that there’s no emergency override to exit the vehicle in situations like this.

I’d love to hear from others who might have experienced something similar:

Has anyone else had issues with the deadlock systems on their cars? Would it be worth escalating this to Alfa Romeo HQ or a consumer protection body? Any advice would be greatly appreciated – I just want to ensure this doesn’t happen to anyone else.

Update 1:
For those keyboard warriors who think I want retribution or have other hidden agenda here is some examples where this could’ve easily turned into something more dangerous.

https://www.vwidtalk.com/threads/not-locked-out-locked-in-ho…

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/115486-volks…

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/man-his-dog-found-dead-…

Update 2

I am not looking for any financial compensation as this is not even my car, just trying to share my experience and increase awareness so if there is anything else I can do to escalate this incident.

Update 3

Thanks guys for all the feedback and well wishes,
I’m going to stop repeating myself or responding to what I should’ve done etc hind sight is awesome considering the scenario I was in, and with the help outside the car I had I think I was lucky that I got out safely and it was one of the better outcomes.

Please consider this as a community awareness announcement, and I shall leave it there ..🙏🏽

Thanks in advance!

Automotive Alfa Romeo Stelvio

Comments

  • racer1234 on 06/02/2025 - 13:52
    +5

    Stelvio's had / have a battery charging problem that has been improved by a software update. There are lots of reports of batteries dying prematurely if not used enough and not taken on highway trips. Due to NVH (noise vibration harshness) the battery does not fully charge at idle and low speeds. Needs to get over 80kmh for at least 15mins to start fully charging the battery. Scary experience being locked in. Next time call 000.

  • Drakesy on 06/02/2025 - 13:59
    +3

    Locked inside my Alfa Romeo

    Well there's ya problem.

    • Larkdord on 06/02/2025 - 14:26

      Other cars have this feature too

      • Drakesy on 06/02/2025 - 14:53
        -3

        Do they?

  • ihbh on 06/02/2025 - 14:33
    +1

    Please buy something like this and leave it in the car, in case someone needs it in the future. https://www.bcf.com.au/p/quell-emergency-multi-tool-flashlig…

    • SlickMick on 07/02/2025 - 12:07

      I recall a friend not happy that they couldn't get manual wind-down windows for thier 4WD. They kept a fire estinguisher handy for breaking window if got trapped inside.

  • Leanne59 on 06/02/2025 - 15:27

    "So last month, I got locked inside my sister's car that I was keeping for a few weeks whilst she was away overseas.” and "He offered to request head office to cover the cost of my broken window, but he also asked me to pay for a new battery myself.” Who owns the car?

    • Larkdord on 06/02/2025 - 15:49
      +2

      Like i said in the post, not worried about the battery cost or free window replacement, it’s the lack of care what if this happened to someone who didn’t have a phone etc etc

  • try2bhelpful on 06/02/2025 - 15:35
    +2

    I would be panicking too if I couldn’t get out.
    - Batteries can just fail. We were driving one day and stopped for some food. When we got back in the battery just failed and had to be replaced before we could travel further. Jump starting wouldn’t recover it.
    - I can understand child proof locks for the back but why wouldn’t a car have standard manual internal lock releases in the front? This would be a tad concerning with the car crashing into a river scenario. I suspect not everyone in the car would know what the releases are. Maybe ya need the air hostess talk that your release buttons are here and here before driving off.
    - might need to look into one of the smash the window tools.

    I don’t blame you for not dialling 000. Frankly I would be too embarrassed to do it for a little while as well.

    I’m glad you are OK.

    • Larkdord on 06/02/2025 - 21:40
      +3

      Not blaming the battery, lack of manual override options to unlock quickly is what I am concerned with. Even opening the plastic latch for the manual bot release needs a decent prying tool or the alternate key inside the key fob. Which by the way wasn’t easy to open in the AR key fob.

      • try2bhelpful on 06/02/2025 - 21:50

        Agree with you. I thought all cars had the standard open door mechanism. A bit sad if they don’t.

  • holdenmg on 06/02/2025 - 17:37
    +1

    Pretend you are in a Taxi and just do whatever Sam Kerr would do. lol

    • GordonD on 06/02/2025 - 17:53
      +6

      Yeah, kick the rear window out.

      Then call it racism.

