I'm Confused?

When getting a rental car, before you drive away be sure you know how to turn on the lights, wipers, operate the radio (if you plan to use it), or the climate control system if you have never driven the model before. I had found the everything on the stalk to be very confusing since every car is different.
 
JaredPointer said:
My wife's Highlander has the push button ignition switch / smart key set up. In the manual it does state that in the event you need to turn it off while moving, shift to neutral and hold the button for three seconds.

1) Most people don't read the manual.
2) If this was a loaner car, you'd be unfamiliar with that nuance.
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So.... What is the purpose of this system other than being different?
I mean how is it of benefit to the driver?
What is the advantage over a regular ignition key/start system?
Are we so helpless now that we can't even keep track of our keys and figure out how to use them?

Interesting in that my friend's 2009 Highlander Limited Hybrid probably has the same smart(?) key system and I didn't even notice it.

FWIW, I'm not bashing any brands.
We have 2 Honda CR-Vs in the family, (purchased used), and the Toyota Rav4 was another choice. It was simply a matter of availability.
We have owned at least 9 imports and about 40 domestics and while all have had their good/bad points, most of them I considered to be reliable and safe. Someone once said, "Take care of your car and it will take care of you". (Probably:))
 
cartoysautospa said:
well like they say ........"what do you call 50,000 lawyers chained together at the bottom of the ocean? ".............................A GOOD START !
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I'll bet one of the lawyers left files a class action lawsuit for someone leaving all that water in the ocean.
 
Charles -

I think the "advantage" is that you don't have to use the key fob to unlock/lock or use a key to turn the ignition. The whole time I drive her car, the "smart key" stays in my pocket, and all I have to do is touch the door handle to open/unlock and press a button to start.

I guess that and people think it is "cool."
 
JaredPointer said:
My wife's Highlander has the push button ignition switch / smart key set up. In the manual it does state that in the event you need to turn it off while moving, shift to neutral and hold the button for three seconds.

1) Most people don't read the manual.
2) If this was a loaner car, you'd be unfamiliar with that nuance.
Click to expand...

Thank you JP neutral it stops the cars forward motion. That's all I said about any of this, is there were / are options in some of these cases.
 
Beemerboy said:
Thank you JP neutral it stops the cars forward motion. That's all I said about any of this, is there were / are options in some of these cases.
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Sure - long before this Toyota issue, other cars had the accelerator pedal or linkage stick open. I don't know why some people act like they don;t know how to handle the situation. In a driver's ed class in high school, that was a scenario we were taught about. Put it in neutral to disconnect the speeding engine from the transmission. The car will still be running, so you'll have power steering and brakes. Pull over, shut the engine off.
 
JaredPointer said:
Sure - long before this Toyota issue, other cars had the accelerator pedal or linkage stick open. I don't know why some people act like they don;t know how to handle the situation. In a driver's ed class in high school, that was a scenario we were taught about. Put it in neutral to disconnect the speeding engine from the transmission. The car will still be running, so you'll have power steering and brakes. Pull over, shut the engine off.
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Heck it's in the Oregon driver's manual if memory serves correctly.
 
Well in one case the guy that crashed, he was on the phone with 911 when you heard the crash, for gods sake put the car in neutral, to bad the 911 operator didn't mention that to him. they would most likely be alive today
 
if most cars were still straight drives.I don't think this would be such a problem.Cars are just too easy to drive, and more so young drivers do not have a clue about how a car works, other than drive ,reverse and park.......they don;t know what neutral even does.....or the lower gears below drive ,DUH ???
 
CharlesW said:
It has happened to me twice, both GM vehicles.
BTW, I still drive GM vehicles.
In both instances, I turned off the ignition switch and was able to come to a safe stop.
The first time, I was 16 years old and experience wasn't a big factor. Common sense was. Engine running fast, car going fast, shut off engine. car no longer goes fast. Not too tough, even for a 16 year old. :)

I have to think panic is a big factor as well as people not understanding how a car works. The 911 operator must not have suggested turning off the ignition in the case that seems to get the most publicity. That was probably due to not knowing about cars rather than panic.

I think most of us on these forums are fairly car savvy, but there's probably quite a few that have no knowledge or interest in how things work.
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Part of the problem is that on these Toyotas, there's no key to grab and turn to kill the engine. You have to press and hold in the "start button" on the dash for a few seconds -- which isn't quite as quick of a solution.
 
Bunky said:
When getting a rental car, before you drive away be sure you know how to turn on the lights, wipers, operate the radio (if you plan to use it), or the climate control system if you have never driven the model before. I had found the everything on the stalk to be very confusing since every car is different.
Click to expand...

So wait... you have to shift to neutral before you can even hold the button to turn the engine off? That makes it even worse.
 
I just looked through the PDF owners manual for the Camry Hybrid and found NOTHING about shutting the car off while in motion. Heck, I could barely get it to explain the push button start, let alone what I would have to do in the event of an emergency.
 
I'm one who is really impressed with all these latest gadgets my Corvette had a system called VATS [vehicle anti theft system]

A friend had his Corvette refuse to start while he was at the Corvette fun fest and he had it towed to the Chevy dealer and they replaced the VATS.
This cost him for a motel a tow plus several hundred dollars for the repair.

Since these cars are now 20 years old things like this can happen but not on mine because I wired around it I'm not going to be stranded because of a gadget like that.

When at home my car is locked in the garage and all other times it is not out of my site .

Besides when on the road my car is protected by Smith & Wesson much more effective than VATS
 
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