Whenever discussion of keyless ignitions comes up, it always seems that some firefighter has heard about the "16 foot rule". Turns out that there are many Urban Legends about keyless ignitions and this is one of them.
Rumor has it that moving a key fob from a keyless ignition vehicle more than 16 feet away from the car will shut down the engine. This is NOT true. The 16-foot distance comes from the original operating range of Toyota and Lexus when they first introduced their keyless ignition systems.
So what happens if you do have the key fob and you do move it some distance away fro a car that is running? You may get an alarm or visual display in the instrument panel but other than that, the car will keep running until someone shuts it off.
What having the key fob away from the car does do is NOT allow it to be re-started once it is shut off.
I rented a Volvo S60 and experimented with its keyless ignition. The distance that the fob must be within in order to start the car was very short. I sat in the driver's seat and could not start the car if I held the key fob at arm's reach out the driver's window.
Forget about moving the key fob 16 feet away like you've heard about. With keyless ignitions, it doesn't matter where the key fob is for us as responders. Once you shut off the ignition, just don't have anyone put their foot on the brake and try to start the car again. Other than that key or keyless...we can handle it.
image: With the key fob held out the window, the car stated "Key Cannot be Found!" and would not start. The engine can be shut down no matter even if the keyless ignition key fob is inside the car.
Rumor has it that moving a key fob from a keyless ignition vehicle more than 16 feet away from the car will shut down the engine. This is NOT true. The 16-foot distance comes from the original operating range of Toyota and Lexus when they first introduced their keyless ignition systems.
So what happens if you do have the key fob and you do move it some distance away fro a car that is running? You may get an alarm or visual display in the instrument panel but other than that, the car will keep running until someone shuts it off.
What having the key fob away from the car does do is NOT allow it to be re-started once it is shut off.
I rented a Volvo S60 and experimented with its keyless ignition. The distance that the fob must be within in order to start the car was very short. I sat in the driver's seat and could not start the car if I held the key fob at arm's reach out the driver's window.
Forget about moving the key fob 16 feet away like you've heard about. With keyless ignitions, it doesn't matter where the key fob is for us as responders. Once you shut off the ignition, just don't have anyone put their foot on the brake and try to start the car again. Other than that key or keyless...we can handle it.
image: With the key fob held out the window, the car stated "Key Cannot be Found!" and would not start. The engine can be shut down no matter even if the keyless ignition key fob is inside the car.
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