Car Would Not Turn Off
10-27-2015, 12:42 PM
#1
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Thread Starter
Car Would Not Turn Off
My wife parked the car in the garage. A few minutes after that, I just happened to walk past, and I could hear the stereo playing. I looked in and noticed the car was still on, but the engine was not running. The A/C fan was still on and all the warning lights were on the instrument cluster. I could see that see hadn't disabled the auto start-stop. It looks like the engine turned off in the garage because of auto start-stop. She then got out of the car, and went in the house. I guess the car was still in the auto stop-start mode, but would not start because there was no key fob in the car. My wife is clueless about stuff like this , so she didn't even notice that the car was not totally shut down when she opened the door. I guess if I hadn't seen this by accident, it would have just run until the battery was dead. I pushed the start button, and that shut off the car. Is this a defect or just bad engineering?
10-27-2015, 01:02 PM
#2
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It could be nothing more than with eco drive, your wife thought the car was off and she got out forgetting to tap the stop button.
10-27-2015, 01:25 PM
#3
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agreed that it is possible your wife forgot to push the stop button before getting out. Good thing you caught it though. It could have been much worse than a dead battery in the morning. when the engine temp begins to go down because of auto start/stop, the engine would start back up and you could have serious carbon monoxide issues.
10-27-2015, 01:29 PM
#4
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I consider myself pretty darned technical savvy (just like Yogi bear) but the auto start system befuddles even me. It makes you change decades old car habits. When you drive in to park, the darned engine cuts off, then, as soon as you take off your belt or set it in park it starts again! STUPID, STUPID, STUPID.
My procedure for parking is now this: FIRST Push the button to turn off the car completely (its probably off anyway already) SECOND push the parking brake button THIRD open the door.
Another STUPID STUPID STUPID "function" Why doesn't the parking break engage automatically when the transmission is shifted to park ??????? THE CLA DOES WHY NOT THE C CLASS????
BTW my wife avoids driving the car because she cant get the button push order procedure internalized!
Another BTW even when completely off various systems keep running independently such as the oil pump and airmatic pump thus your car will continue to whirr and buzz for a few minutes after its parked.
My procedure for parking is now this: FIRST Push the button to turn off the car completely (its probably off anyway already) SECOND push the parking brake button THIRD open the door.
Another STUPID STUPID STUPID "function" Why doesn't the parking break engage automatically when the transmission is shifted to park ??????? THE CLA DOES WHY NOT THE C CLASS????
BTW my wife avoids driving the car because she cant get the button push order procedure internalized!
Another BTW even when completely off various systems keep running independently such as the oil pump and airmatic pump thus your car will continue to whirr and buzz for a few minutes after its parked.
10-27-2015, 02:03 PM
#6
Super Member
Thread Starter
agreed that it is possible your wife forgot to push the stop button before getting out. Good thing you caught it though. It could have been much worse than a dead battery in the morning. when the engine temp begins to go down because of auto start/stop, the engine would start back up and you could have serious carbon monoxide issues.
Last edited by hpilot; 10-27-2015 at 02:08 PM.
10-27-2015, 02:06 PM
#7
Super Member
Thread Starter
I consider myself pretty darned technical savvy (just like Yogi bear) but the auto start system befuddles even me. It makes you change decades old car habits. When you drive in to park, the darned engine cuts off, then, as soon as you take off your belt or set it in park it starts again! STUPID, STUPID, STUPID.
My procedure for parking is now this: FIRST Push the button to turn off the car completely (its probably off anyway already) SECOND push the parking brake button THIRD open the door.
Another STUPID STUPID STUPID "function" Why doesn't the parking break engage automatically when the transmission is shifted to park ??????? THE CLA DOES WHY NOT THE C CLASS????
BTW my wife avoids driving the car because she cant get the button push order procedure internalized!
Another BTW even when completely off various systems keep running independently such as the oil pump and airmatic pump thus your car will continue to whirr and buzz for a few minutes after its parked.
My procedure for parking is now this: FIRST Push the button to turn off the car completely (its probably off anyway already) SECOND push the parking brake button THIRD open the door.
