Turning the X5 off in an Emergency

[ABMW]

Originally Posted by bigx5er

Yes they do.

Smart Gas Pedals May Solve Floor-Mat Problem - Wheels Blog - NYTimes.com

Just tried it, and I can step on my gas pedal and brake pedal at the same time, and they'll fight each other till the cows come home.

Try it for yourself. Or my car is in need of service :-)....

[Alicate]

An article in the WSJ mentions the fact that BMWs and Mercedes are programmed to electronically cut the throttle when "implausible" inputs are given, ie: enough throttle at the same time as enough braking force. If that is so, I imagine it only applies to auto transmissions, since there is no apparent limit in my manual Z4 to how much I can simultaneously press on the gas and brake pedals when downshifting by heel and toe technique.

[X5rolls]

Here is the basic strategy - PIIN

Put it in neutral. How difficult is that?

What causes the problem is people naturally freak out.

Well not everyone but it did happen to the poor police officer in CA who was killed along with three others.

[motordavid]

Originally Posted by X5rolls

Here is the basic strategy - PIIN

Put it in neutral. How difficult is that?
...

...And, when I next climb into our manual trans X5 or Vette,
or our pos Honda CR-V automatic, sudden, uncontrolled acceleration,
(from whatever "cause"), will not be on my mind; there is that army of
crummy/incapacitated drivers out there that present the real threat to me,
and others around me, that is my concern.

I am more concerned about lightning strikes than this media driven "plague", imo.
GL,mD

[Thunder22]

Originally Posted by ABMW

All,

I brought this up earlier, prior to the massive Toyota recall, and many complained I was misinformed in that the stuck throttle was the result of floor mats.

We all now know that is not the case, and has resulted in numerous accidents when vehicles have accelerated due drive-by-wire malfunctions and owners who have been too fearful to take action or without knowledge as to how to turn their car off while moving.

Given that our X5s are Drive-by-Wire vehicles and there is a tremendous amount of technology sharing that takes place within the industry, I think it's prudent that each BMW owner knows how to shut his or her vehicle off in an emergency.

There is no official protocol for this, that I've found, so I've experimented on my own.

A) The car can be put into neutral while moving. When I did so, at very slow speed it automatically put itself into park (this was at 1 mph) in a parking lot.

B) I've put the vehicle into neutral at 20 mph. and it has not shifted into park.

C) The X5 will shut off at speed by pressing the start/stop button for the normal amount of time needed to start or stop it. I've attempted this at speeds of 30 to 40 mph. Keep in mind you will quickly lose brake pressure, and power steering with quickly fade.

E) Applying the brakes and the throttle at the same time, will not cut the throttle and the brakes will operate to the point in which they will stop the car (seemingly). I have NOT tested this at any magnitude of speed.

Point being, I recommend everyone at the VERY least practice a shutdown while the car is moving in a parking lot or on a zero-traffic road or industrial park on the weekend.

Things do happen, and malfunctions do take place. This issue with Toyotas and Lexus Brands has been a known problem since 2004. I've followed it for some time. It's not ONLY mechanical in nature, but also electrical.

Toyota has indicated that gas pedals will become stiff over time, or slow to rebound. That may take place, but it appears to be only part of the cause.

Back in 2003 some of us with Nissan 350zs experienced issues that were similar to what's taking place with Toyotas now, but those cars were equipped with keys, that could be manually shut off.

The point is, knowing your vehicle and making sure each person who drives your vehicle is aware of what each switch operates, and specifically how to turn off the vehicle in an emergency is imperative.

One can not assume that an unintended acceleration could only take place on a straight highway. It has, and can, also take place on a windy road. So, please make sure you're aware of how to shut your BMW off, and until BMW releases official guidelines, I'd suggest you all experiment with your own vehicles to make sure they operate in manners that are consistent with what I've found.

It would not surprise me if BMW built in some sort of feature that prevents the vehicle from shutting off at a certain speed, without using some sort of specific combination of ignition switch "pushing," so please take what I've written above with a MAJOR grain of salt and realize that I've only experimented at speeds of 30 miles per hour max, and never to the detriment of the vehicle. Thus, be aware.

And please, let's not turn this into "this will never happen to BMW type of discussion." If you're familiar with servos, servo speed controllers, you'll know that errors can occur, do occur, and just because we haven't heard of them occurring doesn't mean they haven't. It's better to be error on the side of caution, given this new technology that we're seeing in cars.

Cliff Notes:

Put the tranny in neutral.

/thread

[LeMansX5]

Safety of cars’ keyless entry and how to disengage ignition in case of emergency

[Quicksilver]

Driver, daughter OK after SUV slams into Alamo house, garage.

ALAMO — A woman and her daughter escaped serious injury Thursday after a stuck accelerator sent their SUV barreling backward across the street and through a neighbor's living room, then charging forward into their own garage, authorities said.
The twin crashes occurred about 10 a.m. in the 1400 block of Entrada Verde. The woman driving the BMW vehicle and her daughter were taken to a hospital with minor injuries. No one was home at the house across the street, which fire officials said was rendered uninhabitable.

Edit: OOps I forgot the link...Driver, daughter OK after SUV slams into Alamo house, garage - Inside Bay Area

[ard]

Originally Posted by Quicksilver

Driver, daughter OK after SUV slams into Alamo house, garage.

ALAMO — A woman and her daughter escaped serious injury Thursday after a stuck accelerator sent their SUV barreling backward across the street and through a neighbor's living room, then charging forward into their own garage, authorities said.
The twin crashes occurred about 10 a.m. in the 1400 block of Entrada Verde. The woman driving the BMW vehicle and her daughter were taken to a hospital with minor injuries. No one was home at the house across the street, which fire officials said was rendered uninhabitable.

How did the stuck accelerator enable the car to CHANGE DIRECTIONS!?!?!?

"barreling backward across the street and through a neighbor's living room, then charging forward"

[ABMW]

Seems explainable. Woman trying to shift into neutral and goes into drive, etc.

I'm sure the woman was in complete and total shock. The car accelerator could have become unstuck, and she attempted to drive it out from the neighbors house, thus allowing it to become stuck again.

There are likely some late night BMWNA exec meetings taking place this weekend. Sorry guys and gals, say what you will, but this has been taking place with drive-by-wire vehicles from several companies for some time.

There's most certainly some work to be done with this technology, obviously.

Fly-by-wire airplanes have been a source of contention with safety advocates and pilot associations for years. Some planes have up to 5 redundant systems that come into play when a primary system fails, then when a secondary system fails, and so on.

Guess what? There have been multiple instances of all redundant systems failing, despite electronics that put the most advanced automobile systems to shame, and have been tested to degrees that should theoretically provide fail proof systems, but they've failed nonetheless, despite the odds, and people have perished as a result.

BMWNA, Toyota, Nissan, etc., do they have redundancy systems for their drive-by-wire?

I think we all know the answer.

[autoque]

I was in a parking lot, seated in the back, driven by someone who's not very familiar with the vehicle and a passenger who's no better than the driver with the car. We were going at a parking-lot-cruising speed. Suddenly, a passenger pressed the engine start/stop button thinking it was an emergency blinker button... I got upset but oh well, the irony... I got something to post here... the car seems fine.

Anyway, what happened; the engine actually got turned right off and the transmission went immediately into park but the car still rolled like it was cruising in Neutral. I'm not sure if the steering was still powered or the brake was as effective, since I wasn't driving.