Kia "nanny car" takes woman for a ride

[63 R2 Hawk]

An Iowa woman got a thrill ride when her accelerator stuck and her car took her on a terrifying high speed ride. My first thought was, "Turn the key off!". Guess what? It's a push button start... apparently she was unable to turn it off? Another reason why I am reluctant to buy a new "nanny" car! Apparently, she couldn't take it out of gear, had the "E" brake on and standing on the brakes...! I prefer a little more driver/car association than the new cars provide, it's still important for me to make some of my own decisions regarding driving.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/08/stuck-accelerator-leads-iowa-woman-on-real-life-horror-ride/

[studegary]

When she lifted up the accelerator and stepped on the brake pedal, as told to do, the car immediately slowed down.

EDIT: I was going by the video that I saw on TV. Now that I read the ABC link, I see that it says the same thing. I thought that if you just hold the start/stop button in for a brief period of time, the engine will stop. I also do not see why it couldn't have been put into neutral, eliminating the drive/speed.

[Carl Purdy]

KIA
Killed
In
Action

[avantilover]

Just another stupid driver, like the ones who falsely claimed "unintended acceleration" on Audis years ago, all caused by drivers pressing the accelerator pedal not a car fault - yet America went wild with such claims, nobwhere else in the world did it happen.

[crusinsusin]

I have a new Buick and it WILL stop if you hit the button. It quit on me when I was adjusting a vent; fortunately I was in a parking lot. They need to move the button away from the vent, but they gotta cram a lot of stuff into smaller and smaller spaces. Unlike my stude....

[Bill Pressler]

They'll end up saying it was a floor mat, which always baffles me. I could put three floor mats on top of each other in my Cobalt daily driver and it wouldn't touch a pedal.

[jclary]

Well...like I have said for several years...the "electronic" age has produced an entire generation of "Mechanical ignorance" (idiots?).

Several years ago, I witnessed a funeral procession delayed because the driver forgot the combination to the "keyless entry system" on a Lincoln. Many folks today, can quickly whip out a hand-held smart phone or tablet and instantly communicate to someone on another continent. However, ask them to get in your manual transmission Studebaker and move it to another parking space twenty feet away, and they would be unable to start the engine or know what to do with that strange lever to the right and just behind the steering wheel.

My daughter's BMW's (and now Mini Cooper) were all "keyless." Thank's to a proper "upbringing," she can operate a Studebaker, although she has embraced the electronic age. There are, like most things, advantages and disadvantages to the progress of technology. Those who learn to negotiate both the electronics and mechanics, will have the advantage. You can see it here on the forum when younger folks get an old Studebaker. They are quick to jump on the forum, have little trouble posting links and pictures. However, sometimes the very nature of their questions reveals how much they need to learn about the mechanical things many of us old timers take for granted.

The neat thing about that is that it gives us a great opportunity to learn from each other. It is a matter of attitude...we should guard against treating these "newbies" in a condescending manner, and the "newbies" need to be patient with us old "analog" folks attempting to adapt to the "digital" age.

[showbizkid]

Good words, John.

I think that if I was to purchase a vehicle with a push-button ignition, my first undertaking would be to install a kill switch that would allow me to positively interrupt the flow of electrons to the car's ignition, instead of relying on a microcontroller to do so. (Because we all know that our electronics never go screwy for no reason.)

[hausdok]

Hmm,

I've yet to see one of the new cars with a push button ignition. I've known for years that they are out there; I've just never bothered to stop by a dealership to see one.

I remember when I was a kid they were pushbutton. You turned on the key and then you engaged the starter by pushing a button on the dash or a button on the floor.

What goes around comes around, I guess.

[52hawk]

I watched a video on youtube of a guy trying to start a fresh engine in a Studebaker. Poured gas down the carb 4 times,cranking it for abourt 10 seconds after each time.And repeated "adjusted" the distributor. Never once touched the throttle or tried to choke it. [It did finally start and idle,I was surprised]

[JimsLeadCommander]

Yes, when I saw this 'run-a-way' car on the news, my thoughts went to moving the gear selector into Neutral and stopping it that way...but, I'm a guy and we guys think differently than them gals who just panic and let the car take them for a wild ride. I can't believe this Kia couldn't be shifted into Neutral.

[Bud]

I saw that story on the news the other day and figured it was another Toyota fiasco. I can't believe that the driver of the KIA can talk on her cell phone while driving over 100 mph, but can't find a way to stop the car. What about shoving the trans into neutral or reverse and destroying either the engine or transmission rather than killing herself and possibly other people. I'll bet that there won't be anything found defective in the car when it is thoroughly inspected. Here come the copycats looking for an easy buck. Bud

[skyway]

"Here come the copycats looking for an easy buck."

Anybody with a '41 President want to give that a try?

[wolfie]

Just curious, Once the car has started if you carry the "bud" away from it does the car die? I just wonder if throwing that "bud" out the window would have killed the engine fairly quickly. Steve

[studegary]

Just curious, Once the car has started if you carry the "bud" away from it does the car die? I just wonder if throwing that "bud" out the window would have killed the engine fairly quickly. Steve

I don't know about Kia or all brands, but a friend with a new car with a keyless system discovered that her car was on all day while she was at work one day shortly after she got the car.