I lot of new cars gave them…you turn the key, and then have to hit a starter button to crank the engine. What exactly is the benefit of this?
It is really nothing new…many cars in the 1940’s had them.
As an engineer, I cannot see adding complexity to something…unless it adds utility.
So, does having an extra switch in the starter activation circuit add anything? Or just another thing to break?
It’s ‘nifty’.
And what you’re missing is that a LOT of these cars don’t require a key in the ignition. Pressing the Start Engine button tells the car to see if there’s an authorized key-fob in the car (presumably in your pocket) and if there is, start the car.
In the C6 Corvette, pushing the button on the door likewise checks to see if there’s a fob nearby and opens the door without requiring you to otherwise push an unlock button.
Folks that have carried the flag of ‘complexity = more things to go wrong’ have lost the battle, I’m afraid.
You know, mine has a push button, and I never really thought about it. I think it has to do with security. There’s no key to copy, no mechanical devices that can be over-ridden. My car doesn’t have it, but I know there’s an option where you can start the car if the key fob is in your pocket. Just get in and push the button.
What replaces the hide-a-key (if you’ve lost your fob and cell phone to call for remote access)?
(I ask this as a bordeline Luddite who carries jumper cables as a Good Samaritan, but Jesus Christ lady, no I don’t carry a wire coat hanger, and door knobs are designed to defeat them for the last 30 years anyway; and slim jims are against the law unless you’re a cop or a tow truck driver; ask at that 7-11 if you can use the phone to call one).
And this is exactly what “turn the key to start” switches did decades ago – made a significantly more complex switch for the sake of utility in the form of convenience. So instead of a simple on/off or acc/on/off rotary key switch plus a simple and robust spring-loaded starter switch, car manufacturers started using a single but more complicated and vulnerable rotary partly-spring-loaded key switch. The “complexity” of having to get your fingers on two different switches pales to the mechanical complexity of a switch that has to do both those functions
Really? I bought one at an auto parts store about two years ago.
Not only that, but if the button breaks, it’s just a button. If the ignition cylinder breaks, it’s a much bigger deal.
This. I don’t have to fish a key out of my pocket, unlock the door, put the key into the ignition, and turn it; then remove the key and put it back in my pocket when I’m done. I just walk up to the car. When I grasp the door handle the car unlocks, so it’s just like opening an unlocked door. I get in the car and push a button. After my drive I push the button and get out. I press a button on the door to lock up. It’s handier than using a metal key. The Smart Key goes into my pocket before I leave the house, and it goes back onto the table when I get home.
There’s a conventional lock cylinder near the rear license-plate surround…if you can do it without raising suspicion, next time you see a C6, get close to the rear plate and look up.
That unlocks the rear hatch, and there are pull cables you can reach just behind the seat that’ll unlatch the door in an emergency.
In most states having one on your person when not on your property can be a felony. Same as with key picks. My son is a lock smith so he can have them because they are tools of his trade. Where I am not a locksmith but work on locks in my building I can purchase lock picks, but I have been advised to take to the building and leave them there.
Don’t some of the newer systems save wear on the starter? With the old, key-activated starters, you’d hold the key in the ‘start’ position until you heard the engine starting to fire, then release the key to ‘on’. About ten years ago, I had to move my boss’s Mercedes, and he told me it was a little different. He said to turn the key to ‘start’ and release it right away; the on-board electronics would do the rest, disengaging the starter at just the right time. I thought that was supposed to save wear on the starter and solenoid.
There’s no reason you have to do that with a button and not with the key, but if you’re going to change the functionality like that, you might change the controls as a reminder to the driver.
I can’t answer for the starter, our C5 IS smart enough to not let you hit the starter while the car is already running, though.
Vettes have attempted to have ‘keyless’ entry since the 4th Generation (ending in 96 or so).
With the C4, you’d have the car burping and chirping and locking and unlocking any time you came within a few feet of the car (say, taking out the trash)
With the C5, you still ran the chance of walking up to the car and not having the system recognize and open the door before you got there.
With the C6, nothing needs to happen until you press the button to open the door, THEN the car says ‘Hey, is there a keyfob near me?’, the keyfob says ‘Yo!’ and the door unlatches. Since there’s no physical locking mechanism (the component that latches and unlatches the door just doesn’t unlatch if it thinks the system needs to be locked), The system as a whole is slightly simpler and easier to fix, and it’s impossible to pop the lock with a slimjim. (Which is kinda counter to the whole ‘improvement = complexity’ argument. Yes, there’s an Evil Black Box running software, but mechanically, the system contains fewer parts and may actually be more robust)
For cars with proximity cards, how do you check to make sure the car is really locked?
I’ll usually zap the central locking on my keyfob then pull the door handle to confirm. Presumably if I had a keyless entry it’d unlock itself again?
You trust it. Could someone open the car while you’re 10 feet away? Yup. Could they start it? doubtful. To start the car, the fob has to be in a MUCH smaller geographic region. (pants pocket, or central cup-holder) If the car is running and loses sight of the fob, I believe the motor quits running.
Modern Fords are like this, except some of them still use the key in the manner you describe, and some are push-button start.
When I bought my new car a few months ago I thought it was just cool. Then last week the weather changed, and when I realized I can unlock, get in, and start the car without taking my glove off, it became a real value.
–Cliffy
On my 2008 Altima, the key fob has to be within a 3’ radius of the door I’m trying to unlock, and it has to be inside the cabin to start the car. Also, it won’t allow you to lock the keys in the car. Occasionally on my way out of the gym in the morning I’ll forget to pull the key fob out of my gym bag before I throw it in the trunk. If I try to close the trunk lid with the key fob inside, it beeps at me and the lid pops back up again. It just knows.