        • [Deactivated] on 06/02/2025 - 18:58
          +5

          Racial vilification is racial vilification. Otherwise how do ostensibly neutral words like “Paki”, “Jap”, or “Chinaman” get ascribed derogatory connotations?

          • beach bum on 06/02/2025 - 21:19
            -1

            @[Deactivated]: Paki sounds like an English term , as in it’s generally a term used by the English in England, or maybe the English in Australia but I’ve never heard an Australian use that term for a Pakistani person, probably because Australian’s doesn’t know the difference between a Pakistani and a Indian person to look at them, and I suspect either can anyone else except those people familiar with the regional and cultural differences and dress,
            Your typical Australian is probably not high on the list , but we’re learning slowly .
            It’s like that Indian comedy show where they say that 30% of Aussie’s are part-time racist and the other 70% is full time, funny but no just a little bit ignorant.
            But we’re getting there slowly,
            Just speaking for generation x ,
            I’m sure the rest of you are way out in front.

            And I’ll leave the other can of worms in that minefield over there

            • [Deactivated] on 06/02/2025 - 22:07
              +2

              @beach bum: The term is associated with skinheads in England and not widely used outside of the British Isles. I just gave it as an example of a word which can seem innocuous but is understood to be offensive because it is said in the context of racially vilifying a person. She was racially vilifying the officer on the basis of what she perceived to be his racial identity. It’s wrong and she should be punished to the extent of the law.

              • beach bum on 06/02/2025 - 22:18
                -1

                @[Deactivated]: Ok Ok , abusing people is wrong.
                We all get that.
                But stalking any minor celebrity with gossip and harassment is also not nice .
                She was a drunk Aussie in England that said some stupid shit . Not the highest crime in the land , and barely rates as news . I’m over it and reject the memory of it from my brain box.
                Ahh, I feel better .

                • [Deactivated] on 06/02/2025 - 22:33
                  +2

                  @beach bum: Can’t say I particularly disagree, I’m only really across the topic because I’m stupid enough to read the ABC who has deemed it a matter of national importance.

                  Even then I wouldn’t bring it up or engage much with the topic other than to disagree when people like @try2bhelpful suggest that it’s okay to racially vilify people of certain races. I think racial vilification is wrong no matter the race being targeted.

                  • try2bhelpful on 07/02/2025 - 10:26
                    -4

                    @[Deactivated]: What she said barely rates as racial vilification no matter what. However the rules are designed to protect against entrenched racism against minorities. This is a totally ludicrous case. I just hope the judge realises his badly thus reflects on English society and the police over there. Then again they aren’t exactly known for treating minorities well so who knows?

          • try2bhelpful on 06/02/2025 - 21:48
            -2

            @[Deactivated]: Absolute tosh. I’m sure the guy felt humiliated being called white.

            • [Deactivated] on 06/02/2025 - 22:09
              +2

              @try2bhelpful: I’m relieved to hear that you don’t feel humiliated on his behalf but it isn’t for you to say how he felt. As observers all we can do is acknowledge that what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.

              • Randolph Duke on 07/02/2025 - 09:56

                @[Deactivated]: I’d have more sympathy if it wasn’t included in an amended statement 11 months later.

              • try2bhelpful on 07/02/2025 - 10:09
                -2

                @[Deactivated]: No, we can recognise why the laws were brought in in the first place. If you actually look at the history of the case he didn’t mention he had an issue with being called white until he’d had a chance to talk to others. Sounds like someone got to him to throw that in.

                • [Deactivated] on 07/02/2025 - 10:10
                  +2

                  @try2bhelpful: You’ve probably never experienced the shock and humiliation of racial vilification.

                  • try2bhelpful on 07/02/2025 - 10:15
                    -3

                    @[Deactivated]: Yeah. Because I’m white. If someone calls me white I brush it off because I live in the privileged position of being white. Australia had a White Australia policy to entrench the privilege of being white. This guy never mentioned he had an issue with being called white until much later after other people got to him.

                    • SlickMick on 07/02/2025 - 12:36

                      @try2bhelpful: There is no shame in being white, right?
                      It's all those other colours that are shameful and embarassing to have pointed out.

        • nosey on 06/02/2025 - 21:00
          +2

          I think less of Kerr now. Im not a snowflake and she can get fraked.

          • try2bhelpful on 07/02/2025 - 10:21

            @nosey: Frankly she let herself down getting shitfaced and throwing up in the cab; but she isn’t the first sportsperson to do so. At least she didn’t actually assault someone. Most of the sportsmen don’t end up in this sort of court case though do they?

