Car and Driver: The danger of keyless ignitions

[fishwax]

42. You unlock the door by pulling the handle with your key fob on your person, and lock it by touching

a spot on the handle after the door is closed with the key fob on your person. (On mine, at least, it won't lock from the outside if the key is still in the vehicle, so it is very difficult to lock your keys in the car.)

You can also lock/unlock it with the push of a button on the key fob (the same remote lock/unlock that has long been available for keyed doors). And if the battery in the key fob dies, you can pull an extension out of the fob that functions as a physical key.

I'm sure it works slightly differently for different makes/models, but the basic principles are the same. For instance, on my car I could have gotten a higher level of trim through which I could have locked/unlocked the passenger's side or the hatchback in the same way, but at my level of trim only the driver's side works. So If I've got groceries I have to either unlock the driver's side door and press the button to unlock the rest or use the button on the key fob. It's one of two features (the other being a wireless charger in the car) that make me sometimes wish I'd sprung for the higher level of trim, because it would be convenient, when carrying an armload of stuff, to not have to either dig in my pockets for the keys or unlock the driver's door first.