So...what do you supposed to do on the newer bimmers (those with no mechanical key slots) when this happens and the start/stop button doesn't work? :rolleyes:

On a side note, has anyone ever wonder how you would start one of those newer bimmers if and when that electronic fob goes out of battery? There's no mechanical key slot available to start the engine, though, there's a mechanical key slot to open the door. What good does that do you if you can get into your car, but not able to start the car with a dead key fob :dunno:

Did the engine turn off?

you guys are acting like this is some new thing. When you're driving, and you turn the key backwards to the acc position, the engine will die! so don't go doing it unless you are prepared to put it in neutral, start the engine, then dump the transmission back into D which may not be happy with you if you're at speed :0

nope

i turned it back to on (not past on; as to start the engine) while i was still cruising

did not have to stop, put it in park or neutral

If the engine didn't turn off, then that is weird.
It should have turned off.

Maybe your X is possesed? :confused:

rabbit: I thought you were the anointed (albeit by thy self) expert of the X5? How is this going to look when you advise (continually wrong of course) members of their problems?

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

one piece of useless trivia i don't know...

I'm wondering if he was going quickly enough so that the torque converter was still locked and kept the engine turning - much like a manual would...

i was only going 20 mph throughout the entire situation

maybe because it was slow that the engine stayed on? :dunno:

my thoughts are this: I believe that you cut the ignition to the engine, but were travelling fast enough so that the transmission was still causing the engine to turn over. If you'd have tried to push on the gas pedal, I believe nothing would have happened as you had no ignition going on. Can't confirm, but this is a best guess.

If you had done this with a carbureted manual tranny car, your engine would still have been turning over but you'd be pushing raw fuel through it and out the exhaust pipe. Once you turned the key back on, it would have provided spark again and a 10-foot flame would have blown out the tailpipe with a loud BANG. There goes your mufflers :) Trust me, I know through experience with an old 1971 F-150 :) This likely didn't happen on the X because it would have (again best educated guess) cut fuel to the fuel injectors.

Either way, what you did isn't the best thing for the car so I wouldn't do it again unless you are REALLY curious :)