            The driver locked her and her girlfriend in a taxi and refused to let them out. If I was drunk and a taxi driver did that to me I would be terrified as well. Especially given all the stories of women being driven to secluded locations and raped and murdered. The question is why would anyone think this was acceptable? This was a property damage case, just let her out and take it up afterwards. Frankly the whole thing was poorly done by everyone including the cops.

            • BargainHunter9876543 on 07/02/2025 - 15:23

              @try2bhelpful:

              At least she didn’t actually assault someone.

              Verbally abusing a police officer and racially abusing anyone are both forms of assault in the UK.

              She committed those offences against multiple individuals and did it in all cases while being video recorded.

        • Drakesy on 07/02/2025 - 20:11
          +2

          I can't go up to someone and call them fcking stupid and black without it coming off as racist so why can she?

    • BargainHunter9876543 on 06/02/2025 - 20:53

      No amount of vile racist tirades and vomiting will break a window unfortunately.

      • try2bhelpful on 07/02/2025 - 10:22
        -3

        With a taxi driver that locked them in and wouldn’t let them out.

        • BargainHunter9876543 on 07/02/2025 - 15:18
          -1

          Because she vomited in the Taxi and then tried to pull a runner on the driver without paying. Which is a crime.

          The taxi driver then drove the drunken vile racist (Sam Kerr) straight to the police station, under instructions from the Police themselves, where she proceeded to then immediately racially attack a second individual who was one of the arresting police officers.

        • Drakesy on 07/02/2025 - 20:12
          +1

          Which is understandable when your passenger has just vomitted all over your taxi and then wants to do a runner.

  • [Deactivated] on 06/02/2025 - 18:53
    +1

    That’s a massive design flaw which could kill a child or physically disabled person. I’m glad my FORD has a clever feature called “soft locking” and as a backup the windows are easily broken.

    • Larkdord on 06/02/2025 - 21:33
      +1

      Yes or anyone in desperate circumstances some of the geniuses here suggesting kicking windows going through the logbook etc will all be useless

  • beach bum on 06/02/2025 - 20:53
    +2

    Didn’t this happen to a lady in a Tesla that drove into a lake?

    • noz on 06/02/2025 - 22:16

      Tesla has a manual override also.

      • beach bum on 06/02/2025 - 22:27
        +1

        But she didn’t use or perhaps even know about this before drowning inside the car though did she?

        Didn’t the De Lorean run into the same issue and they were going to install explosive bolts but ended up going with some kind of manual override but probably also with a large easy to read warning sign on the door .
        Or maybe they just went back in time to fix it.

        • noz on 06/02/2025 - 23:14

          yeah obviously she didn't know or had some other reason. I'm just saying that it has an override. Nothing more than that.

          • beach bum on 06/02/2025 - 23:37
            +1

            @noz: I know you know, we all know right now about this , but will you remember what brand car you’re in when it’s filling up with water and where the manual override handle is. This is why they go through the safety briefing ever time you’re on commercial flights . If it’s not completely obvious most people won’t be able to find the panel to remove to find a hidden handle for release on an emergency exit.

            • noz on 07/02/2025 - 00:29

              @beach bum: lol, I'll say it again - I'm simply saying that it has an override. Nothing more than that. You should try to resist judgements and assumptions.

              • beach bum on 07/02/2025 - 02:05
                +1

                @noz: You shouldn’t assume everything is about you also

            • MS Paint on 07/02/2025 - 00:50

              @beach bum:

              This is why they go through the safety briefing ever time you’re on commercial flights

              Also on private and charter flights. Infact every time a pilot has a passenger they should be briefed on what to do in an emergency.

              • beach bum on 07/02/2025 - 02:46

                @MS Paint: That’s happened zero times to me except, that’s the ejection seat , don’t pull on the handle unless I say, otherwise nothing safety related.

                As a student flying a helicopter I tried to stay over water at first but realised there was no safety anything anyway , and if you crashed on land maybe someone could pull your unconscious body out of the wreckage before you burnt up,
                that was my safety plan,
                besides absolutely never ever crashing in the first place.

  • elgrande on 06/02/2025 - 21:52
    +2

    Thanks for the insight OP, a reminder on how technology can sometimes work against us. I can imagine it would have been hard to focus on finding a way out in the heat of the moment. Maybe consoder getting one of those emergency window breaking hammers.

