Good morning all,

On my prior Cadillac coupe it had push button start and remote start. On the Caddie if the car was running and the key was in my pocket I could get out and walk around etc., however if I walked far enough away from the car (I don't remember what that distance was) the car would turn off. One other thing on the Caddie is that I could have the car running and still lock the car doors from outside the car. I thought I tried, but don't remember if we can be outside of our SLs and lock the door, with the car running? I will try at lunch break later today, but for some reason I don't think we can. (yes I know about the handle touch thing) My question is if our SL cars are running, with key in hand or in pocket will our cars turn off if the key gets far enough away from the car? Some type of signal thing? Or will the car just keep running forever until the car is turned off?

I often get out at our mailbox (around the corner from our house) with my car running, but the key is in my pocket. I noticed that my streaming BT music will stop until I get back in the car (phone in pocket). I don't have to do anything, but I can hear the music stop as I walk away. When I get back in the car the music starts on its own. Cool.



My genius son in law (sarcasm) left his non Benz car running and was also smart enough to walk into Walmart with the car running. He said detractions and rushing made him forget the car was running. Well, someone jumped in the car and took it. Believe it or not it wasn't an attempted theft. It seems an equally smart person (sarcasm) has a similar car to my son in law and thought my relatives car was his. They were able to drive home about a mile, or so away and park at their house without a key. Once home they realized they had taken the wrong car and attempted to take the car back to the store, however now they could not start the car, because they had no key. Long story short the person called the store, had their spouse drive them back to the store where the police were waiting. The police took the drivers license of the person and then followed this person to their home with my son in law to retrieve the car. He got the car back, no damage, or charges filed. The driver had a "similar" truck (not even the same one by the way), but it was the same color as my son in laws. So again, if someone jumps in one of our running SLs and takes off will the car shut off at a predetermined distance from the key? I am gonna stop letting my car run, if the car will not shut off. I am going to test this theory at my home later today.


Side note- I told my wife there is zero chance I could get into another SL, or another SUV )I also have a Range Rover) and mistake it for my vehicles. 2 seconds after I sat down I would see that the interior is different, the seat position is different, the window tint is different, the music is different, the smell is differnt, the items in the car are different, the cleanliness is different, the everything is different. Even if by chance it had the same color seats, etc. I would notice things were different right away! My wife says thats because I am particular about my cars thats why I would notice quickly. I disagree and think most anyone would notice, but I am curious to how others feel. Would you notice right away? Or depending on life circumstances at the time would it take a few miles until you are like "hey, this aint my car" There is no right or wrong answer BTW, just curious.

15-SL 400

 

I agree with you 100%, If I sat in another car, identical to mine, including my SL, I guarantee I would know if it was mine or not.

 

I knew I couldn’t be the only one!

 

Walk away from the car with it running and keys in your pocket. Go inside your house then return a few minutes later and see if it is still running.

 

I can’t tell if you are serious are being funny like my car will be stolen??

 

I don’t think​ ​​​​​​Utopia is trying to be funny at all. Try leaving it running at your home, which we assume is a safe place to leave it, and take the keys out of range of the car for a few minutes. Return after 5 minutes and see if your car turned itself off. Some of my cars do this but I believe I have one that doesn’t. Let us know!

 

Got ya.

Yes, my neighborhood is safe. I forgot about trying this out, but since I am working a half day today I will have an opportunity to test the theory.

Stay tuned.


Edit-
My car was still running at 5 minutes, with my key in pocket and me walking all around the inside of my house.my house is not big. 1900sf.

On the next test I am going to hand my key to my wife (after I start the car) and then drive away without the keys. I’m gonna stay in my neighborhood just to make sure the car doesn’t cut off with me at a higher speed. This should answer the question once and for all if there is any fail safe of sorts in our cars after they are push button started.

Stay tuned again.

 

My guess would be that it will run until you shut it off, and then you won't be able to restart it. As to the "fob range" on our SLs, I've been underwhelmed by it so far. With my '11 Golf, I could drop/raise the windows from all the way across large parking lots (great to cool the car before getting in on a hot day). There's just no way with the SL. You have to be really close to do anything. If there was an auto-shutoff, it would have to be based on time rather than proximity, and it doesn't appear to be either. Btw, I have not tested this so it's JMO...

 

All good points.

I was hoping that a few other SL owners with info would have chimed in, but it’s a young post and others may follow.

Thank you.