Gil McC

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Very disconcerting event: I accidently touched, (brushed) the Start/Stop Button while adjusting the air vent above the start/stop button. The car turned off the motor and put a emergency message on the small screen in front of me stating pull over immediately, shift to neutral, hold the foot brake on and re-start using the start/stop button to start the car again. Needless to say, this was very disconcerting at 60 MPH and a scary situation in heavy traffic. Luckily I was able to do this safely and we continued our journey.

My question is how is this possible while actively driving a car? With the vent directly above the Start/Stop switch and needing only a very light touch on the switch, I feel this is a very unsafe situation! Admittedly I've put on ~5500 miles on the car and this is the only time I've had this happen. I would think you would need to push and hold the switch for a few seconds, if the car is moving to ensure you want to shut the motor(s) off. The steering and brakes continued to operate normally.
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nashbrydges

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This is absolutely a scary situation and agree the start/stop button placement is "unfortunate" but I would suggest that this same situation could happen in other cars as well. Had a similar incident in my Jaguar F-Pace SVR when trying to change HVAC settings (hit a bump and accidentally pressed start/stop button). Manufacturers should take better care of placement but IMHO, not being able to turn the car off even if in drive would be a bigger safety risk.
 

ctenidae

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Seems like it should at least be harder to turn the car off if it's in gear and moving.

Did you have to stop to turn it back on, or could you do it while in motion?
 

heisnuts

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After Toyota had unintended acceleration with some of their models in the past and the drivers not being able to shut the car off just by pressing the button, I don't see any manufacture disabling the off button at speed or making the off at speed multiple steps to do so in a panic situation. I do see some cars (like the Tesla and new Blazer EV) with no start/stop button anymore. The car turns on as you get in the car and turns off when you get out of the car.
 


Jimrpa

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Reminds me of a prank a manager I had played on me many years ago. A group of us were in Orlando, and I was the designated sober person. Everyone else was many sheets to the wind and having a good time. The car we had was some huge Cadillac from Avis (this was in the days when President’s Circle actually meant something more than “oh, here’s a low-mileage 2014 Kia Soul.”). Anyway, we’re booking down I-4 at night, at a pretty good clip, and suddenly, the car begins slowing, the throttle doesn’t work, the brakes become stiff, and the steering wheel barely moves. I’m sort of in a panic (it IS I-4!) and trying to move over to the side of the road, and my s-faced boss in the passenger seat is laughing his a- off. He thought it was funny to turn off the key while I was driving! I learned that it was possible to restart that era of GM car when it wasn’t in park!
 

Travman1974

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Why do we even need a Start/Stop button there are other EV's out there that have done away with the start/stop button
 

voxel

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This happens on other EVs too. I tried this on my BMW i4 and it immediately goes into neutral and begins to slow down.

The dangerous part? The giant blue start/stop button is NEXT to the drive mode ones lol

Ford Mustang Mach-E PSA: What Happens When Start/Stop Button is Accidentally Pushed While Driving 1665071299286
 

newmme

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Why do we even need a Start/Stop button there are other EV's out there that have done away with the start/stop button
Exactly. A start button makes no sense in an EV. The startups don't have this legacy part. For some reason the old legacy OEMs want to do things like it has always been done, instead of innovating.
 

SnBGC

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Exactly. A start button makes no sense in an EV. The startups don't have this legacy part. For some reason the old legacy OEMs want to do things like it has always been done, instead of innovating.
What would the procedure be to allow the driver to exit the vehicle while leaving it running? (for HVAC, voice calls etc). During the summer, I visit several job sites and leave the car running the entire time. Would there still be a way to accomplish that without a Start/Stop button?
 

generaltso

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Exactly. A start button makes no sense in an EV. The startups don't have this legacy part. For some reason the old legacy OEMs want to do things like it has always been done, instead of innovating.
Some people like to control when their car is turned on or off.
 

ctenidae

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Why do we even need a Start/Stop button there are other EV's out there that have done away with the start/stop button
Have you seen the size of Ford's parts bin? They probably have more buttons than they know what to do with.

It is, to my mind, the biggest difference between Tesla and Ford et al- Tesla built an electric car. Ford built a car that was electric.
 

txaggies07

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I personally prefer the start button existing for situations like what SnBGC stated. I also don't see the car slowing down while allowing full use of the brakes and steering to be that dangerous. If you are at speed you should have enough time to pull over and should only take a second to restart the car and get back again. If you are going slowly then there is probably traffic and while they will be annoyed behind you, it will be remedied quite quickly once you stop and hit the button again.

You do have an argument that some consideration should be made to make sure it isn't accidentally pressed, but I don't think it is in that vulnerable a spot. It could be shifted over a bit to make it less likely, but overall I think the position is pretty good.
 

Neil4Real

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I personally prefer the start button existing for situations like what SnBGC stated. I also don't see the car slowing down while allowing full use of the brakes and steering to be that dangerous. If you are at speed you should have enough time to pull over and should only take a second to restart the car and get back again. If you are going slowly then there is probably traffic and while they will be annoyed behind you, it will be remedied quite quickly once you stop and hit the button again.

You do have an argument that some consideration should be made to make sure it isn't accidentally pressed, but I don't think it is in that vulnerable a spot. It could be shifted over a bit to make it less likely, but overall I think the position is pretty good.
Clearly you've never had your car die on you while driving on the freeway. Super dangerous, you're basically relying on everyone paying enough attention to let you over immediately. Super freakin' scary.
 

DYohn

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The only thing "dangerous" about this would be driver inattention and over-reaction. I want the car to turn off if I press the start stop button, and there may indeed be situations where that needs to happen at speed.

Edit - And by the way, simply brushing or pressing the button momentarily does nothing. As stated previously, you must hold it doen to turn the car off.
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