# Push button start car, if you push it while driving will it kill the engine? **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [November 18, 2017, 1:27am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/push-button-start-car-if-you-push-it-while-driving-will-it-kill-the-engine/109477 "2017-11-18T01:27:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Barkydog](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/barkydog/32/2470_2.png) [@Barkydog](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Barkydog)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2017, 1:27am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/push-button-start-car-if-you-push-it-while-driving-will-it-kill-the-engine/109477/1 "2017-11-18T01:27:52Z")
We have had situations presented that turning the key to off is the solution, will hitting the start button turn the car off in all situations? Do not want to try it on wifey new car, you guys know? Posting an image in post re site problems ![](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/2X/e/ea706a75f53f7f8d9d939ed987a2f29f042725dd.jpg) works for me ---
**Author:** ![VOLVO-V70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@VOLVO-V70](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VOLVO-V70)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2017, 1:32am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/push-button-start-car-if-you-push-it-while-driving-will-it-kill-the-engine/109477/2 "2017-11-18T01:32:03Z")
If you need to stop the engine while driving the start - stop button has to be held for 3 to five seconds. Some models may be a little different but just bumping the button will not shut things off. ---
**Author:** ![the\_same\_mountainbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@the\_same\_mountainbike](https://community.cartalk.com/u/the_same_mountainbike)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2017, 2:10am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/push-button-start-car-if-you-push-it-while-driving-will-it-kill-the-engine/109477/3 "2017-11-18T02:10:13Z")
The problem is a serious one, and there have been incidents reported of people not knowing how to shut their engines off. To any owner of a car with these things, I’d recommend reading carefully what the owner’s manual say on the subject. ---
**Author:** ![Barkydog](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/barkydog/32/2470_2.png) [@Barkydog](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Barkydog)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2017, 2:50am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/push-button-start-car-if-you-push-it-while-driving-will-it-kill-the-engine/109477/4 "2017-11-18T02:50:21Z")
That is good advice, wifey is still working through the equal size manual for the stereo bluetooth whatever, maybe later the car manual, I perused the manual but may have to read more thoroughly as I must have missed the directions if they were in there., Edit found the directions 52U\_(U) 8-1. Essential information 605 RAV4\_OM\_OM42752U\_(U) 8-1. Essential information 8When trouble arises If your vehicle has to be stopped in an emergency Steadily step on the brake pedal with both feet and firmly depress it. Do not pump the brake pedal repeatedly as this will increase the effort required to slow the vehicle. Shift the shift lever to N.  If the shift lever is shifted to N After slowing down, stop the vehicle in a safe place by the road. Stop the engine.  If the shift lever cannot be shifted to N Keep depressing the brake pedal with both feet to reduce vehicle speed as much as possible. Vehicles without smart key system: Stop the engine by turning the engine switch to the “ACC” position. Vehicles with smart key system: To stop the engine, press and hold the engine switch for 2 consecutive seconds or more, or press it briefly 3 times or more in succession. Stop the vehicle in a safe place by the road. Anyone can explain in real talk? What the hell is an engine switch? Start button? OOH OOH, I wanted the 6 cyl but ended up with a 4, switch now? ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2017, 3:16am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/push-button-start-car-if-you-push-it-while-driving-will-it-kill-the-engine/109477/5 "2017-11-18T03:16:23Z")
I think the Acura manual said pushing it for 5 seconds would shut the car off but I may be wrong. The jist was just don’t push it momentarily but push it and hold it in. The didn’t cover that in Acura class though, I had to read it myself. ---
**Author:** ![oldtimer-11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e79b87/32.png) [@oldtimer-11](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oldtimer-11)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2017, 6:05am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/push-button-start-car-if-you-push-it-while-driving-will-it-kill-the-engine/109477/6 "2017-11-18T06:05:19Z")
The engine switch is the ignition switch. Pushing the button 3 times can be done faster than holding it in. Shifting to neutral is the proper response to unintended acceleration, unfortunately people in a panic think it is not working because they feel no deceleration and the engine is roaring. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2017, 9:22pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/push-button-start-car-if-you-push-it-while-driving-will-it-kill-the-engine/109477/7 "2017-11-18T21:22:45Z")
