As the television news reporter stated, all Corvettes made starting in 2005 (or C6s as we all know them), have electronic door locks. Since the C6 was released, there has occasionally been some interesting stories of people contending with dead batteries and how they have gotten in or out of their beloved Corvettes.
Jemon Haskins was apparently in the market for a used C6, (good choice) and happened to stumble across an unlocked one at a dealership outside operating hours. He harmlessly got inside to try it on for size and contemplate purchasing something similar. However, that’s when Jemon’s day took a turn for the worst.
Upon realizing that he was locked in, Jemon tried to open both doors as well as the roof panel, however all of his attempts failed. As the southern heat began to warm up the car’s interior, he called 911 in a minor panic. As you could imagine the operator sounded a bit confused at first, probably wondering why the called couldn’t simply operate the door lock.
Luckily for Mr. Haskins, a good samaritan walking by, heard the horn and decided to come open the door. Must have felt like one breath of fresh air at that point.
Nearing the end of the video clip, one of news anchors asks a reporter if there have been any recalls regarding this issue… As we know, Chevrolet doesn’t recall or warranty an OE (Operator Error) incident.
While it may be pretty funny to watch, this has happened to a number of folks, especially those who don’t put a lot of miles on their cars, thus the battery doesn’t often get a charging cycle. Then again, proper battery maintenance and scheduled replacement should pretty much negate most risks of this happening.
One gentlemen I witnessed from afar had apparently been educated about the rear hatch manual unlock, but not the drivers door rear latch. He then proceeded to climb through the back of the car to get to the driver-side floor lever. Unfortunately I was unable to reach the owner, hopefully he has since learned the appropriate method.
In fact, during a seminar at this years Corvette Funfest, there was some good discussion amongst a special Corvette tech and a crowd of owners about such electrical processes. For your own reference, the battery maintenance is the foundation of it all, as our Corvettes can’t help us much with a dead battery.
Secondly, the tech highly recommended that C6 and C7 owners keep the key fob in their dedicated locations or as described in the owner’s manual. Something as simple as a cell phone signal could temporarily block or scramble these signals and impede the vehicle’s ability to properly communicate with the key fob.
You can watch the video here.