Comfort Access Got Me
 

I parked my '08/4.8 at the Tennis Matches in Indian Wells last Friday, turned off the engine, locked it (and checked the inside locking knob visually) and then went off to watch tennis for 4 hours. When I got back to my car the engine was running- but fortunately no sign of overheating or water loss- just about an 1/8 of a tank of gas gone. Didn't know you could lock an X5 with the engine going but have since tried it at home and it's very easy. I apparently pushed the Stop button and pushed it again to kill the accessopries with my foot still on the brake which started the engine up again only I did'nt hear it. (At least it's good to know it will idle for 4 hours at 80F with no problem.)

You would think BMW engineers would have thought of this happening and as such, designed a safety. If engine running >1 hour and no movement, ask operator to confirm by pressing start otherwise command all functions off.

Why do you usually hit the button a 2nd time to kill accessories? The locking by touching the handle will shut everything off (after you do the engine).

One good thing to know though is I can leave the car running and still lock it while I jump inside for the ATM or something.

i usually press and hold the start/shut button until i get the BMW screen. that way i know for sure it's off. the couple times where i restarted the car by accident happened in my garage so i could hear the engine restarting. btw, for those getting the low battery light, maybe they had pressed the shut button once, and forgot to hit it a second time to completely turn off the car. this has happened to me and the radio was left on overnite.

I used this "feature" a few times, and found it quite useful when I want to warm the car up without having to guard it... But then again, dont do it in the new york city...:)

It should still turn itself off after a set amount of time. I never fully shut it off by keeping the button down or hitting it twice. I always leave the car while the radio is still playing and leave it up to the door handles to shut everything off - of course I've forgotten to lock it a handful of times (while grabbing stuff out the back, etc.) but each time it was fine again in the morning (nothing on)... doors left unlocked.

The battery drain problem is so random though as I'm sure many can attest to. I've had it happen to me only once and everything was fully off/locked.

This could be a safety issue if it were in a home garage.

I do that usually on propose ! On the summer hot days , when I go to the ''safeway'' I leave the car engine on, with the A/C and the seat ventilation :p to come back and find it cold as ice :p the temperature under the direct sun on a hot day in the summer will reach F 145 :)

at college I see one of my colleges Audi S8 most of the days with the engine on in the parking ! he does the same thing :s << It's a V10 !!

I only do it for 5-10 mins max !!

If you leave the vehicle with the engine running and the key fobb is in your pocket, someone else can not drive away with it.

I left the car running the other day and quickly ran into the house to get something while a friend was waiting in the car. As I left, he said a warning came up on the screen to the effect that "Key fobb not found and vehicle can not be operated..." :thumbup:

+1. Just push and hold the start/stop button and it will shut everything down. No need to press the button twice.

OMG! Glad everything was ok. Now, I don't feel as much of an idiot. I did that in my 2008 E350 Benz (with Keyless Go which is MBZ's Comfort Access) last summer!! I parked the car with my Mom, got out, locked the car using the little button on the door handle...and then went shopping and had a quick bite to eat. I was horrified, shocked and upset when I realized what I had done (luckily it was only about 45 mins, not 4 hours like you did!). I too, cannot believe, that BMW or MBZ would even allow this to happen. The car should not lock from the outside, if the engine is operating!!

MBZ must have fixed this, because on my '08 ML320cdi with Keyless Go, one cannot leave the engine running, and lock the vehicle.

I had an '07 Mini cooper S with comfort access, which could be locked with the engine running. I actually liked this "feature", as it allowed me to keep the engine running on cold mornings, with the vehicle locked, as I ran into a 7-11.

It can still be operated, shifted into drive, etc. It just can't be started again if it is shut off (msg actually says engine cannot be started or something to that effect). Unfortunate but true, because it would be a nice safety feature if you can't even shift out of P. I did test this morning that you can still lock the doors while the engine is running so I guess that's just as good. If you have your lights on auto... that would be a sign that the vehicle is still on.

None of this prevents a carjacking though. ;)

so your telling me there isnt a setting or something that you can set, so that you can drive into a parking bay, walk out, press the lock button and the car shuts down by itself completely??
besides cold mornings i fail to see why you would want your car engine to be on when your not there for 4 hours or whatever :S
there must be a setting right??? otherwise its a design goof

it happens to me occasionnally, with the cold weather, snow blowing, and the low motor noise, you really have to pay attention, I think it is completely stupid, it should shut down when you lock your door. !magine you park it in a garage and you kill many people.......with the gaz fume, I guess then BM will pay attention
I found it ridiculous that it enables some young t...to let the car on all day...so its stays cool
thats cool!!!! yeh!!!!