Another STUPID STUPID STUPID "function" Why doesn't the parking break engage automatically when the transmission is shifted to park ??????? THE CLA DOES WHY NOT THE C CLASS????
BTW my wife avoids driving the car because she cant get the button push order procedure internalized!
Another BTW even when completely off various systems keep running independently such as the oil pump and airmatic pump thus your car will continue to whirr and buzz for a few minutes after its parked.
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10-27-2015, 02:16 PM
#8
MBWorld Fanatic!
Update: I was right, the parking brake does not self engage when you put it in park with the button nor by simply opening the door. It does however disengage automatically when you set it to d and press the accelerator.
Last edited by c4004matic; 10-27-2015 at 02:52 PM.
10-27-2015, 02:18 PM
#9
No, I don't think that's what happen. The car was not on; what she did was hitting the start button twice. The first would turn the car off, the second cause the power supply to turned on but the car is not running hence engine not running but the dash lighted up. When hpilot hits it again, it turn off the car again.
Last edited by miketc; 10-27-2015 at 02:23 PM.
10-27-2015, 02:35 PM
#10
Member
No, I don't think that's what happen. The car was not on; what she did was hitting the start button twice. The first would turn the car off, the second cause the power supply to turned on but the car is not running hence engine not running but the dash lighted up. When hpilot hits it again, it turn off the car again.
One solution for your wife, which is annoying but I think will work, is to remove the start/stop button. I understand that it just pops out and under it is the interface to actually insert the key and turn the car on and off the old fashioned way. Not the most elegant solution, and if your wife is like mine means she will be driving with about 30 pounds of keys and various crap dangling from the ignition switch and banging into her leg, but better than killing everyone inside the house with carbon monoxide if for some reason the engine turns on again and (probably) better than a dead battery.
10-27-2015, 02:53 PM
#11
Super Member
Thread Starter
Yeah, the problem seems to be there is no way to make sure the car is off (like really off) until you open the door. Because until the door gets opened I can't figure out how to tell whether it has been turned off since all of the electronics stay on.
One solution for your wife, which is annoying but I think will work, is to remove the start/stop button. I understand that it just pops out and under it is the interface to actually insert the key and turn the car on and off the old fashioned way. Not the most elegant solution, and if your wife is like mine means she will be driving with about 30 pounds of keys and various crap dangling from the ignition switch and banging into her leg, but better than killing everyone inside the house with carbon monoxide if for some reason the engine turns on again and (probably) better than a dead battery.
One solution for your wife, which is annoying but I think will work, is to remove the start/stop button. I understand that it just pops out and under it is the interface to actually insert the key and turn the car on and off the old fashioned way. Not the most elegant solution, and if your wife is like mine means she will be driving with about 30 pounds of keys and various crap dangling from the ignition switch and banging into her leg, but better than killing everyone inside the house with carbon monoxide if for some reason the engine turns on again and (probably) better than a dead battery.
10-27-2015, 04:30 PM
#12
MBWorld Fanatic!
I'm sure that's what happened. I don't think the car will start up again because when I got in, the air temp inside was very hot, so normally the stop-start would have already started the car. However, the potential for a dangerous situation is there. I wonder how long it will be before they are sued over this. I told my wife to always disable the start-stop, but that is a losing battle. Just another reason I should be able to set the default to off.
You don't HAVE to use keyless go.
10-27-2015, 04:38 PM
#13
As a matter of fact no, I thought so too. Give it a try. Opening the door only sets the transmission to park. Now Ill have to try it again!!!!!!! dammit
Update: I was right, the parking brake does not self engage when you put it in park with the button nor by simply opening the door. It does however disengage automatically when you set it to d and press the accelerator.
Update: I was right, the parking brake does not self engage when you put it in park with the button nor by simply opening the door. It does however disengage automatically when you set it to d and press the accelerator.
1. Turn off the car by pressing the start/stop button. This puts car in park.
2. Open the door while pressing the brake pedal.
3. Wait 2-3 seconds, the parking brake will engage automatically.
10-27-2015, 04:44 PM
#14
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Agreed with the above, if it was start/stop mode the warning lights wouldn't have been on. She probably just hit the button twice, easy mistake to make.
