Simple car design question.
 

We have a cousin that parked her 1992 Mustang GT with a 5 speed transmission at our house for a week. I had to move the car and that was easy enough except to get the key out of the ignition was a pain. It took a couple of minutes to find the button on the bottom of the steering wheel to release the key.

It had nothing to do with putting it in gear or depressing the clutch or the emergency brake. Turn the key off to kill the car and the dang key will not come out of the ignition unless you push the button.

What is the design purpose of that button? Why is it even there? I don't drive a lot of different cars. How many manufacturers have that designed into the system and why?

It make no sense to me.

Any eighties/nineties manual-transmission Ford has that button release

On an automatic, the car "knows" to lock and unlock the steering column if the key is off and the shifter is in park or not. On a manual, it uses the key only. But it would be a safety concern if you accidentally removed the key and the column locked why you were still moving. Hence the button.

But why only on a Ford?

As soon as you turn the key you should be stopped and ready to get out. Are you saying only Ford has that stupid button? That makes it extra stupid if only one manafacturer thought is was necessary.

I've had several cars with it.

My current dd Mazda 3 has it.

IIRC my 3000GT you had to push the key in to remove it.

Several cars have/had a mechanism. Some had that extra little lever on the key surround. Most you have to deliberately push in on the key while turning to get the key out.

It's all about trying not to get sued for the stupidity of the driver. Make it harder and it's less likely to happen on accident.

So the only reason for it is some (but not all) manufactures thought it would keep the lawsuits down from drivers so stupid they turned the engine off and pulled the key out while still moving?

With the engine off the power steering quits and the power brakes quit, but the key is still in the lock! What good does that do? With no power steering the steering is as good as locked for most of the population.

So I presume they all did away with that "feature."

Even more evidence it was a stupid idea, no one still does it.

Even heavy cars steer just fine at speed with no power steering. At 5 mph, it's a different story. But it's still better to have a chance at steering it.... when the column is locked the car is going where it's pointed, period.

No evidence of a dumb idea, they're still on your car, now they just use computer controlled solenoids rather than (just) mechanical engagement. Ever heard of a brake-shift interlock? Same principle.

I can start my 911 while in gear. It was designed that way.

I can start my El Camino without touching the brakes. It does have to be in park or neutral. The key on my Elky is worn enough that I can pull the key out while it is running. My old 914 was that way as well. It was great to be able to hop out open the rear trunk and put the top on or take it off while the engine was running. I guess the safety police would faint at that.

Did Chevy or Toyota ever use the button push to remove the key idea? I honestly have no idea.

Glen, you're comparing your cars that are <b>approaching 30 years old</b>

These laws came into effect somewhat after that. The brakeshift interlocks came after the Audi 5000 unintended acceleration scandal of 1985 with the law following a couple years later. Same with the column lock. And there's no longer a single car that will start in gear. There's a clutch pedal switch that prevents it.

And, yes, GM and Toyota have them as well

Learned to drive on a standard. Other than my 3 trucks every car i've owned over the last 30+ years has been a manual.

Can't tell you how often I've been saved by my habitual habit of engaging the parking brake.

I've had a car or two with this feature. I think Chrysler/Dodge, but may have been a Chevy. It's been a long time.

The best thing about our 67 Pontiac (Catalina Ventura Convertible!) is that you can remove the key with the engine running and use it to open the trunk (but the lawsuits were not prevalent in the 60's).

Useful feature.

Comes in handy when your passenger back there untied themselves or is unexpectedly conscious.

Means you can hop back in the car and take off instead of having to fumble for the ignition allowing them the opportunity to beat you with your tire iron.

Or, just add a power trunk release that Cadillacs of the time already had :cool:

Eric, I understand my cars are old, and the designs have changed because of moron drivers. Every new car now has to have a tire pressure monitor because so many clueless people can't figure out how to check their tire pressure. I understand that all cars will have to have a backup camera soon as well because over 50 kids a year are run over by their own parents and the same clueless drivers backing up.

I was totally unaware that all the cars of that era had the version of the silly button push to remove the key. I guess somewhere there are accident reports of people shutting off the ignition and pulling the key before they came to a stop, and suing the car makers for that.

My solution would have been more logical, forbid any driver that did that from ever having a drivers license again. Some people think I am a bit extreme. ;)

i remember that button..but i cant remember what family car had it. maybe our 1977 ford thunderbird.?

Airbags
Side impact beams
Collapsing steering columns
Tire Pressure Monitoring
Stability controls
Anti-lock Brakes
Brake-Shift interlock
Laminated windshields
Safety side glass
Non-glare rearview mirrors
Two-stage hood releases

And on, and on, and on.....

seatbelts

And probably fifty items just regarding the seatbelts!

Oh, no doubt many are necessary and logical. Seatbelts and side impact beams come to mind.

To force every person to pay for a tire pressure monitor, and back up camera is crazy.

I know that every new car will soon have to have a data recorder to help accident investigators. Personal responsibility for one's actions will never be the norm again. Just blame it on someone else & sue.

I think you've got the wrong idea about tire pressure monitors

Yes, they help save fuel and that's one reason why they are mandated. I can't recall the statistic, but the fuel wasted by low tire pressures is a staggering stat. And, yes, consumers should simply check their own tire pressures.

But the other reason stems from low profile sidewalls. Back in the day, with 85 series sidewalls you KNEW when you had a flat tire. Over the years we went from 85 to 75 to 70..... now 65 is the norm and 45 is common even on pedestrian sedans and SUVs. Even 25 series are out there!! Those low sidewalls really mask the symptoms of low pressure, or even completely flat tires. But in an emergency manuever, they cause a loss of control leading to an accident or rollover. You might have checked your pressure before you left, hit a road hazard as you drove, and had a complete loss of pressure and not even been aware until it's time to turn. That wasn't the case "back in the day". And what does a TPMS cost? About $50 at the oe level. Not a big deal, reall. Not when your average car is over $30K.....

I don't get the big deal.

Once you are aware that removing the key requires some tactile action on your part it becomes automatic.

Turn key counter clockwise, hit release with your thumb as you reach the detent, remove key.

I don't even think of it, it becomes second nature.

What I find highly annoying are cars with no keys at all but just a fob and stupid push button.

Once you get used to it, if it's a proximity key that you can leave in your pocket, having to fumble for keys gets REALLY annoying

Pushbutton/proximity is da bomb