When dealing with a Car with Lock symbol, your car's anti-theft system has been triggered.
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Modern vehicles are now equipped with many great features you should take advantage of. These features improve your safety and protect your car from many potential external concerns.
It can be a little bit overwhelming to understand all these added features and the different messages on the dashboard if you do it all at once. However, it's critical for you as a driver to familiarize yourself with these messages between now and then to get the best understanding of what your vehicle is trying to tell you.
One of the common questions we received from many of our readers is about a “Car with Lock” or a “Car and Lock” symbol. It indicates a significant important message that your car is trying to communicate with you and understanding what it means is very important.
This article walks you through all the details you need about a car with lock symbol. It also highlights what it means, what to do about it, and how to reset it.
Car with Lock symbol: what does it mean?
When you look at your car and realize a lock symbol, it means that the undo theft system has been activated. Of course, this might not be a true situation where someone is trying to get inside your car. It could be that you're trapped out of the car and can't do anything about it.
If you think about it from the manufacturer's perspective, the way they set up the system is to take all necessary precautions and any suspicions that someone is trying to get inside your car seriously.
This is a great feature; you should be very happy about it. However, the feature can be very frustrating if it gets activated for the wrong reasons and gets locked out of the car.
For example, in some situations, your battery might die and activate the undo theft system. However, when the battery is not even dying completely, if it doesn't have enough charge, your vehicle will think that something is impacting the car memory, and they enter the system should be activated.
How is the immobilizer different from the anti-theft system?
There is a common misconception between the immobilizer and the anti-theft system when it comes to triggering the car and lock symbols.
The immobilizer is another component added to your vehicle to protect and prevent people from getting inside your car without your permission. In other words, it prevents anyone from driving your car unless they use the right key.
This immobilizer is an electronic device that works through a group of signals that communicates with the anti-theft system and the vehicle computer. The immobilizer is immediately activated whenever anyone inserts the wrong key in your car and tries to turn it. Then, it sends a signal to the anti-theft system to check whether this is the right key or not.
If the immobilizer confirms that someone is using the wrong key, it will immediately trigger a car and lock symbol; therefore, your vehicle will not move at all.
How to get rid of the car with a lock symbol?
If you've been in a situation where your car triggered a car and a lock symbol by accident, you need to get rid of it immediately. Otherwise, your vehicle will not move, or you're under system will not work properly.
Luckily, enough people have been in this situation to the point that automotive experts put together a step-by-step solution to get rid of the car and lock symbol. Let's take a closer look below:
- Unlock your vehicle
The first thing you need to do is unlock your car. Then, you can go ahead and use the key fob or probably insert the key in the car door. Once you're inside the car, you can move on to the next steps.
- Remove the alarm fuse
Locate the fuse that's responsible for the vehicle alarm. You can find this fuse by following through the vehicle owner's manual or do a quick search for where I find the alarm fuse in my car and specify your vehicle's brand and model.
- Disconnect the battery
If removing the fuse did not help you get rid of the car and lock symbol or car with a lock symbol, you might need to disconnect the car battery. Disconnecting the battery is one quick solution to getting rid of most problems triggered because of simple mistakes or things that have to do with the electronic system.
If none of the previous methods help, you'll get rid of the car and lock symbol; then, your next step is to consult your mechanic and have him perform a more sophisticated approach to get rid of it. Finally, if the Car with Lock symbol does not allow you to drive your car, you might need to tow it to the nearest repair shop and ask your mechanic if there is any better way to resolve the issue by phone.
What does the flashing car and lock symbol mean?
Sometimes the car and lock symbol might not be solid, and it could be just flashing. In that case, you shouldn't be too concerned because the problem is the same whether this light is flashing or solid, and it has to do with an activated anti-theft system.
In both scenarios, you need to follow the previously provided recommendations about getting rid of the problem or consulting your mechanic.
Why does my anti-theft light stay on?