10-27-2015, 05:09 PM
#15
Super Member
Thread Starter
I guess the point is it shouldn't be a mistake you can make. The car can tell if nobody is in the car by the seat belt switch and no key fob in range. It should then just turn off the car electrically.
10-27-2015, 05:56 PM
#16
Senior Member
My wife parked the car in the garage. A few minutes after that, I just happened to walk past, and I could hear the stereo playing. I looked in and noticed the car was still on, but the engine was not running. The A/C fan was still on and all the warning lights were on the instrument cluster. I could see that see hadn't disabled the auto start-stop. It looks like the engine turned off in the garage because of auto start-stop. She then got out of the car, and went in the house. I guess the car was still in the auto stop-start mode, but would not start because there was no key fob in the car. My wife is clueless about stuff like this , so she didn't even notice that the car was not totally shut down when she opened the door. I guess if I hadn't seen this by accident, it would have just run until the battery was dead. I pushed the start button, and that shut off the car. Is this a defect or just bad engineering?
Eco stop start is necessary and should not be capable of permanent disablement in my european view, even if you feel the global warming question is unresolved we do all know the reserves of fossil fuels are a diminishing resource not leaving the engine running in traffic multiplied millions of times must be slowing consumption....rbrylaws suggestion seems the best solution but with time i am sure your wife will adapt just as i am with the swapping round of the indicator stalk and cruise control!
10-27-2015, 07:53 PM
#17
Super Member
Thread Starter
The car would not stop in this way on the eco stop start. As has been posted above to prevent such a scenario the car restarts when the seatbelt is removed........irritating but a good safety measure. What must have happened is the stop start button was depressed twice as your wife exited the car thereby powering up various circuits incl the command system. You can tell if the car is powered down as the p for parking brake light which is red and on the tacho dial will be lit, the only one and the mileometer will show. When you shut off the engine and the car reverts to park, either because you have selected it or opened the door the electronic brake is automatically applied. So the procedure i adopt is select park and i can feel the electronic brake apply as the brake pedal moves downwards then press the start stop button then release the seatbelt.
Eco stop start is necessary and should not be capable of permanent disablement in my european view, even if you feel the global warming question is unresolved we do all know the reserves of fossil fuels are a diminishing resource not leaving the engine running in traffic multiplied millions of times must be slowing consumption....rbrylaws suggestion seems the best solution but with time i am sure your wife will adapt just as i am with the swapping round of the indicator stalk and cruise control!
Eco stop start is necessary and should not be capable of permanent disablement in my european view, even if you feel the global warming question is unresolved we do all know the reserves of fossil fuels are a diminishing resource not leaving the engine running in traffic multiplied millions of times must be slowing consumption....rbrylaws suggestion seems the best solution but with time i am sure your wife will adapt just as i am with the swapping round of the indicator stalk and cruise control!
However, I don't agree with anything else that you said. I don't know how hot it is where you live, but where I am it is always hot. The Eco Start/Stop is totally useless because it never turns off the engine for more than 10-15 seconds at a stop light. That is because the A/C does not run on the battery. When the inside heats up (10-15 seconds), the engine starts. If they wanted this to work, they should have put in a bigger battery to run the A/C. Stop and go traffic is a nightmare. I hate this system.
We are running out of oil? Really? We are swimming in oil. We have run out of places to store it. Have you seen the price of oil lately. Remember "Peak Oil"? We were all supposed to be riding bicycles by now. What happened there? In any case, the future is all electric cars. Electric motors will be driving the wheels - the only open question is where the electric power comes from - a battery, super capacitor, fuel cell, or something else. I look forward to that day.
10-27-2015, 09:19 PM
#18
Total agreed, if no key fob in range for 5-10 min the car should just turn itself off.
10-28-2015, 11:08 AM
#19
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I disagree. There are plenty of times that I am washing my car that I leave the car in "ACC" mode (which has been around since the dawn of time) to listen to the radio. If you don't have the car in this mode and just turn on the radio it turns itself off quickly.
10-28-2015, 11:55 AM
#20
MBWorld Fanatic!
