BMW E90 Auto-Unlock on Key Removal: ER_KEYOUT_AUTOVR Coding

On the E90, whether the doors unlock by themselves after you stop the engine and pull the key is decided by ER_KEYOUT_AUTOVR in the CAS module. Set to aktiv the locks release; set to nicht_aktiv the doors stay locked and you open them from the inside handle or the fob. The parameter is present across all E90 model years. When does auto-unlock trigger? The function fires when the ignition is switched off and the key leaves the slot. At that moment CAS sends an unlock pulse to the door modules and all four doors release together. The point is to let passengers get out of a car that locked itself while driving, and to let someone open a door from outside. It is the natural counterpart to drive-off locking. Module: CAS Parameter: ER_KEYOUT_AUTOVR Auto-unlock on: aktiv Auto-unlock off: nicht_aktiv Trigger: ignition off and key removed Related function: automatic locking while driving Risk: low, fully reversible Which E90 model years have it? Community lists mark this parameter for every model year from 2006 to 2011, so it covers the whole E90 family. Even so, read your own CAS data before changing the value, because on some software levels the line name carries an extra suffix. • Marked across all model years from 2006 through 2011. • It is a setting to think about together with the drive-off locking function. • For the function to work, drive-off automatic locking must be enabled and must be the reason the doors locked. • Pressing the central lock button before drive-off locking engages stops the doors from auto-unlocking. • Per the source list, on 2009 cars a fob set to unlock the driver's door only also limits auto-unlock to that one door. • On Comfort Access cars the function also works when the engine is shut off; per the source list this may require KOMFORT_EJECT to be active. • Model-year coverage comes from community-compiled E90 coding lists; the binding source is your own car's FSW/PSW data. How do you code it? The change is a single line in the CAS module. OBDThink is an independent BMW coding and diagnostics app and is not affiliated with BMW AG. Because this setting acts directly on the door locks, it is worth confirming that all four central locking actuators still work properly before you write. • Switch the ignition on without starting the engine and keep voltage above 12.4 volts. • Connect with OBDThink, select the CAS module and read the coding data. • Save a backup of the current data before making any change. • Find the ER_KEYOUT_AUTOVR line and select the value you want. • Write the change, switch the ignition off and pull the key from the slot. • Pull an outside door handle to confirm the lock really released. Watching live lock status on the door modules in OBDThink lets you see whether the coding worked without walking round and pulling handles. How do you revert it? Reverting means putting the same line back to its previous value. If you turned auto-unlock off and changed your mind, setting it to aktiv is enough. Where you saved a backup before coding, restoring it is safer because it also corrects any other line that changed unnoticed. Module: CAS Parameter: ER_KEYOUT_AUTOVR Auto-unlock off: nicht_aktiv Auto-unlock on: aktiv Method: change the value and write, or restore the backup Check: pull the key, then try an outside door handle What should you weigh when changing it? This is as much a safety setting as a comfort one, and both sides are real. With auto-unlock off, a first responder reaching the car after a crash may not be able to open a door straight away. With it on, the locks release when you pull the key from the slot, and on Comfort Access cars when the engine is shut off, so a brief stop with the key removed leaves the doors unlocked. Do not use this parameter as a substitute for child locks or for drive-off locking. Auto-unlock does not prevent the car from locking itself while moving; it only determines what happens once the ignition goes off. What if the doors do not unlock? The first place to look is the lock actuators. On the E90 the driver's door actuator tires with age and starts obeying the central command only intermittently. The second common cause is a key not fully withdrawn from the slot; if CAS still sees the key inserted it never sends the unlock pulse. The third, matching the note in the source list, is having pressed the central lock button too early.