    • Larkdord on 06/02/2025 - 21:55
      +1

      Yep keeping those glass break tools handy from now on.

      • MS Paint on 06/02/2025 - 22:09
        +1

        Have you confirmed if the bonnet release is mechanical as per my suggestion here?

        • Larkdord on 06/02/2025 - 22:36

          Yes there’s a latch to pull behind a plastic cover but like I said in other comments in a real emergency these may not be that handy

          • MS Paint on 06/02/2025 - 22:47

            @Larkdord: The front bonnet not the rear tailgate. If you opened the bonnet one of your helpers, or roadside assistance, could have provided power to the Alfa battery so you could unlock the doors instead of breaking a window.

            I was curious to confirm if this is a mechanical mechanism. I believe it is. If it's electrical like a lot of modern cars it wouldn't have helped you on this occasion.

            • Larkdord on 06/02/2025 - 22:58
              +1

              @MS Paint: Sorry misread yes, it’s mechanical and that’s how my neighbour tried to jumpstart, just to complicate things the battery was in the boot with some terminals in the front, which was hard to figure out.

  • parisienne on 06/02/2025 - 22:49

    And now imagine being some poor puppa and having to endure that scenario…and incapable of doing anything about it, but being aware that you are not going to come out of it with your life.

    • Daabido on 07/02/2025 - 21:43

      Poor butterfly that never was.

  • Oz em on 06/02/2025 - 23:18
    +1

    This worries me about my new car.
    My old car had keyless entry but also had little flip buttons you could still unlock.
    New car has no buttons at all. How do I get out if it locks me in?

    • MS Paint on 07/02/2025 - 00:25

      Pulling the handle unlocks the door in most modern cars. Even your old car may have just triggered an electronic actuator by using the flip button.

      • Oz em on 07/02/2025 - 00:30
        +1

        I’m going to try this tomorrow
        Perhaps my reoccurring nightmare will be over 😂

        • MS Paint on 07/02/2025 - 00:45

          Some cars have a built in safety feature where you have to pull the handle twice to unlock.

          • Larkdord on 07/02/2025 - 07:22
            +1

            @MS Paint: That was what I assumed too, which was the case in every car I owned until I learnt about this deadlock feature

  • Eeples on 07/02/2025 - 00:06
    -5

    I hate to pick at your story OP but….

    How many weeks exactly had you been minding your sister’s car before finally deciding to start it and go for a run in it?

    Yes. I’m blaming you a bit here.

    • beach bum on 07/02/2025 - 02:54
      +3

      Who cares it’s a car , how much do you have to baby these things that are supposed to be a convenience, not a death trap.

    • Larkdord on 07/02/2025 - 07:21
      +2

      I had for a good month and used it number of times. Batteries just go flat without any warnings most of the time. It was the stupid deadlock that no one knows about even my sister didn’t know

  • shaybisc on 07/02/2025 - 06:59

    On Kerr, I am surprised that Mewis was able to smash the taxi window. Check out these men trying to do it with a headrest - 0.50 and 10.58.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obajy4mMmJk&t=613s

    Unless she used a rescue tool

    • beach bum on 07/02/2025 - 13:43

      She’s like a soccer player with a weapon for a leg , she could probably kick the door off if it had occurred to her.

  • Lunarboogie on 07/02/2025 - 07:06
    +4

    I was waiting in my missus' new mini cooper on the weekend as she nipped into the office to retrieve some papers. She was gone no more than 5 minutes but took the fob with her and had inadvertently locked the door on her way out (by habit she says). It was a cooker that day so the windows were up due to the ac being on. Within a few moments I was sweltering and when I discovered I was locked in, I entered into a mild panic. Fortunately, I was able to call her to come down but had it been in another circumstance like OPs or the guy with his dog or that billionaire Chinese American Tesla driver, it could have been a different story. Good luck OP. Thanks for sharing.

    • wannagrababargain on 07/02/2025 - 13:07

      If this is a new, new mini you can add yourself to the Mini App and link it to the car to have as a backup method for unlocking.

  • mapax on 07/02/2025 - 07:14
    +2

    Not just locked but trapped in a car due to a flat battery, this is hilarious if you ignore how potentially dangerous it is.

    Modern cars are shit.

