What Happens If A Keyless Fob 'Escapes' A Car While It's Being Driven?
There’s a fascinating book from the 19th Century called “The Imp of the Perverse”, written by Edgar Allan Poe. It revolves around self destructive impulses, personified by the titular Imp, a devious creature who wishes to tempt us into doing things “merely because we feel we should not.”
How does this relate to cars? Well, I reckon the whole Imp of the Perverse thing crops up a hell of a lot with cars. For instance, surely everyone who’s driven a car with an electronic handbrake has considered flicking the switch when they’re moving?
Then there’s the dubious arena of keyless ignition systems. What if you perhaps lobbed the fob out of the car while you’re moving? Happily, you don’t need to satisfy the Imp/your own weird curiosity, as this YouTuber has done exactly that under safe circumstances to see what happens.
The car still runs, of course (it’d cause all sorts of safety issues if the engine would merely cut out after losing signal), but worryingly no messages are displayed to warn the driver of the missing key. The Ford Fusion used in the test does at least put out a warning if the key is removed before the car is moving, eradicating the more likely issue of driving off without the key in the first place.
It’s worth pointing out that not all keyless systems will behave this way. Some are known to produce a warning message if the signal to the key is lost while driving, while others can be fairly rubbish about giving any sort of alert.
Have you ever had any keyless ignition related issues? Let us know below!
Comments
why not keep it in your f*ing pocket like you’re suppose to, then no one can throw it out the window..I know I know, it sounds like a stupid idea eh?
It is, actually, not all pants have pockets.
my old asx started beeping as soon as the key was out of the car
Well if you throw a key out of your car, i guess you could say the car is now… keyless.
Luckily, Aston Martin cars need key stay at the slot to start and move, that is the coolest thing that i thought
also as we’ve seen on top gear, whilst they were in america, clarkson drove hammondds challenger with out a key and it just turned off
Tried that in a 2014 Honda Accord. It scream the bleep out of itself until I stopped and picked up the key
its the same on my Subaru, you can even leave the key at home and drive off as long as the engine was started first
Just to tell you something. My 2002 e500 W211 Mercedes DID tell you in 50 meters that the key is not in the car. Stopped vehicle after 100. This was set up this way. Ford and the future.
Did you stop the vehicle or did it stop itself?
I think this depends on the manufacturer my Kia beeps nonstop when the car is on and the key is outside.
I just despise the idiocy of people that have basically 5pounds of keys/keychains with their car keys. There’s no sense in it. I have 2 keys, one for my car and one for my house. Don’t need anything else. I pull my keys out before I get to my car because I know I’ll need them to get in my car. And BMW did good having the keyless entry integrated into the key on the e46s. Very rarely the battery dies because the thing charges while the key is in the ignition. I personally love the e46 keys, it’s a great and simple design.
Topics
Sponsored Posts