Car monkeys? I’d love one.
- Reads thread title again.
Never mind.
- Backs slowly out of thread.
I think in the future, when people lose their phones they are going to be completely and totally screwed. We shouldn’t even be calling them phones anymore - more like ‘critical life assistive devices.’ Or something.
I’ll admit this is the one thing that gives me pause. But not enough for me not to buy the car I wanted ( the keyless entry/start thing was just part of the package, not why I bought it ). But then keys were never huge deterrents to determined theft either, so I figure it is just part of the never-ending security arms race.
Anyway like the super-bright LED headlights owners love and other drivers curse, I figure it is the inevitable wave of the future as most consumers love convenience ( me included ). Might as well just sit back and wait for the drill ;).
There is one feature missing for me. My 12 year old Focus has a remote and a chipped key: I keep the two separate, so that if I were to lock the key in, at least I should still have the remote on me, which I find preferable to those metal keys that are combined with the remote. It is kind of (relatively) old school, but it works well for me.
The one feature that is missing, though, is remote vent control. The Focus is a hard case that will not let me operate the vent (side window) controls at all unless the key is in the run position. If I start to walk away and notice that one is open that I want closed or not open as much as it is, I have to go unlock, put the key in, turn it to the run position and run the vent up to closed or where ever I want it. Surely some remotes have a feature that can take care of this, but I am so far not aware of them.
Now if you had said TRUNK monkeys, you could stay.
My BMW is a convertible. I can open and close the top via the key fob, if I’m standing next to the car. The first step is opening or closing the windows.
For a minute I thought you meant cars where, if the battery died, there was no way to get into them.
Can’t be; that would be bone-head stupid.
My 2010 Mazda has the OP’s option, a keyless entry pushbutton on the brick-shaped key case, but then I push another button on it to spring out the key (like a switchblade knife) to insert into the ignition keyhole. It costs $300 and is so heavy I have to wear suspenders now.
My thoughts (since that’s what OP asked): I’ve never had a car with any kind of these new-fangled smart-ass keys or key-analogues, but . . .
From the various weird stories I’ve read (in this thread, and other threads, and elsewhere), and from the horror stories of getting a lost or broken key replaced, I don’t want one. Plain old key technology seems to do the job that needs to be done. All the added bells and whistles is just more complex stuff that can break or not work like you want when you want.
KISS, and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it till it is.
I’m on my third keyless entry/start car, all Toyotas. All have worked flawlessly and I somehow feel put out when I have to drive a vehicle where I have to put and actual key into and ignition switch.
How often do people lock their keys in ther car?
How many people were killed or injured when GM mechanical ignition switches malfunctioned?
A friend of mine, D, asked a work colleague, X, if he could borrow his SUV for the weekend as it had a trailer hitch he needed. X showed him the car on the Friday morning and gave my friend D the fob key, and come that evening D walked up to the car with the fob in his pocket, the door opened, and off he drove.
Monday morning D returned the car to the office car park, and as he handed the fob key back to X, X asked why he hadn’t taken the car. D was confused. X insisted his car had remained in the car park, as he had seen it that weekend while driving past.
Turns out my friend D had gotten the SUVs in the car park confused and climbed into somebody else’s car, which had opened because its spare fob was in that car’s glove compartment.
!!!
The owner of the misused SUV had no idea, I can’t remember why but I assume it was just coincidentally and conveniently left there on the weekends frequently. Nobody called it in as stolen or anything.
It wasn’t even the same colour as the car D was supposed to take.
Would have been interesting to post a poll when I started this thread. Looks relatively even among this limited sample between folk who love the new key technology, and those who perceive no need for it. I wonder how quickly it will cease to be a question, as all new cars will come with something other than a metal key that is inserted into the door and ignition.
I was looking on-line at a car I might be interested in (VW Golf GTI), and at this point, it seems as tho some models/trim levels come with keyless entry/start, and others don’t. If I get more serious about this car, I’ll need to decide how much I want the particular bundle of options that comes at various trim levels.
Heck, I’d better act quickly if I want a car with a CD player…
Which sucks if you keep it in your pocket and park the car in a public garage. They shut the car off and then they can’t move it. In NYC garages charge $50 for this “error” that I once made. I talked them down to $25.
Is turning an ignition key that much of a hardship for people? I don’t get why people are so excited about this “advance” in technology.
Don’t need it, don’t want it.
I love mine. I love being able to stick the keys in my pocket after locking the house door then forgetting about it.
I don’t have unlock on approach - I’ve got to press a button on the door handle to lock/unlock the door. It won’t let me lock the door if the keys are still inside the car - it beeps continuously if I try to do that. And it does have a backup key inside the fob that I can use to unlock the door manually if the fob battery dies.
Another vote against. This crap is why I intend to drive my 2011 Escape until I die. It has just the right amount of automatic stuff.
And weren’t there accidents from keyless ignitions that would not shut off? Or did it turn out to be operator error?
I have keyless entry that requires pushing a button on the door (or the keyfob) to un/lock the doors. Keyless ignition, too. I like it.
OTOH, I have driven a Tesla Model S, and it’s completely no-contact. As you approach the car, it automatically unlocks. Get in, and it’s ready to drive: just select “D” or “R” to get rolling. Select “P” to park, nothing to shut off. Get out of the car and walk away, and the doors lock themselves. It’s disconcerting to not affirmatively lock the car before leaving the area.
I’m glad I do not often rent cars. In the past when I did, all I needed to worry about was how to turn on the wipers/heater/defroster/etc…
This type of thing really points out to me how non-facile my brain is. Many people seem to thrive on this type of change. I have a hard time getting past my confusion over the changing of something so basic, when I did not perceive any change needed and do not perceive the new method as better.
I imagine my thoughts are similar to those of folk who did not favor various past technological changes large or small.
“So excited” might be a bit strong, but I like it. It’s convenient and I’ve never had a problem. Given how long it takes my wife to find things in her purse, I’m sure she’s become a big fan.