Why did our Volkswagen Transporter lock itself shut with the engine running?

My son owns a 2005 Volkswagen Transporter T28 TDI. On a Friday morning at a temperature of -8 degrees centigrade, he started up to warm the interior and clear the windows etc. Returning after about 20 minutes he found he could not open any of the doors. The vehicle had locked itself with the engine running. We contacted Sinclair's, the local Volkswagen agent for help and all they could advise was to use the second key. This was in London. Their spokesman said they had experienced a similar incident on a customer's vehicle and had to drive him to his address to get the key. We wondered if you had heard of similar problems and what you think might trigger the electronics? Fortunately we managed to access the rocker door lock switch on the driver's side and get in that way.

Asked on 5 May 2012 by RH, Swansea

Answered by Honest John
It will have been the anti-hijack feature that operates on a time basis, naturally assuming that, because the engine is running, there is someone inside the vehicle. It is illegal to leave a vehicle's engine running on a public road if you are not in the vehicle, and, of course, had the doors not locked, it would have been vulnerable to theft which is not covered by insurance with no-one in the drivers seat.
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