Keyless ignition deaths alarming
 

According to a Chicago Tribune article in todays paper (sorry for not posting a link) there is an upswing of people getting out of their vehicle with them still running. Then while either doing tasks in the garage or reentering the garage after the vehicle has been running. That was not the case when you had to turn the ignition off with the key. It is easier to make that mistake when you forget to push the stop button as compared to taking out the ignition key, along with quieter running engines.

I have keyless ignition in my Taurus SHO, but it is set up with a timer that automatically shuts off the engine in 15 minutes if the transmission is in Park.

I just rented a Nissan Quasqai in Europe and it would shut off automatically at a stop light and restart when you pushed the clutch in. Not sure how long it would run for without automatically shutting off but definitely not 15 minutes. I actually did not like the fact that it would shut off against my will when I wanted it to continue running.

I think what you're talking about is auto stop-start which is an economy thing, vs keyless entry where you hold the fob in your pocket (or purse or whatever) and by proximity it will unlock and allow you to start the car. Personally I have had mixed reactions to both. I found the proximity-keyless entry nice but I'd have security concerns--range on those things can be pretty far. The auto stop start can be annoying, the bmw loaners I drove all had it and it had to be manually disabled every trip (!), as it would not hold the preference.


Sent from an abacus

Add to this the number of folks that exit their vehicles, when in 'neutral.' Many times, unprepared for what may happen with the vehicle in 'free-wheeling' mode, or, forgetting that it was left in neutral.

Would you feel safe working in a closed garage with an auto engine running for fifteen minutes?
P.S. that Taurus feature really irks most Starbucks drive thru customers

No, I would not feel safe working in a closed garage with an auto engine running for fifteen minutes. However, since I would be in the garage at the time, there is a fairly good chance that I would notice that it was running and turn it off.

In regard to the feature described vs. the Starbucks drive-thru, I suspect I would not be sitting in line stationary for 15 minutes. Even if I shifted in Park everytime the line stopped while a customer was being served at the window, the 15 minute clock would reset every time that I shifted into Drive to move up a spot in line. Unless I was at a Starbucks with unbelievably atrocious service, I would be surprised if the engine ever approached automatic shutdown. Even if it did, I would receive a warning message on the instrument cluster that a shut off was impending, and I could manually reset the 15 minute clock by pressing a button on the steering wheel spoke. Not even close to irksome.

Keyless Ignition Eyed in Death of North Shore Couple | NBC Chicago

I believe the term for it is similar to PBKC. Problem Between Keyboard and Chair. In this case, Problem Between Key and Chair.

Interesting. That MKS in the article, being a Taurus at heart, has the exact same pushbutton start system as my car. Apparently the timer wasn't enabled.

Another feature in this model is that if you walk away from the running car with the key in your possession, the car horn will blow. I wonder what the Chicago driver made of that?

Thank you for that link. I think some here did not understand my original post.

They probably get their coffee from Dunkin' Donuts.

That story is interesting to me.
Im curious how the police determined from "the condition of the home" that the deceased turned off a carbon monoxide alarm, opened his garage and turned off his car, went back inside and died, while the wife died upstairs.

That sounds like the whole thing was on video.

Our C250 has keyless and we have to pretty much next to the car for it to work. More than 2 or 3 ft away and it won't lock. I cannot even lock it if my wife is on the driver side with the key and I'm on the passenger side.

Every motorcycle sold in the U.S. for about the last 40 years has an engine kill switch located in a standardized location. It would be quite easy to add this feature to cars. Want it off? Hit the kill switch. Want it back on? Turn the kill switch to "run" and hit the starter. Easy day.

cant get any worse, this amount of dumbing down is insane. I think it started with automatic headlamps and now people are driving down the road without lights because someone switched off the "auto" function.

Whats even worse is that they dont even know where such switch is - the next sentence to come out of their mouth is "this car sucks and Im gonna sue the manufacturer"

I even saw an old video of a chrysler minivan which could be removed from park without pressing the brake and children could do that easily. there were some people in it trying to act very smart and say this van is very dangerous. Apparently these people never heard of the parking brake or getting their children to behave.