    • Larkdord on 07/02/2025 - 07:19
      +2

      Yes I was embarrassed at first to call someone then the sweltering heat made me realise how screwed I was

      • SlickMick on 07/02/2025 - 12:47

        You're lucky you had your phone with you.

  • gbarlett on 07/02/2025 - 07:42
    +5

    i work in a role that involves gaining entry into vehicles when locked for specific reasons…i wont go into them.
    Over the years i have seen incidents such as this where people become entombed in their vehicle due to the deadlocking system.
    Deadlocking is as an obvious feature to keep the insurance companies happy however over the years some OEMs have elected to delete this feature from their models to avoid incidents such as the one described above.
    All i can recommend for someone who is in a similar situation, that is locked in a vehicle and with no way of getting out, is first remove the vehicles headrest.
    Then use the pointy end of one of the metal shafts that secure the headrest to break a window by banging the shaft end against the glass.

    • elgrande on 07/02/2025 - 12:10

      Thanks for the tip

  • mattyman on 07/02/2025 - 08:33
    -1

    "Also called Alfa Romeo emergency roadside assist and they put me on hold for a few minutes and then gave me another number to call. At which point I thought there was no point to calling them."

    So they gave you a number to call and you didn't call them? That's weird AF dude.

    • Larkdord on 07/02/2025 - 09:39
      +4

      Sure dude, when you are locked inside a car that probably was around 45-50 degrees then we will talk what’s weird

  • pn09 on 07/02/2025 - 09:07

    I haven't read all the replies but if you're still concerned about this happening again open the window before you close the door, and leave the door open until the car is started and idling.

    I have no idea how this scenario would play out with other manufacturers - I'm sure some others would also lock up.

    Also - when you called roadside assist and they heard the problem - perhaps they gave you a number where they could get to you quicker (roadside assist are always looking at ETA based on the criticality of the incident) - but you never called them. Perhaps you panicked but this could have potentially resolved the problem quicker.

    • Larkdord on 07/02/2025 - 09:37

      Highly unlikely that the road side assist may have been quicker considering it was during the holiday season, wasn’t going to risk it

  • iconic66 on 07/02/2025 - 09:47

    I’ve seen Tow truck drivers, push door wedges into the gap between the car door & frame its self, if the wedge is pushed further in it allows air flow, unfortunately I’ve done this on all 4 windows of a car, to allow air in, due to an slight emergency
    Also the “pump up black lifting cushions”, sold for a few dollars can do the same thing
    We had previously broke a small side window of a vehicle to get open the back door via the door release, to exit child

  • tasty-falafel on 07/02/2025 - 10:32
    +3

    If it happens again and you don't have anything, detach the headrest from the seat (there's usually a release button on the attach points) and you can use the two metal prongs to break the window.

    • try2bhelpful on 07/02/2025 - 10:35

      Now that is a hack to remember. Thanks.

    • shaybisc on 07/02/2025 - 10:59

      It's not as easy as it sounds. See above. I would hate to have to rely on the headrest prong method.

      • mapax on 07/02/2025 - 11:04
        +1

        But I saw it on social media…

      • try2bhelpful on 07/02/2025 - 11:12

        Perhaps not but worth a try.

  • IpGem on 07/02/2025 - 11:25

    and then gave me another number to call. At which point I thought there was no point to calling them.

    Wouldn't giving them a call have saved you tons of effort?

    • Larkdord on 07/02/2025 - 17:06

      Tbh like I said in other comments, with the holiday period I doubt they would’ve come with in 15-20 mins which was my window

      • Daabido on 07/02/2025 - 21:49
        +6

        Subject: Fire. Dear Sir/Madam, I am writing to inform you of a fire that has broken out at the premises of… no, that's too formal.

        [deletes text, starts again]

        Fire - exclamation mark - fire - exclamation mark - help me - exclamation mark. 123 Cavendon Road. Looking forward to hearing from you. Yours truly, Maurice Moss.

        [sigh of relief]

  • jacross on 07/02/2025 - 11:33
    +1

    So I think Alpha Romeo was as generous and engaging as they should reasonably be expected to be.

    But I also think this raises an interesting very large issue/question regarding these deadlock systems. I for one am not aware of what you are talking about.

    I'm curious as to whether my lock/unlock levers work without the battery connected.

    Is this a new thing? How widespread is it? What is the purpose? Is it a good idea or a bad idea?

