runaway X5 BMW

[Vesper Martini]

Any body else see this on the news. it just cant happen!

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/call...ities-53062570

[commodorenutt]

How hard is it to put your foot on the brakes and either shift to neutral, or turn off the key on a straight stretch of road?

People just don't think, do they?

Originally Posted by commodorenutt

How hard is it to put your foot on the brakes and either shift to neutral, or turn off the key on a straight stretch of road?

People just don't think, do they?

The guy was on the phone to emergency services and police had time to roll out traps on the road. Surely the first thing that someone would have suggested to him would be to put his car in neutral? So perhaps there's something else going on here?

[Mercury Bullet]

Originally Posted by commodorenutt

How hard is it to put your foot on the brakes and either shift to neutral, or turn off the key on a straight stretch of road?

People just don't think, do they?

I can foresee a non car person being panicked and locking the steering though.

If I was on the phone I think I'd advise them to chuck it in neutral and watch her blow.

A few things for them to consider while not the end of the world could cause a panicked driver to panic further. Once the engine is off power steering would be lost and only one boosted brake application left.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by Mercury Bullet

I can foresee a non car person being panicked and locking the steering though.

If I was on the phone I think I'd advise them to chuck it in neutral and watch her blow.

A few things for them to consider while not the end of the world could cause a panicked driver to panic further. Once the engine is off power steering would be lost and only one boosted brake application left.

And having 4 flat tyres to control as well.

Originally Posted by roKWiz

And having 4 flat tyres to control as well.

From what I gather, blowing the tyres isn't to help the driver regain control of their car, I think it's to cause a crash so as to protect the other motorists on the road. As for the driver, ****'em, I suppose.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by leesa

From what I gather, blowing the tyres isn't to help the driver regain control of their car, I think it's to cause a crash so as to protect the other motorists on the road. As for the driver, ****'em, I suppose.

Yes, to help him totally lose control, possibly crashing into other cars, Doesn't CHiPs have nudge bars front and back ? I just figure they could have run ahead of him and slow his car with theirs. Or have I been watching to many TV car chasers.

[Vesper Martini]

Originally Posted by Mercury Bullet

I can foresee a non car person being panicked and locking the steering though.

If I was on the phone I think I'd advise them to chuck it in neutral and watch her blow.

A few things for them to consider while not the end of the world could cause a panicked driver to panic further. Once the engine is off power steering would be lost and only one boosted brake application left.

All he had to do in the X5 was press the brake pedal, which would cut the engine power via the electronic throttle it uses.

[Mercury Bullet]

Originally Posted by Bevsta007

All he had to do in the X5 was press the brake pedal, which would cut the engine power via the electronic throttle it uses.

Surely that would be anyones first instinct?

There has to be some form of failure in the first place, probably took that "feature" out.

[swanee]

maybe the autodrive function was activated. Like in Fast and Furious 8 and Terminator. The machines are rising to take over the world?

Reminds me of the guy in Melbourne a few years back with the Explorer that sparked a cruise control recall

[Vesper Martini]

Did that event in Melbourne 2009 caused a recall in 2007?


That was just an incompetent drive too...


PS that recall was for a switch that may cause a fire

[swanee]

Originally Posted by Bevsta007

Did that event in Melbourne 2009 caused a recall in 2007?


That was just an incompetent drive too...


PS that recall was for a switch that may cause a fire

it might not have been directly involved but it made all the media outlets jump on board and blame Ford etc.

We had customers coming in asking if they were going to die like the guy thought he was in Melbourne

[Falcon SXR8]

Reminds me of the good old days in my corona farm basher, throttle was always sticking. I learned quickly that a car with front brakes only ( the rears were disconnected for better burnouts) doesn't stop under brakes alone at full throttle

[roKWiz]

I can not believe he couldn't stop this car, I find it even more amazing that the police (CHiP's) threw out stop sticks.

