Auto-Off Needed to Prevent Dangers of Keyless Ignitions

Reasonable drivers can misunderstand that keyless-ignition fobs do not turn their vehicles engines off, which can lead to drivers leaving their cars running in their garages and result in an increased risk of carbon monoxide poisoning since the cars don’t have a safety mechanism to automatically turn off the engine after it’s been left idling for a set amount of time.

As a result, deadly carbon monoxide — often referred to as the ‘silent killer’ because it is a colorless, odorless gas — can fill enclosed spaces and spread to the attached homes.  The results have been at least 13 documented deaths and many more serious injuries requiring hospitalization — all from carbon monoxide poisoning.

With traditional keys, the engine can no longer operate once it’s removed from the vehicle, the plaintiffs said. But while keyless-ignition fobs can remotely turn on the engine, they have nothing to do with turning off the engine. Therefore, drivers can park their cars and exit with the keyless fob and still leave the engine running no matter how far the fob goes from the car.

Compounding the problem with the lack of an auto-off feature, many car manuals give no warnings about the carbon monoxide poisoning risk and that the cars have no audible warnings alerting drivers that the engine is still running even.

Individuals have filed personal injury lawsuits over the lack of an auto-off feature, which resulted in confidential settlements, and consumers have filed complaints with NHTSA.  However, they claim the automakers haven’t taken action in response to the complaints.