So I’ll try to explain it as easy as possible.
DS manual says something like.
On approach the welcome lights come on in zone C then the locks open in zone B.
Which mine does but a lot of this depends on how long the car has sat undriven, or if the car has been approached with fob in hand but the doors not physically opened.
The system shuts down these features if certain parameters havent been met.
The manual doesnt explain it very clear.
Example.
The DS manual doesnt explain that the alarm is only set by using the fob to lock the doors.
It doesnt explain that the two beeps only indicate the locking of the doors.
I would wager that many owners think the alarm is set when they walk away and hear the two beeps, but on pre 2024 models the alarm is only set if you use the fob to lock the car.
If you walk away without using the fob you’ll hear two beeps and the doors lock, and thats it, but if you press the lock button on the fob BEFORE walking away and you’ll notice the indicators flash at the same time as the two beeps.
The flashing of the indicators is the signal that the alarm is now active.
If you press the lock button AFTER walking away you’ll see the indicators flash but this hasnt set the alarm, it’s the “find me” feature that flashes the indicators for you to find your car, in a dimly lit area.
None of this is clearly explained in the DS manual.
The Vauxhall manual explains it in detail.
Another thing to look for is if you lock using the remote, BEFORE walking away, you’ll see the full set of lights come on when you later approach the car, not just the DLR lights, if you dont lock using the fob, the next time you approach you’ll only see the DLR’s light up.
By full set I mean the DLR’s , the DS logo mirror puddle lights, and the full matrix headlights with the little pink leds, all doing the fancy dance thing.
Again this is all explained in the Vauxhall manual, it’s not in the DS manual.
Well, when I say it’s not, it’s actually sort of explained but doesnt make clear that it’s year of manufacturer dependant how they all operate.
The thing is these two features, apparently the keyless entry & welcome lights both slightly changed how they operate from 2024 onwards.
Pre 2024 the features a mix of being activated manually with the fob and part automatic when walking away, 2024 onwards, walking away set everything.
The thing that threw me was my car was purchased and registered in 2024, but it was in fact a late 2023 build model, so that threw me when I was looking at how the features should operate, it also didnt register with my local dealership so they kept thinking the car wasnt operating as it should for a 2024 car.
A “new” car could be sitting in stock for 12 months, so if features are altered on they operate on later build cars it can lead to misinformation on cars built earlier but registered later.
Thats what my dealership has now told me, along with DS UK Technical.
The manual for my sons 2022 Astra PHEV, is so clear in explaining it all, so I looked at that and found the two features on my DS 4 E Tense worked exactly per the Vauxhall manual.
If you had the two manuals side by side, you could follow the Vauxhall manual easily and see how these two features work, but if you tried following the DS manual for the same two features , it falls short of explaining it correctly but also gives you the sense that something isnt working correctly because of the way it explains the features.