[Ben73]

Originally Posted by roKWiz

I can not believe he couldn't stop this car, I find it even more amazing that the police (CHiP's) threw out stop sticks.

That's what I was thinking. How stupid can you be to think it's a good idea to make a runaway car harder to control for the driver.

I remember when something similar happened with a Ford in Sydney or Melbourne several years ago.
Apparently the cruise control got stuck, but he ended up stopping eventually after he braked 'really hard'. Did he not to think to brake really hard for the previous 20 minutes while talking to 000? or did something changed that allowed the car to stop under brakes heavy braking in the end.
I never heard anything more of that situation. I wonder what the cause was.

[lra]

Why do these incidents only seem to happen in the USA.?
The average Aussie driver is dumb, and the Yanks must be dumber.

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by lra

Why do these incidents only seem to happen in the USA.?
The average Aussie driver is dumb, and the Yanks must be dumber.

Its a percentage game, in Australia we have the same percentage of ignoramuses but a much smaller population. Not known to most with cars with prox keys and push button starts, there should be a feature thats probably in the fine print in the manual that if you hold the start stop button for x amount of seconds it will kill the motor but not activate the steering lock whilst in motion for the worst case scenario. In motion if you just press it it will do nothing. I read somewhere ages ago that thats the industry thing when it comes to keyless cars.

[Vesper Martini]

BMW says the likelihood of its gas pedal becoming fixed to the floor is 'implausible'
BMW have released a statement expressing doubt over the entire situation stressing the various safety features of their vehicles.

All BMW vehicles, including the 2003 X5 described in this incident, employ an electronic accelerator pedal which uses software logic to override the accelerator whenever the brake pedal is pressed while driving.

BMW say the the 2003 X5, pictured, has a number of safety features to prevent it from speeding away in an uncontrolled manner such as this

This means that the vehicle detects that both pedals are depressed, the on-board electronics will reduce engine power so that the driver may stop safely.

Also, the accelerator pedal in BMW vehicles is hinged at the bottom, and mounts to the floor. Therefore, an object or floor mat cannot slide under the accelerator pedal and jam it.

The vehicle could also have been stopped by two additional means: By placing the transmission in neutral and coasting to a stop and/or by shutting off the ignition without removing the key.

This is accomplished by turning the key counterclockwise. The engine would have shut off and the driver could have safely coasted the vehicle to a stop.

[whitelion65]

I think this is going to happen to my car next time I'm caught by a speed camera ;-)

[Express]

If he was doing 100 mph then some of those cars he was passing were also moving pretty quick as he wasn't flying pass them and that doesn't account for the one that overtook him.

Most modern BMW's would have stop/start buttons and it doesn't matter if they are manual or auto they can be placed into neutral and would eventually coast to a stop.



.

[tranquilized]

Can they be put in neutral on the move though? A 2003 model probably could but the later ones have an electronic gear selector that would surely block any shift to neutral/reverse/park while moving?

[stefcio007]

You can turn off the Start/Stop Engine button Fords by holding the button down for about 3 seconds or more. Not recommended obviously but it is possible.

[burnz]

Originally Posted by stefcio007

You can turn off the Start/Stop Engine button Fords by holding the button down for about 3 seconds or more. Not recommended obviously but it is possible.

and that's the thing about the thread,, there are no keys,
the engine cant be shut off unless it's like the ford hold button for a period amount of time.
BMW's may have or have not this feature, everything is electronic..

[Mercury Bullet]

Is it petrol or diesel?

When I saw runaway in the title I assumed runaway diesel.

[Vesper Martini]

Originally Posted by Mercury Bullet

Is it petrol or diesel?

When I saw runaway in the title I assumed runaway diesel.

no - nothing to do with a runaway diesel. very different thing.

[Vesper Martini]

http://www.caradvice.com.au/51111/no...d-recall-ford/

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/cru...828cf7cc8ce339

Looks like the driver of the explorer was not charged..