We provided details about what to do if your car's lock symbol is turned on. However, if you feel that this situation is repeating and occurring continuously, something might be happening internally, and you need to look closely at the faulty component.
Automotive experts put together the following list of potential culprits that trigger your anti-theft system. Let's take a look below:
- Problem with the low battery
The first and most common reason for triggering the anti-theft light is when you have a problem with a low battery. We indicated before that when your vehicle's battery drains and becomes very low, it impacts how your car stores information and the overall memory.
When the memory cannot capture all the details and information, your vehicle will feel concerned and immediately trigger the anti-theft light and you'll see it in the form of a Car with Lock symbol on the dashboard.
- Issues with the key fob
If there is no problem with your car battery, then the next step is to look at the key fob. First, of course, you need to have a working key fob all the time, but over time, this key fob might not be working properly, and it could need some replacement or repairs.
Try using a spare key or a similar key fob from the manufacturer to see if the problem is gone. You can also do other actions to inspect the key fob battery and ensure it's working properly.
If you confirm that the key fob is the faulty component, then you will need to replace it and get another one immediately because not only what you'll deal with problems related to the car with a lock symbol but also, you'll have some other issues functioning your car in the future.
- Troubles in the immobilizer
We've mentioned that the immobilizer is a separate component from the anti-theft system. However, there is continuous communication between this component and the untie theft system.
Therefore, a simple problem in the immobilizer or the overall security system can easily trigger the car with a lock symbol for the entire theft warning light.
You must consult your mechanic and ensure that this immobilizer is working properly. You can also check either vehicle's owner's manual to see when and how often you should replace this immobilizer, if any.
- Malfunction in the car lock
Finally, you might be having a problem with the car lock itself. In other words, the door lock could have an issue, and there might be some contaminants or damage in the hole where you insert the key or the overall security system.
When this happens, your vehicle will think that someone is trying to get inside your car, and your car is not secured enough. Therefore, it will immediately trigger the car and lock or the car with the lock symbol.
Therefore, you shouldn't be concerned and think someone is trying to get inside your car; you must check the car door to ensure the lock system is working properly.
Is there a fuse for the anti-theft system?
We've mentioned earlier that one of the quickest ways of getting rid of the car with a lock symbol is to disconnect the fuse. However, some people might think that there is no fuse focused on the antithesis, which is not the case.
If you follow along with your vehicle's owner's manual, you'll be able to determine which of the different fuses is the one responsible and connected to the anti-theft system. Once you identify that, it can remove it to disconnect the system and hopefully get rid of the car with a lock symbol.
Is there a way for thieves to bypass the immobilizer?
Unfortunately, yes. These are getting smarter and smarter over the years. They can now intervene in the communication between the immobilizer and the anti-theft system. They can understand the different signals that are communicated and disturb them.
They disturb these signals by scanning tools, which are ways to help them corrupt the system and disable the mobilizer and the entire anti-theft system.
That's why if you're living in an area concerned about your vehicle, you might need to consider additional safety features that you can install separately.
This is very important nowadays, considering what's happening in 2022, where the number of stolen vehicles is increasing significantly.
Final thoughts
It's important to enjoy every single added feature in your vehicle. Many of these features improve your safety, while others are more for improving your driving experience.
There are many situations where your vehicle displays a car and a lock or probably a Car with a Lock symbol. If that happens, it's another way to say that your vehicle's anti-theft system has been activated. When the system is activated, you must not be able to move your car, which requires a way to get rid of the problem.
This article provided you with recommendations on what the car with a lock symbol means and what can be done to get rid of the message so you can continue driving your car safely without any worries about missing systems.
You might need to check with your mechanic if you cannot resolve the issue yourself. Sometimes the problems could be more complicated than what you're expecting, and repair costs can be expensive if the thing has to do with a damaged vehicle computer or a messed-up system.
In that case, you might need to evaluate the situation and see if it's worth selling your vehicle or fixing it. Of course, if you decide that you want a silly oh car, Cash Cars Buyer is always here to help you!
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