> [@the\_same\_mountainbike](#): > > I’d recommend reading carefully what the owner’s manual say on the subject. Absolutely! A couple of days ago, I was in the dealership’s service department while the service writer patiently tried to explain to someone (over the phone) how to turn on his/her windshield wipers. The amount of time that it took him to give this guidance over the phone was nothing short of incredible, because the caller just didn’t seem to “get it”. If I was the service writer, after a couple of minutes I would have politely told the person to read the appropriate section of his/her Owner’s Manual **while sitting in the driver’s seat** , and to call back if things were still unclear. 😟 ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2017, 10:16pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/push-button-start-car-if-you-push-it-while-driving-will-it-kill-the-engine/109477/8 "2017-11-18T22:16:12Z")
To be fair, as we learned years ago, people learn in different ways. Some learn by reading, some by watching, some by doing. Expecting someone that learns by doing to read a 400 page owners manual just may not get the job done. When we bought both the Acura and the Pontiac, the sales rep spent at least a half hour in the car explaining how everything worked. Then in addition Acura had a new owners class going over more items. In the old days to turn the wiper on, you turned the switch that was printed in English “wiper”. Now you get the multi-function switch with little symbols like a windshield or lit headlight on it. Maybe we need a new standard that says the stalk should go up or down to turn the wipers on but not up in some cars and down in others. Kinda like if you turned the radio knob counter-clockwise to turn it on instead of off. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2017, 11:06pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/push-button-start-car-if-you-push-it-while-driving-will-it-kill-the-engine/109477/9 "2017-11-18T23:06:49Z")
> [@bing](#): > > When we bought both the Acura and the Pontiac, the sales rep spent at least a half hour in the car explaining how everything worked That’s the hell of it, because the salespeople at that dealership spend a lot of time with customers going over the details of the controls, gauges, maintenance schedule, etc when the customer takes delivery. Apparently, this particular customer absorbed little or nothing from the salesman’s orientation, and it didn’t seem to be going particularly well with the service writer’s instructions over the phone. When the service writer referred to the “stalk on the right side of the steering column”, that verbiage seemed to mean nothing to the caller, and terminology such as “intermittent wiper function” was apparently not fully comprehended either. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![db4690](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/db4690/32/2583_2.png) [@db4690](https://community.cartalk.com/u/db4690)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2017, 11:37pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/push-button-start-car-if-you-push-it-while-driving-will-it-kill-the-engine/109477/10 "2017-11-18T23:37:03Z")
Is it possible the customer’s primary language wasn’t english? I’m asking because when somebody says “stalk on the right side of the steering column” . . . it’s pretty clear to me But the first thing would be to understand the concept of “steering column” . . . if that means nothing to you, then talking about a “stalk” may be an exercise in futility At which point it might be prudent to suggest . . . in a polite manner . . . to read the owner’s manual. I have found there are times when the owner’s manual is far more helpful than a guy on the phone ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2017, 11:48pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/push-button-start-car-if-you-push-it-while-driving-will-it-kill-the-engine/109477/11 "2017-11-18T23:48:59Z")
That’s the first time I’ve seen an ignition switch referred to as an “engine switch”. I see unusual wording like that though in some sections of the factory service manual for my Corolla. I’m guessing those sections were written in a different language and translated to English, probably assisted by a computerized language translator. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2017, 11:52pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/push-button-start-car-if-you-push-it-while-driving-will-it-kill-the-engine/109477/12 "2017-11-18T23:52:28Z")
The service writer had the call on speaker phone, and I can confidently state that that customer’s primary language was definitely English. Based on the voice that I heard, I think it is fair to say that the caller was an elderly person. This is just speculation, but perhaps that person’s last car was an older American road barge with its controls spaced along the expanse of the dashboard, rather than being grouped on the steering column. That’s just my best guess, of course. When my father drove my '71 Charger–whose controls were slightly different than those on his '63 Plymouth–my father seemed to be flummoxed. If he tried to transition from that '63 Plymouth to a modern vehicle, I can imagine that he would have been totally confused. ---
**Author:** ![Barkydog](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/barkydog/32/2470_2.png) [@Barkydog](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Barkydog)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2017, 11:52pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/push-button-start-car-if-you-push-it-while-driving-will-it-kill-the-engine/109477/13 "2017-11-18T23:52:35Z")
I hear you, but I can read about stuff till the world turns blue, but having someone show me once, I have it dialed in. Haveing similar issues with “I HATE DATABASES” the internet shows 17 different answers, and it seems basics that should be part of the process, are not included, as one should know them already, is it from a dos prompt, a shell prompt, a psql prompt, or maybe it is a json, perl or java script, perhaps c++, sorry to cavetch, but I have a lot to learn, even about driving a stupid car! Remembering keys cut only on one side, GM, cut side was down, chrysler, cut side was up, the window cranks were one way for gm, the other for chrysler, change brand, relearn, even to this day with electric windows, the controls are different, ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2017, 12:58am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/push-button-start-car-if-you-push-it-while-driving-will-it-kill-the-engine/109477/14 "2017-11-19T00:58:26Z")
