[bmwexecutive]

Just curious: why is it required that you hold the brake pedal down before pushing the start engine button if BMW employs the new Start-Off Assistant feature that prevents your car from rolling backwards when starting it on an incline?

 

[anon]

I don't.

I press in the CLUTCH.

 

[speedyj88]

It's just a way of telling the car you want to turn the engine on, rather than just the electronics. Plus, you're going to have to press the brake pedal to switch into gear anyways.

 

[bmwexecutive]

It's just a way of telling the car you want to turn the engine on, rather than just the electronics. Plus, you're going to have to press the brake pedal to switch into gear anyways.

That's true.

 

[BringsMeWomen]

Also, if you didnt have the brake button, then its hard to distinguish whether you want to shut off the car or start the engine when it is in the mode where the electronics plays after engine shut off.

 

[TD]

I don't.

I press in the CLUTCH.

:stupid:

 

[sunra]

I never bother with the brake. Just press the clutch, hit the button, rev the enginee and bam... away you go! I figure brakes are used for stopping, not starting.

 

[JayK330]

Wow, I didn't know pushing in the brake was such a difficult task.:jack:

 

[bmwexecutive]

Wow, I didn't know pushing in the brake was such a difficult task.:jack:

Who said it was difficult? I was only asking why you needed to do it.

 

[chuck92103]

Just curious: why is it required that you hold the brake pedal down before pushing the start engine button if BMW employs the new Start-Off Assistant feature that prevents your car from rolling backwards when starting it on an incline?

Way back in the late 1980's there was an incident with the Audi 5000s in which a lady was parked in the garage and started the car. She claimed the car started in drive and launched forward into the wall of the house. Several more reports popped up and lawsuits started.

It seemed some computer gremlins caused unintended acceleration and multiple deaths and hundreds of accidents were reported.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=il&vol=1922763&invol=1

 

[BiggerTwin]

It seemed some computer gremlins caused unintended acceleration and multiple deaths and hundreds of accidents were reported.

Actually, the final DOT investigation revealed that there was no such thing as sudden unintended acceleration. The cause of the accidents were loose nuts behind the wheel :tsk: The drivers stepped on the gas instead of the brake and the cars, not surprisingly, went forward. 60 Minutes did a nice report on it and showed that if your foot was on the brake the car wouldn't move even if you floored the gas pedal. Also, none of these incidents occurred with manual transmissions.

Alan

 

[MysticBlue]

Yup, even though the problem is invariable a loose nut behind the wheel, having to press the brake before a car (with auto transmission) will start is pretty common across the industry now. Thank the lawyers. It might be a billion to one chance that the interlock that prevents starting while in gear would fail and allow starting while in gear, but that's enough to make the liability lawyers worry. Just one example of how our legal system affects every aspect of our lives, making nearly everything less convenient and/or more expensive.

 

[andy_thomas]

Way back in the late 1980's there was an incident with the Audi 5000s in which a lady was parked in the garage and started the car. She claimed the car started in drive and launched forward into the wall of the house. Several more reports popped up and lawsuits started.

It seemed some computer gremlins caused unintended acceleration and multiple deaths and hundreds of accidents were reported.

You misspelt "mindless morons" as "computer gremlins". Easy mistake.

 

[URL8]

You misspelt "mindless morons" as "computer gremlins". Easy mistake.

:bustingup

 

[Robert A]

It goes back to the Audi days of unintended acceleration. They want an extra safety measure to prevent starting the car in gear. If you foot is already on the brake, it'll be harder for you to claim that the car simply lurched forward when you first started it.

Just curious: why is it required that you hold the brake pedal down before pushing the start engine button if BMW employs the new Start-Off Assistant feature that prevents your car from rolling backwards when starting it on an incline?

 

[cntlaw]

It's just a way of telling the car you want to turn the engine on, rather than just the electronics. Plus, you're going to have to press the brake pedal to switch into gear anyways.

Agreed.
Another possibilty is to ensure your car would be released in case your car was in D gear.

 

[BiggerTwin]

A Little More History

While I never saw this in the media and never looked closely at an Audi 5000, I was told by someone who used to work for them that the gas and brake were both narrow vertical pedals while American cars had wide horizontal brake pedals and narrow vertical gas pedals. The similarity of the pedals may have contributed to less attentive driver's making mistakes. This whole incident happened before Starbucks, cup holders and cell phones. It is hard to imagine the carnage these distracted drivers would cause today

One positive thing that came out of this was full maintenance. Audi introduced it as a way to attract buyers back to the brand who were wary of the bogus unintended acceleration scare.

Alan

 

[bmwexecutive]

While I never saw this in the media and never looked closely at an Audi 5000, I was told by someone who used to work for them that the gas and brake were both narrow vertical pedals while American cars had wide horizontal brake pedals and narrow vertical gas pedals. The similarity of the pedals may have contributed to less attentive driver's making mistakes.

Heh. This reminds me of a time I was driving my dad's Jeep Grand Cherokee and I was backing out of a parking space. I went to hit the brake to then switch it in drive but the brake wouldn't activate so I pushed it harder. :rofl:

Turns out my foot was on the gas and because my dad's jeep has that new 5.7L 330HP HEMI in it I went about 0-30 in reverse in about a second. Haha. Luckily, no one was behind me and I quickly hit the real brake. Heh.

 

[haaskivi1]

another reason the e46 is a more user friendly car

It is an annoying task compared to a standard key. Sure you will eventually get used to it but why should you have to. Among others, this was just another reason whyI went back to the E 46.

 

[motor_werke]

If anyone has any more info (concise) on the Audi 5000 deal, I'd be interested. I'll have to do some searching. I've heard about it, but it really seems like user stupidity, but I want to know the facts before I presume anything.

It seems to be the norm now, that if you screw up while driving, its the cars fault!