# That little button you have to push before removing keys out of the ignition. Why? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 29, 2004, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-little-button-you-have-to-push-before-removing-keys-out-of-the-ignition-why/266753 "2004-09-29T23:16:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-little-button-you-have-to-push-before-removing-keys-out-of-the-ignition-why/266753/21 "2004-09-30T17:24:35Z")
> [@pool](#): > > It must be a Ford thing cause my manual Ford has that little button My 86 Mustang Auto had one of these, my 96 Escort manual does not. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-little-button-you-have-to-push-before-removing-keys-out-of-the-ignition-why/266753/22 "2004-09-30T17:37:49Z")
Maybe its just the older ones mine is an 87 ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-little-button-you-have-to-push-before-removing-keys-out-of-the-ignition-why/266753/23 "2004-09-30T17:57:56Z")
For what it’s worth, it seems to be called the [ignition key release](http://www.locksoft.com/glosi.htm). Searching that in Google and GoogleGroups will mostly get you speculation similar to that above. And it’s not just a Ford thing; my wife’s 94 Chevy truck (manual) has the button. My 98 Saturn (also manual) has the push-key mechanism. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-little-button-you-have-to-push-before-removing-keys-out-of-the-ignition-why/266753/24 "2004-09-30T18:18:43Z")
If I’m remembering correctly, by '87 Plymouth Horizon (automatic) had one, but pushing it in became so habitual I hardly remember doing it, which is why I’m not positive that’s the car I’m remembering. Considering it must have been a conscious decision on the carmakers’ part to put these things in, I’m surprised at how hard it is to find a definitive explanation. ---
**Author:** ![Frank\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Frank\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank_2)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-little-button-you-have-to-push-before-removing-keys-out-of-the-ignition-why/266753/25 "2004-09-30T19:12:15Z")
> [@Edward The Head](#): > > My 86 Mustang Auto had one of these, my 96 Escort manual does not. Weird. My Mustangs are the other way around. My 94 manual has the button whereas my 97 automatic does not. ---
**Author:** ![arachnidlove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@arachnidlove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arachnidlove)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-little-button-you-have-to-push-before-removing-keys-out-of-the-ignition-why/266753/26 "2004-09-30T19:59:44Z")
My '98 Nissan pickup truck has one. Its manual. My dad actually gave me this truck and I had a hell of a time trying to figure out how to remove my keys from the ignition. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-little-button-you-have-to-push-before-removing-keys-out-of-the-ignition-why/266753/27 "2004-09-30T20:12:50Z")
… I did check and my VW steering will not lock until the ignition key is fully removed. Hense no need for a button on the VW Cabrio. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-little-button-you-have-to-push-before-removing-keys-out-of-the-ignition-why/266753/28 "2004-10-01T04:48:38Z")
It’s not a legal requirement, that’s for sure. Some car makers have choosen to put a button, or small lever on the steering column which needed to be pushed in in order to remove the key. Why? Beats the shit out of me. But > [@](#): > > OTOH, if your engine starts uncontrolled acceleration, you may want to throw it into neutral and switch it off, yet retain the limited control of the unpowered steering/brakes while coming to a stop. :::Sigh::: if this happens, take your foot off the gas, and step on the brake. Uncontrolled acceleration = wrong pedal pressed. > [@](#): > > My '94 Buick must be in ‘Park’ before the ignition key can be removed to prevent damage to either the engine or the transmission for reasons already stated. Turning the key to off cannot do any damage to the engine or transmission under any conditions. Truning the key to **start** when it is already running can do some damage. American cars do not have any prevention from this happening. The reason for the must be in park to remove the key (called Key lock at my company) is to prevent some brain dead individual from shutting off his car, removing the key, walking away without ever putting the car in park. An automatic left in gear with the engine off will roll away if parked on a slope. :eek: (Yes people are that dumb) AFAIK this is not a legal requirement here in the US, but I am not sure on this matter. ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-little-button-you-have-to-push-before-removing-keys-out-of-the-ignition-why/266753/29 "2004-10-01T05:01:05Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > :::Sigh::: if this happens, take your foot off the gas, and step on the brake. Uncontrolled acceleration = wrong pedal pressed. Or a sticky pedal. I had an old van whose gas pedal took a few seconds to lift up in the winter. ---
**Author:** ![blinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a5b964/32.png) [@blinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinx)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-little-button-you-have-to-push-before-removing-keys-out-of-the-ignition-why/266753/30 "2004-10-01T06:30:50Z")
My fathers Mitsubishi has one of those little buttons. I could belive that the reason was to prevent locking of the steering wheel while the car is in motion, I remember reading about a fatality in the newspaper some years back where a key was removed by a man while his wife was driving, the steering locked up and they crashed into a truck resulting in the womans death. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-little-button-you-have-to-push-before-removing-keys-out-of-the-ignition-why/266753/31 "2004-10-01T10:50:49Z")
I can’t imagine that the button would prevent a key from being removed while in motion, even if for some reason some jackass wanted to\*. Once you get into the habit of something, you’d tend to do it automatically. So, if you wanted to take the key out, you could. \*I was in a car with such a jackass once. I cowered in the front passenger seat as we cross lanes toward an oncoming car. I think the cowering was out of embarrassment rather than any mortal fear. Here are a couple of things that _are_ driven by regulation: > [@](#): > > [ul] > [li]Automatic Transmission only. utomatic shift lock equipment is required. (Shift lever can be moved from “P” mode only when the brake is applied).[/li][li]S4.1 Each truck and multipurpose passenger vehicle having a GVWR of 4536 kilograms or less and each passenger car:/li Except as provided in (…) (a) and (b), the key-locking system required by (…) in each vehicle which has an automatic transmission with a “park” position shall, when tested under the test procedures in (…), prevent the removal of the key unless the transmission or transmission shift lever is locked in “park” or becomes locked in “park” as the direct result of removing the key. > > [/ul] Sorry I can’t provide a direct cite, since these are from a non-confidential, internal network. I only quoted items that were regulatory in the USA; there are also non-regulatory requirements, as well as different regulatory requirements outside of the USA. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-little-button-you-have-to-push-before-removing-keys-out-of-the-ignition-why/266753/32 "2004-10-01T10:51:59Z")
Oops… forgot to add that I couldn’t find _anything_ about a requirement (regulatory or not) about needing a button to remove the key. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-little-button-you-have-to-push-before-removing-keys-out-of-the-ignition-why/266753.md?page=1)