I'm not sure if this belongs in Modifications or Maintenance or here..... Anyone know of an EASY way to disable one of the door lock buttons? It takes my wife several minutes to get in the car. She keeps wanting to press the "little button" to open the door like she used to do. She wraps her hand around the handle, pushes the button with her thumb, and pulls. The car beeps and clicks and the door won't open. <SIGH> This has been going on for two months and I thought it might be easier to just disable the button on the passenger door. I suppose I could pull the inside panel and remove a wire but I am hoping I could find a less intrusive way. Maybe someplace under the dash. I would like to be able to reverse it easily, someday. I modified it so that the driver button unlocks all the doors but then she reaches for the handle and locks everything up again before I can get my door open. Thoughts? Bob
Hey Bob. Can't you explain to her that the button is a lock, and not an unlock button? That's seems like a more simple solution that tearing into your electronics. ... Brad
Bob, You know it's only a matter of time until she relearns the new habit of only ...griping the door handle. I'd just tell my wife, to never press the black button unless she wants to be locked out. They learn quick. Besides, what vehicle did you have that had a black unlock button? ZC1
Thumbectomy? Oddly, my wife has a similar problem with our Sony CyberShot underwater digital camera. Her finger just HAS to point itself in front of the lens...great pictures of her finger....she knows the problem, but just can't stop that darn finger.
Rather than retraining a wife, it might be easier to turn the SKS off. You could then train yourself to take the fob out of your pocket and use the fob buttons to unlock and insert it in the dash to operate the car. To turn SKS off use the button at the bottom of the dash below the steering wheel. As an alternate, take her fob away from her. The lock button will not work without the fob being present at that door.
I know it sounds that simple but after hours of that discussion I've sort of given up. Yea, that's what I thought.... Years ago most cars had handles that had a button you pushed with your thumb to unlatch. I think she just sees the button and reverts back several years. It's sort of an automatic reaction. Thumbectomy... Hmmmmm... sounds a bit drastic but thanks for the thought. Turn off the SKS? That's why I bought the car in the first place. Forget all that emissions and mpg stuff. I want the SKS! At $24,000+ I'm going to use it. Maybe I could that the battery out of her FOB and slip it back in her purse. I could always tell her it's broke and cost $200 to replace. Thanks for all the ideas. In the end I may just have to live with it. We are both too old to change too much. Bob
. This one made me LOL. I can picture that happening. 2 months huh? Just a thought, your dealer may have a tool (something like a scan or plug in tool - can't remember) that can deprogram the button. Curious, what car did she used to press a little black button to unlock the car? .
Could you see if you could get a non-SKS fob for your wife? She'd then have to plug in the remote to the dash to drive the thing and push the buttons on the fob to unlock the doors, but if she's reverting to a time when the doors had little buttons on them, she's probably not going to mind this little inconvenience from the previous century. If I remember correctly, the non-SKS fobs are less expensive and, even more important, there's a little dance that you can do yourself to program it to your car (there was a recent post on here detailing the instructions). However, that said, I am not sure if it is possible to program a non-SKS fob in this way to work with an SKS car. Someone else would have to confirm that. . .
Simple, cheap solution: cover passenger side button with small piece of electrical tape. It will still work, but wife (probably) won't be tempted to press it.
Try taping a thumbtack to the button with the point out. That will discourage her from pressing it. This was a suggestion from my wife!! Buck
Would it be simpler all round if both of you went to the car, you demontrate the proper way to open the door, and then have her do it your way eight times (best learning curve) and then have her do it her way once. Don't yell, don't laugh -- unless she starts giggling.
It was years ago. I really don't remember. Maybe the '67 VW Bug? It is important to remember that us old folks tend to revert to simpler times when faced with confusing situations. As you get older it also seems like there are more and more confusing situations.... <SIGH>
Hey, that might just work, until she gets used to the way it works. I have a roll of RED electrical tape in the cabinet. I suspect it is the contrast of that black button on the red handle that really makes it stand out and brings out that urge to "push the button". I'm sure you guys know about the ladies pushing our buttons. (Sorry ladies, I just couldn't resist. I am so ashamed.) So far Steve, I think you are the winner of the best suggestion, short of ripping the door apart. Bob
If that is the way your wife trains you, then you have my condolences. I prefer the reward system. It seems to have worked for her to train me for over 40 years. My wife had some recent surgery. Even the nurses said I was "trainable" so that I could change the dressing at home. They were very flattering. I guess that was the reward part. Not as good as my wife's but it still workied. I think I'll pass on the thumbtack, however. Bob
We have been around this several times. I never yell. You can ask my kids. I am the tortoise in the race. It's not that she doesn't know the proper way. It's just when she walks up to the car, looks at that red handle and sees that black button sticking out, something evil takes over. I think it's sort of like a "Wet Paint" sign, you just have to check. Bob
Hi Bob, Maybe a variation/combination of what SteveO and Buckland suggested? That is, use electrical or other tape to tape a small pebble, piece of foam or rolled up wad of paper onto the lock button, so that it ends up like a much more pronounced version of the raised bump on the F & J keys of the QWERTY keyboard. I haven't gone out and experimented with this yet, but I think depending on the materials used, this could actually stop operation of the lock button, or clearly signal to her that it's not to be pushed.
Okay, I have another idea. This might work. Find at your local Toyota dealer and paint the rubber button with matching red touchup paint. It won't harm the button, won't look ghastly, won't protrude, won't be messy or ugly and should work fine and can be removed later. (It's not the button that makes her push, my guess it's the blackness) ZC1
Perhaps you could make her wear mittens without thumbs - it's probably a lot less expensive and messy than the proposed thumbectomy. Sometimes when I try to open my Prius, I have my hand too close to the button resulting in it being pressed while I pull the handle and the door won't open.
If the change in color from the tape is not enough, you could fabricate a cover and temporarily tape it in place. I'm thinking a popsicle stick (or some other material you have around the house) could be used to quickly make a button guard. With this taped in place the button can't be pressed and it's easily removed once she gets used to not pressing the button.
