[LeifCarrotson]

> the front doors both open when the handle is pulled, locked or not

The fact that the front doors both unlock when a single handle is pulled is because there's an electronic sensor and solenoid that unlocks everything when one handle is opened.

I had a Pontiac Vibe (really a Toyota Matrix) that had a cable in the door unlock assembly fail. You could open the door from the outside - the external door handle was physically the same part as the latch mechanism - but the external handle was back by your shoulder, while the internal handle was forward by the mirror and connected to the latch by a steel cable swaged to some aluminum pins; that connection eventually failed and the internal door handle flapped impotently.

I spent an embarrassing amount of time ignoring the problem and instead rolling down the window to open the door...

Regardless, it's not that much of a stretch to imagine that an automotive engineer might decide to replace cable actuator with a wire and solenoid.

[bigiain]

> Regardless, it's not that much of a stretch to imagine that an automotive engineer might decide to replace cable actuator with a wire and solenoid.

Or with a bunch of CANBUS electromechanical hardware and some shittily written software running on the entertainment unit (with insecure cellular network connectivity).

I wonder how long before someone sets up unlockyourtoyota.ru where you can send them 0.01BTC to unlock the car you're stuck inside?

[betwixthewires]

This made my day. You're 100% spot on. I laughed loudly at the absurd truth you painted for me.

Low effort comment I know, but I had to let you know.

[unobatbayar]

> unlockyourtoyota.ru

The fact that it's a russian site made my day. Russian hackers man...

[drewzero1]

I think what GP might mean is that whether you are on the driver's or passenger's side, when you pull the handle that door opens even if it is locked.

I've noticed that on both our 1995 and 2014 Fords, when you pull the door handle it mechanically unlocks that door and opens it. (On the 2014 the other doors may additionally be triggered to unlock. However, in a no-power situation pulling the handle will still mechanically unlock just that one door.)

[frosted-flakes]

Chevy Express vans and trucks didn't unlock the door when you pulled the handle. You had to manually slide the unlock toggle or hit the electronic unlock button before opening the door.

[drewzero1]

I've only noticed this feature on Fords. My SAAB requires the occupant to pull up on the lock knob on the windowsill, and my Saturn requires one to turn the lock knob on the inside door handle to the unlocked position. While both require additional action besides just pulling the handle, neither relies on the car's electrical system to open or unlock the doors (and indeed, neither car has any electrical locking component in any of the doors).

[frosted-flakes]

To be clear, the vehicles I was referring to all had manual lock controls. The button unlocked all of the doors

[sbierwagen]

That's a fairly common failure for many older cars. I had a 1997 Jaguar do the same thing.

[phkahler]

You could also climb over and exit the other door.