The above warning looks innocuous enough, but I ignored it this morning and almost left our Mitsubishi Evo with a dead battery. Since you don't have to actually pull the iginition key out of the ignition, it's easy to accidentally leave the car in the accessory position. I walked away without noticing, but when I realized my parking pass was still hanging from the rearview mirror I headed back and noticed that the doors were unlocked and the radio was still on. As much as I like keyless ignition systems, when stuff like this happens you wonder if it's worth the effort.
Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor, Inside Line @ 4531 miles
ahightower says:
07:33 PM, 10/ 6/08
I believe it times out after a few minutes if the battery leaves the vicinity. I know it can stay on, but not in accessory mode. Also, it should sound a warning beep that can be heard from outside the car, no?
carmizvi says:
07:49 PM, 10/ 6/08
It isn't. It's a solution in search of a problem that likely never existed.
Perhaps vehicles equipped with keyless ignition systems should come with an auxiliary battery that can start the car when the primary battery inevitably gives up the ghost. Otherwise, I see many AAA visits in this car's future.
roar02ram says:
07:53 PM, 10/ 6/08
Or everyone could just adopt push-button starts, which avoid this entirely.
bimmerjay says:
09:07 PM, 10/ 6/08
"Or everyone could just adopt push-button starts, which avoid this entirely."
Exactly - this is one benefit of push-button starts. When you shut a BMW down it can also stay in accessory mode even when you get out of the car, but once you touch the door handle or hit the remote to lock the car, it shuts everything down.
huyracing says:
10:22 AM, 10/ 7/08
common occurance on "smart key" cars. i was the hybrid guy, so i got to fix many prius' with dead batteries. many of which were dead because of someone who worked there didn't know how to turn off the car.
tmanz says:
12:16 PM, 10/ 7/08
here's a crazy idea. Use a key that goes into a lock and turns and when you leave the car you turn it off to take the key with you! Wacky, I know.
roar02ram says:
02:25 PM, 10/ 7/08
There's a lot of value to push-button starts that allow the driver to leave the key buried somewhere. It's extremely convenient. Plus they're easier for folks with low grip strength to use (carpal tunnel, the elderly, etc). And they give stylists one more feature for the interior. Win-win.
evocr says:
03:56 PM, 10/ 7/08
Putting all the debate aside on convenience/ inconvenience. If the key that's in your pocket leaves the car while it's on sounds a fairly loud alarm. You'll never pump gas with the car running again.
carfreak8394 says:
04:50 PM, 10/ 7/08
"You'll never pump gas with the car running again."
I thought you weren't supposed to do that anyway. :P