mRVRsport

Just a little heads up on these keyless ignition dongles.

Lawyers have filed a class action lawsuit against most major automakers over what attorneys call a deadly "defect" in keyless ignition systems.

LINK



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I had a friend who was a first time user of a keyless system who had a similar incident -

in a Mazda CX-7 turbo
He dropped off his wife at the grocery store and the car actually made a beeping sound as his wife walked across the front of the vehicle (he then left to go get some gas) He thought to himself "Damn this car is smart, it actually warned me when there was a pedestrian walking in front of the vehicle..."


Well, moments later he was at the gas station, he realized DOH!
The car was beeping because the keyless keyfob was no longer in the vehicle! It was in his wife's purge.

Lucky for him he was able to call his daughter, to bring over the spare fob.

Burtonrider1002

with a hybrid I can easily see this being an issue due to the lack of engine noise, but with a gas engine? How do you not hear it running when walking away?

Jayli

Does this affect us as well? I never tested driving the car without the FOB. I know it does beep when the FOB isn't in the car but the car remains running.

blakecakes

Ok so this lawsuit is IMO not going to get very far, I'll explain.
You just dropped you wife off with the FOB in her pocket, as your driving away this huge Bro Truck is speeding thru the parking lot and the only way you have to avoid it is to either brake, accelerate or turn. Remember that this case is about the car staying running after walking away; now back to the moment you need to move your a$$. The car senses the FOB is gone and turns off....(be it 10 feet or 10 yards). Your brakes are reduced to just hydraulic pressure w/o boost assist, you steering wheel either locks up or is hard to turn and you engine just turned off preventing you from getting slammed into.
NOT the kind of car I would ever consider buying or recommend to friends and family. This could be your parents or little sister driving the car. just my option about all this

CottageLifer

I can think of a number of ways this is valid lawsuit material. When the key leaves the car, it should go off. Otherwise some kid hops in the front and... FWIW, my Pathfinder has this and it can be driven until you run out of gas (900 kms) No fob needed after it is started! Not good.

Burtonrider1002

That's all it does. Beep and display a message on the dashboard.

Actually, I kinda like that feature. I often keep my FOB when I give my keys to some people - like a "valet" outside a restaurant downtown who just pulls it into the parking lot.

Gatsby

I know a few cars allow the car to stay running, but they can no longer go into drive, so essentially they just switch the accessory once the fob is out of range. Although, people leave their physical keys in the ignition all the time, so regardless of how a car starts, someone will manage to forget it running anyways.