Keyless Entry Safety Concern

[Sheltie]

Well, I finally have my X3 on order, but what happened in the test drive raised a safety concern for me. It had keyless entry, as will mine. I'm sure all BMW's with keyless entry will behave the same.

I was fumbling around while pulling out of the parking spot and inadvertently hit the start/stop button. The engine shut down and the vehicle came to a jarring halt. The car was in gear, and traveling at a very low rate of speed, perhaps 1 or 2 MPH. I had taken my foot off the brake, but hadn't given it any gas, so it was just rolling forward powered by the idling engine.

I was shocked that the stop button was still active after the car had been placed in gear. I called BMW USA, but the young woman who answered wasn't any help. She did put me on hold for a few minutes while she asked a technician/engineer. They were unaware of this potential problem, and weren't too concerned.

It seems to me that hitting the stop button, although not likely, could actually happen while driving. Children in the car, could throw things and hit the button. A sudden braking maneuver could launch an object that hits the button. A jackass passenger (any teenager) could hit the button just to see what happens.

The saleswoman whom I bought the car from said the parking button wasn't active while the car is in motion. She's even tried it herself in a car traveling 50 MPH. But, she had never heard anything about hitting the stop button with a car in motion.

Has anyone heard of this? Does the stop button become inactive once the car reaches a certain speed, or is it always active?