5 replies to this topic

[MiniMonty]

So the GF gets a company car and every three years she can choose a new one.
(wahoy - no complaints from me on this issue - we've had some top motors courtesy of the firm...)

This time she chose a BMW 3 series estate and it has a starter button.
Hey ho and all very retro.
But the starter button is also a Stop button and that makes no sense because you HAVE to press it to
kill the ignition.

My first ever car was a 1966 MKII Spitfire - that had a starter button too; you put the key in, turned it once
for general electrics on, again for ignition on and then pressed the starter button - BUT - when you wanted to
stop the the whole show you simply twisted the key and took it out.
This Beamer insists that you press the "start / stop" button to turn the ignition OFF, then press the "key" (which is
actually not a key at all but an electronic fob) to then remove it.

Is it me or is this stupid ?
It's much LESS convenient to have to press a button to turn the car off and then deal with the "key" (whatever shape it takes)
than just (in the old days) twist and take out the key.

So what's the "progress" - what's the "advantage" of a fob and start / stop button system in modern cars ?

A "start" button is fun, but if you have to hit it again to "stop" it makes no sense.

Am I being backward and weird or is this just horribly bad ergonomic design ?

Best wishes
Monty

[Ethel]

Diesels used to have a mechanical engine stop. I don't understand what was wrong with just a key.

So the GF gets a company car and every three years she can choose a new one.
(wahoy - no complaints from me on this issue - we've had some top motors courtesy of the firm...)

This time she chose a BMW 3 series estate and it has a starter button.
Hey ho and all very retro.
But the starter button is also a Stop button and that makes no sense because you HAVE to press it to
kill the ignition.

My first ever car was a 1966 MKII Spitfire - that had a starter button too; you put the key in, turned it once
for general electrics on, again for ignition on and then pressed the starter button - BUT - when you wanted to
stop the the whole show you simply twisted the key and took it out.
This Beamer insists that you press the "start / stop" button to turn the ignition OFF, then press the "key" (which is
actually not a key at all but an electronic fob) to then remove it.

Is it me or is this stupid ?
It's much LESS convenient to have to press a button to turn the car off and then deal with the "key" (whatever shape it takes)
than just (in the old days) twist and take out the key.

So what's the "progress" - what's the "advantage" of a fob and start / stop button system in modern cars ?

A "start" button is fun, but if you have to hit it again to "stop" it makes no sense.

Am I being backward and weird or is this just horribly bad ergonomic design ?

Best wishes
Monty

[radgator1]

So the GF gets a company car and every three years she can choose a new one.
(wahoy - no complaints from me on this issue - we've had some top motors courtesy of the firm...)

This time she chose a BMW 3 series estate and it has a starter button.
Hey ho and all very retro.
But the starter button is also a Stop button and that makes no sense because you HAVE to press it to
kill the ignition.

My first ever car was a 1966 MKII Spitfire - that had a starter button too; you put the key in, turned it once
for general electrics on, again for ignition on and then pressed the starter button - BUT - when you wanted to
stop the the whole show you simply twisted the key and took it out.
This Beamer insists that you press the "start / stop" button to turn the ignition OFF, then press the "key" (which is
actually not a key at all but an electronic fob) to then remove it.

Is it me or is this stupid ?
It's much LESS convenient to have to press a button to turn the car off and then deal with the "key" (whatever shape it takes)
than just (in the old days) twist and take out the key.

So what's the "progress" - what's the "advantage" of a fob and start / stop button system in modern cars ?

A "start" button is fun, but if you have to hit it again to "stop" it makes no sense.

Am I being backward and weird or is this just horribly bad ergonomic design ?

Best wishes
Monty

The car is wired for comfort access which allows you to unlock, lock, start and stop the car without ever having to take the key out of your pocket or purse. That's why it needs the button to both start and stop the engine, but since your car isn't equipped with the option it makes the stop button somewhat redundant.

[Guess-Works.com]

So basically it's an On/Off button...

Does it have a Standby feature ?

Do you still have a key ? if so what happens when you remove the key ?

[M44K TS]

It's all a bit gimmicky if you ask me. Like the stupid Micras where you don't actually have to insert the key, just need to have it in your pocket.

[skaterava]

At one point my family were looking after a 2002 Mercedes SL65 AMG, a monstrously powerful car, which had keyless entry and keyless start too. As long as the key was somewhat near the car, it would start. The car would apparently lock itself once you turned it off and walked away from it, but you could never bee sure . It was a bit of a novelty, but a little unnerving.

We've currently got an '06 3 series M sport (up for sale on ebay, if anyone's interested ) which has a start/stop button. But you have to insert/remove the key anyway, which sorta removes the point of a stop button.