    • wannagrababargain on 07/02/2025 - 13:28
      +2

      It's been a thing since the 90s. I remember my parents VP commodore had deadlocks in 1991, we all knew about it because it was a highly touted new security feature that Holden was keen to inform their customers about (no doubt because of well deserved reputation of the ease that Commodores can be stolen) - although you had to physically insert the key and rotate it another click a full 90 degrees to engage the deadlock despite the car having a remote FOB. Many European cars have this feature however it has all become electronic with the exact mechanism varying between makes. Some makes will deadlock if you press lock twice in a row on the fob, others will do it automatically if you press once, others still will deadlock after x amount of time. How this interacts with comfort/keyless access adds another layer of complexity - in most cases I think the car wouldn't deadlock from just walking away self-lock. My thoughts are to balance safety with security is that it should only happen based on an positive intent of the user, such as a double press of the lock button (in which case they would/should be aware that they are deliberately locking someone in a car).

      According to OP it appears that a third mechanism may have been at play, where battery management system for whatever reason to deadlock just before disconnecting the battery power when its brain decided the battery charge is no longer good. It's hard to tell if it was actually the deadlock feature or if the car just needed a battery charge to let you press the central locking button on the dash to unlock the doors.

    • Larkdord on 07/02/2025 - 17:18
      -1

      I agree with your comments mostly but don’t agree they were generous, and I don’t mean that from a financial compensation point of view but more so from taking accountability for what happened and reviewing the mechanism with logs etc if possible, and educate other drivers on plausible solutions to avoid this from occurring in the future. Not brush it off under the carpet.

      • Muppet Detector on 07/02/2025 - 22:47

        They cannot publicly accept accountability for what you claim has happened until they can raise the issue with their internal trust and safety team and legal team and determined what caused this, was it supposed to do that, how many cars was it likely to effect (ie a fault that only appears in small number) what it would take to identify all cars this may affect, decide if they wanted to fix that in cars already sold via call back or just risk cost of fixing when each individual bought fault to their awareness.

        Could be they are aware of the fault but found it cheaper to address those who come forth with the issue rather than launch a car wide recall.

        • Larkdord on 08/02/2025 - 10:17

          Or until a tragedy occurs :(

          • Muppet Detector on 10/02/2025 - 21:58

            @Larkdord: They may decide it is cheaper to pay for a potential death than recall all cars and modify them in addition to making changes going forward..

            A death might cost them $500,000 whereas total recall might cost billions.

  • Protractor on 07/02/2025 - 11:43
    -1

    Dress like a cop does. Carry an electric drill on your belt,(with fully charge battery,of course) with a full array of various format bits in the belt clip opposite. You never know when you'll need to drill a hole.

  • eddyah on 07/02/2025 - 12:58
    +4

    Glad you're OK OP

    After this ordeal, I visited the Alfa Romeo dealership and spoke to the service manager. He offered to request head office to cover the cost of my broken window, but he also asked me to pay for a new battery myself. Which is kinda Ok but was disappointed about how they underplayed the whole incident. I emailed the manager later asking for a investigation and if there is something broader they can do to avoid this from occurring in their cars. Nothing concrete came out of that.

    This is very reasonable - battery being flat is on the car owner.

    However - the mechanism like this which could lead to people being locked in and not able to get out seems life threatening as you've experienced. Alfa Romeo should investigate and possible do a recall and update of their cars to ensure this does not happen to anyone else.

  • Sensiekatie on 07/02/2025 - 15:47

    I have had for a number of Years a Mobility shop gadget which has various models but mine was a Handibar. It fits into a slot and you can use it to hold onto and get in and out easier. Is useful in low vehicles and for those with some impairment. It is kept inside the vehicle.

    It has a couple of extra features too. Designed for wheelchair accessible vehicles - you can cut a seat belt to evacuate the wheelchair passenger (or any passenger) in the case of a seatbelt that will not release. It is eye opening what some people will do to that wheelchair seatbelt.

    Another useful feature for OP's situation - it can be used to break a window or windscreen or whatever you need to get out.

  • wikimee1 on 07/02/2025 - 20:52

    I have a 11-year old car. I didn't know that modern cars need battery to open the doors. Guess I'll keep my old car then.

    • MS Paint on 07/02/2025 - 21:36

      I can almost guarantee that your 11 year old car has electronic actuators for the door locks.

      • wikimee1 on 08/02/2025 - 19:50

        One way to find out.

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join