Central locking button
Locks or unlocks all the doors at once from inside the car.
What pressing it does
The closed-padlock side locks every door; the open-padlock side unlocks them. On both cars cited the doors will not lock this way while a door is open (SEAT: while the driver's door is open). SEAT's Ateca: once locked from inside, the doors and tailgate cannot be opened from outside, but each door still opens from inside with its handle; a lamp in the switch shows all doors are locked.
Check your car's manual: makes and models differ in what a button does, which positions a switch has and whether it works with the engine off, and your owner's manual is the authority for your car.
- What it looks like
- A closed padlock (lock) and an open padlock (unlock)
- Also labelled
- Door lock switch; Central door lock/unlock
- Standard
- None — a maker's symbol, described here from 2 makers' manuals: Hyundai, SEAT
What to check in your car's manual
Whether the inside handles override the lock on your car (on some, the rear handles need two pulls), whether the car locks itself above a set speed, and what happens to the alarm when you lock from inside.
Where makes differ
Hyundai's Tucson rear doors unlock on the first pull of the inside handle and open on the second. SEAT's Ateca locks itself at about 15 km/h (Auto Lock) and does not arm its anti-theft alarm when locked with the inside button; the button does not work if the car was locked from outside with the 'Safe' system on.
No regulation defines it
Neither the UN R121 table nor FMVSS 101 Tables 1 and 2 lists a central-locking control, so its symbol is the maker's.
Good to know
- Both manuals warn against leaving children in a locked car, where temperatures can become extremely high or low; Hyundai adds the elderly and animals.
Related dashboard pages
Other buttons under “Locks”
Sources
No regulation defines this control, so it is described from 2 carmakers' own owner's manuals, each read on the date shown.
- Hyundai 2025 Tucson (general market, English web manual): Operating door unlocks from inside the vehicle — central door lock/unlock switch — Lock portion locks all doors, unlock portion unlocks; will not lock with a door open; rear handle unlocks then opens. checked 2026-09-25
- SEAT Ateca owner's manual, UK English, edition 06.21 (model year 2022), PDF: Central locking system; Unlocking and locking from the inside, p. 94-96, 101 — Central locking switch on the driver's door; no opening from outside once locked; LED; Auto Lock at 15 km/h; alarm not armed. checked 2026-09-25
Written in our own words; the manuals cover their own models only.