Yeah, the problem seems to be there is no way to make sure the car is off (like really off) until you open the door. Because until the door gets opened I can't figure out how to tell whether it has been turned off since all of the electronics stay on.
One solution for your wife, which is annoying but I think will work, is to remove the start/stop button. I understand that it just pops out and under it is the interface to actually insert the key and turn the car on and off the old fashioned way. Not the most elegant solution, and if your wife is like mine means she will be driving with about 30 pounds of keys and various crap dangling from the ignition switch and banging into her leg, but better than killing everyone inside the house with carbon monoxide if for some reason the engine turns on again and (probably) better than a dead battery.
One solution for your wife, which is annoying but I think will work, is to remove the start/stop button. I understand that it just pops out and under it is the interface to actually insert the key and turn the car on and off the old fashioned way. Not the most elegant solution, and if your wife is like mine means she will be driving with about 30 pounds of keys and various crap dangling from the ignition switch and banging into her leg, but better than killing everyone inside the house with carbon monoxide if for some reason the engine turns on again and (probably) better than a dead battery.
10-28-2015, 12:01 PM
#21
MBWorld Fanatic!
Again all the confusion lies in the fact that the whole thing is very complicated and in many ways counterintuitive.
10-28-2015, 12:11 PM
#22
MBWorld Fanatic!
That's good information, and it seems likely that is what happened. Still, there should be a system on this car that prevents this from happening. The solution should never be better training of the driver, rather, a system that is not error prone. This is basic tenant of good design - just not German design (BTW I am 100% German).
However, I don't agree with anything else that you said. I don't know how hot it is where you live, but where I am it is always hot. The Eco Start/Stop is totally useless because it never turns off the engine for more than 10-15 seconds at a stop light. That is because the A/C does not run on the battery. When the inside heats up (10-15 seconds), the engine starts. If they wanted this to work, they should have put in a bigger battery to run the A/C. Stop and go traffic is a nightmare. I hate this system.
We are running out of oil? Really? We are swimming in oil. We have run out of places to store it. Have you seen the price of oil lately. Remember "Peak Oil"? We were all supposed to be riding bicycles by now. What happened there? In any case, the future is all electric cars. Electric motors will be driving the wheels - the only open question is where the electric power comes from - a battery, super capacitor, fuel cell, or something else. I look forward to that day.
However, I don't agree with anything else that you said. I don't know how hot it is where you live, but where I am it is always hot. The Eco Start/Stop is totally useless because it never turns off the engine for more than 10-15 seconds at a stop light. That is because the A/C does not run on the battery. When the inside heats up (10-15 seconds), the engine starts. If they wanted this to work, they should have put in a bigger battery to run the A/C. Stop and go traffic is a nightmare. I hate this system.
We are running out of oil? Really? We are swimming in oil. We have run out of places to store it. Have you seen the price of oil lately. Remember "Peak Oil"? We were all supposed to be riding bicycles by now. What happened there? In any case, the future is all electric cars. Electric motors will be driving the wheels - the only open question is where the electric power comes from - a battery, super capacitor, fuel cell, or something else. I look forward to that day.
10-28-2015, 11:12 PM
#23
Super Member
It's only if I open the door as the driver that the system throws it into Park automatically.
10-29-2015, 12:32 AM
#24
MBWorld Fanatic!
Turning off the car does not put it in park. There are two ways to put the car in park, you either push the park button or open the door. If you turn off the car it stays in neutral till you open the door, weird but there is a reason for it, there are occasions where you want the car in neutral with the engine off.
Last edited by c4004matic; 10-29-2015 at 08:58 AM.
10-29-2015, 12:33 AM
#25
MBWorld Fanatic!
That's not what happens on my car at all! Foot on the brake, press start/stop and the engine cuts out, but the gearbox goes to Neutral NOT Park! It actually annoys the crap out me! Several times it has caught me out, where I've turned the vehicle off thinking it'll go into park, only to find out that when I let go of the brake it starts to roll away on me.
It's only if I open the door as the driver that the system throws it into Park automatically.
It's only if I open the door as the driver that the system throws it into Park automatically.