Maybe the engineers were thinking more along the lines of convenience when they designed the comfort access system. Having the vehicle shut off or requiring you leave the key in the vehicle [when just running back into the house / hit the ATM] defeats the point of having the keys stay in your pocket at all times. There are other times when you want the car running while outside the cabin - like when servicing it for something. At least they let you lock the doors (or it's just a convenient coincidence the 2 functions, ignition & door locks, are exclusive of each other). Just a thought.

What I really wish they made happen was prevent the shift from P like mentioned above. There should never be a case where that's needed while the key holder isn't even close by. Probably couldn't make that happen from a technical standpoint.

pushing the start/stop button twice before getting out makes No sense to me whatsoever. Whynot just get out and lock to door by putting my finger on the door handle and that's it.

Locking the door does turn everything off on my car. Am I missing something, because the whole point of CS is to make life simple: press once and go, press once and get out.

Locking the door turns off your engine in Canada?

not for me, like I said a closed the lock the door the other day with the engine running...
please verify,

I have to try it. I always press the button twice.

To the OP - What I don't understand is why the engine didn't cut off after the key was out of range.

oh shoot, my bad, no I don't mean the engine. I see how this can be confusing.

What I do is, I put the gear in park, (foot off the pedal) press the button once (that shuts the engine but not radio, etc), get out and lock the door by touch (and that kills all the electronics) then walk away.

worked well for me since day 1.

Yah same here. I put the car in park, push the start/stop button once then get out and touch the handle to lock the car and have the electronics shut off.

As for driving without the key, you could run the car as normal when the key is taken out of the car but once you shut it off you can't start it again. Also, if you have CA and don't have the key with you, you can't lock the car with the handle, which sucks.

And I leave the car on and lock it a lot so it could be cool when I get back. I am thinking about getting the BMW "remote start" which is done by your cell phone I believe. I think you call a number and your car starts or something. :dunno: :confused:

Understood. But if the car is running without the key, and you get out of range doesn't the engine shut off?

no, it runs normal but gives a message that the key is missing. It wouldn make sense for it to shut off.

Yeah, MBZ does the same. If the person who has the key/chip for Comfort Access/Keyless Go gets out of the car...on the MBZ, the speedo turns red, chimes and says "Key not detected". The engine and all features continue operating. You can turn the car off without the chip, but then you cannot restart of lock.

That's odd. I left the car running and went into a store but my mom stayed in the X. I park over the river and through the woods...far away from everyone. When I came back the X was off. I just assumed that the key was out of range so the engine cut off. I'd prefer it that way.

Hijack over. :)

I think your mom probably turned it off. I got scared the first time when my dad had the key in his pocket and walked into the store and told me to park the car. I thought it was going to shut off in the middle of the road, but no. :D

I think it is a safety feature. What if you are doing 75 on a highway and then CA system fails to contact the key (low battery, radio interference, etc). Do you want to have your engine shut in midflight? :)

Same logic works for loosing contact with the key while parked.

Either way, CA is not a replacement for a "bug"-based car security system. Hence, it does not have all bells and whistles, even though we would like to have these :)

My Infiniti behaves just like BMW CA, it chimes when looses the contact with the key but it remains fully functional otherwise.

I think the handshake with the keyfob is only done in the beginning (for starting). It then monitors that the unit is still inside the vehicle. If the keyfob crosses the boundary (set up by four antennas) it then shows the signal of loss of communication with key. They could easily make a time out counter to shut engine after a certain period and if you want to override your press start or somthing.

how preoccupied does one have to be to exit a running motor vehicle, lock the doors and walk away from same vehicle? dude put down the Blackberry. you are a hazard to yourself and those around you. :dunno:

^ I'll have to say when I test drove a Lexus 400h at their event, I couldn't tell if the engine was even on when I stepped in. The X5 isn't as quiet but it doesn't take much ambient noise to not hear it. They've already said they thought it was off by pushing the button. As for being preoccupied, I've actually been absent-minded enough to hit the P button while still rolling slowly up the driveway. I meant to hit unlock along my usual 3-button passageway to getting out of the car but it was a brain fart. We can't all be perfect 100% of the time.

i do dumb shit sometimes too rh, but exiting a running vehicle is careless behavior. i suppose that is why BMW engineers added the shift to park when the door is open function. lordy, some of us might actually just step out of the car while it rolls down the road. who has time to stop the car first these days anyway?

you do realize that people actually text while operating a motor vehicle these days right?

i did not mean to disparage the OP, but why not make a habit of checking to see if the car is actually off before getting out of it? slow life down just a touch, you will live longer.

You can also hold down the start/stop button for about 3seconds and it turns the engine and electronics off with one push.

pfff, you sound like one of those religious freaks.

If "make a habit of checking to see if the car is actually off before getting out of it" is a religion, I'll sign up!;)

Sorry if I offend anyone, but if you left your car in your garage running because you shut off and then restarted your car and then walked away from it running you are an idiot and should consider mass transit.

:wow:

you sound like some kinda fruity soccer lovin' fur-en-ahr. piss off mate!! :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: