Elderly Woman Endures 2-Hour Wait in Hot Car Due to Electric Lock Malfunction

[webfact]

 

In a surprising incident at the Chalomjom Market in Kabchoeng District, Surin Province, on December 3rd, locals came to the aid of a 75-year-old woman who was stranded in her Toyota Prius for over two hours due to a malfunctioning electric door lock.

 

Upon returning from market shopping, the daughter of the elderly woman discovered the situation and sought help to unlock the car door. Despite attempts by a local mechanic to unlock it, the electric nature of the car required a remote control, which wasn't available, reported Daily News.

 

Pictures: Daily News

 

The elderly woman began showing signs of weakness and dizziness after sitting in the sun-drenched car for an extended period. Concerned villagers collaborated to provide wet towels to cover her head, preventing heatstroke. Some even used fans to circulate air through the slightly opened windows.

 

Upon the daughter's return, she expressed shock and apologized for the unfortunate incident. Despite the suggestion of seeking medical attention, the elderly woman insisted it wasn't a severe issue. Grateful for the assistance, she immediately left the scene.

 

Several locals shared a common opinion, advising that for short stops, it's essential to leave the air conditioning on. However, for more extended periods, it's safer to relocate passengers to a shaded area and not subject them to the intense heat inside a parked car.

 

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[stoner]

how many somchai does it take to break a car window ? 

[jacko45k]

Good job they did not leave the dog in there, there would have been hell to pay!

[lopburi3]

You don't leave a dog in a closed car.  

[Gottfrid]

Her mobile phone must also been lost or malfunctioning.

[steven100]

have to sell the damn Prius tomorrow .... 

[Chris Daley]

So you can't manually open the car from the inside?  I wouldn't buy a car like that.

[nausea]

The more complex things become, the more there is to go wrong, and the harder it is to fix. I pretty much understood the basics (of cars) in my youth, nowadays ... .

[TroubleandGrumpy]

EV cars are not 'reliable' and there is no way I will get one anytime soon.  

On my last trip back home, I was in a taxi in Aust that was a brand new Hybrid. The driver told me how he had just got rid of an EV. When I asked why, he said that the EV was only a few months old when it just stopped about half a Km from his house. The lights doors a/c all worked, but the engine was 'dead'.  He called a mechanic - but he could not get it to move/start. The EV was towed to his house and a dealer mechanic came a few days later - he could not get it to start - he was very confused. He organised for the EV to be taken on a tow truck to the dealer's workshop.  After much testing, they found that the left rear door sensor had failed, and because the car 'thought' the door was open, it refused to run/start the engine. There was no indicator in the car advising that - nor anything in the basic faults plug-in diagnostics - only found through the specialist system back in the workshop - and there was no way around the problem (it was a core design feature). He refused to take it back, and they eventually reached agreement to trade it in on a new Hybrid. 

I agree with his logic - being totally reliant on the battery and its management system designed by non-mechanics is not 'wise' - especially for a taxi. It might be OK when talking about a high end brand like Tesla, but not a cheaper Chinese brand.

I was telling that story to another guy and he told me how his wife's EV car kept unlocking itself for several weeks - while she was shopping etc. - she refused to get rid of it because she was 'saving the planet'.  Same thing - faulty sensor. Being married a long time he knew to just 'shut up' - but he made sure she was reminded about it whenever the issue of him changing his petrol car came up. 

Another bloke told me how his wife had 'convinced' him to also save the planet and they both had an EV - same brand. They both had a similar feature whereby you could use a smartphone to activate some functions on the car - like opening the doors and starting the engine. The wife was trying to demonstrate this feature of her planet saving car to her friends after a coffee/chat in the city, but it did not work (very embarassed). The bloke went to the garage at home later that day and all the doors on his car were damaged and the rear gate was jammed up against the garage door - several $thousands of damage - not covered under insurance. She had somehow selected his car not hers and was opening and closing all his doors and the rear tail gate - and as he found out that 'feature' was available over the net - and could not be removed. 

No thanks - no EV for me.

[hotchilli]

5 hours ago, stoner said:

how many somchai does it take to break a car window ? 

Exactly.... break a window and get the lady out.

[PETERTHEEATER]

4 hours ago, Chris Daley said:

So you can't manually open the car from the inside?  I wouldn't buy a car like that.

Maybe she was in the back seat with child locks set.

My wife's car, an imported Suzuki SX4, has electric rear windows which only open halfway so wriggling out in an emergency is not an option🙄

[JeffersLos]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Concerned villagers collaborated to provide wet towels to cover her head, preventing heatstroke. Some even used fans to circulate air through the slightly opened windows.

 

No nasal stick?