> [@Barkydog](#): > > is it from a dos prompt, a shell prompt, a psql prompt, or maybe it is a json, perl or java script, perhaps c++, Ha ha ha. Just when you were speaking English, you go off on some foreign language. The Senior Center now is starting a program to match high school kids with “seniors” to help them with new technology. Patience patience but afterward they said it is helpful to provide written instructions on what they just went over because they forget so fast. Things like how to transfer photos from phones. I should sign up-but wait, I would need a phone that can burp up its pictures first. ---
**Author:** ![sgtrock21](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/sgtrock21/32/246_2.png) [@sgtrock21](https://community.cartalk.com/u/sgtrock21)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2017, 1:48am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/push-button-start-car-if-you-push-it-while-driving-will-it-kill-the-engine/109477/15 "2017-11-19T01:48:07Z")
I have come to the conclusion that the only manual opened less than the vehicle operator manual is the state driver manual. ---
**Author:** ![the\_same\_mountainbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@the\_same\_mountainbike](https://community.cartalk.com/u/the_same_mountainbike)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2017, 2:02am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/push-button-start-car-if-you-push-it-while-driving-will-it-kill-the-engine/109477/16 "2017-11-19T02:02:38Z")
> [@bing](#): > > they said it is helpful to provide written instructions on what they just went over because they forget so fast. We seniors were not brought up in a world of computers, with sublevel menus leading to more sublevel menus, and where two buttons can do a million things if pushed in the right order, and there exists not a shred of logic. Our minds evolved to understand things that make sense, where the logic us up-front and visible. Perhaps it’s the young people who need written instructions on how old people think. Or perhaps there’s no need for two buttons, each of which goes through a lengthy menu when pushed over and over, each menu leading to countless submenus. Perhaps in many areas such as automobiles it makes more sense to go back to basics. I realize this is only a simple example, but I’m kind of sick of having to take my eyes off the road and watch an LCD display while I push a sequential button over and over until I get to the vent configuration I want. The old rotary switch was far, far better. I could do it all by feel, without ever taking my eyes off the road. ---
**Author:** ![sgtrock21](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/sgtrock21/32/246_2.png) [@sgtrock21](https://community.cartalk.com/u/sgtrock21)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2017, 2:16am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/push-button-start-car-if-you-push-it-while-driving-will-it-kill-the-engine/109477/17 "2017-11-19T02:16:56Z")
Friends don’t let friends use DOS. Actually DOS was a huge improvement over the first OS I had to learn for work. ENABLE. It came with a flip chart for determining which “F” key to use for a prompt. ---
**Author:** ![the\_same\_mountainbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@the\_same\_mountainbike](https://community.cartalk.com/u/the_same_mountainbike)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2017, 2:25am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/push-button-start-car-if-you-push-it-while-driving-will-it-kill-the-engine/109477/18 "2017-11-19T02:25:31Z")
I first learned computers, in college, writing on Fortran and keypunching into 80-column IBM cards. That was before GUIs, mouses, and all the good stuff that interacting with the harddrive through a GUI possible. I eventually learned DOS and kept building knowledge as the years went by. Then came the internet. Sometimes I feel like I’m going backwards now. 😣 ---
**Author:** ![Barkydog](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/barkydog/32/2470_2.png) [@Barkydog](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Barkydog)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2017, 3:26am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/push-button-start-car-if-you-push-it-while-driving-will-it-kill-the-engine/109477/19 "2017-11-19T03:26:45Z")
Yes, I am going backwards in the name of going forwards also, I also started with keypunch cards in fortran, was writing scripts and menues when windows first came out, who needs it I thought, got spoiled by point and click GUI, now am regressing to terminal windows, sql commands, I like a key to turn on and off my car, windows was the land of smoke and mirrors, cars are the new land of smoke and mirrors, me I like knowing a circuit, screwdriver and a wrench you can fix a car, no longer the case, much like windows took over the computer world computers has taken over the automotive world. Just got to keep moving on, toss the dwell meter and deal with it. ---
**Author:** ![the\_same\_mountainbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@the\_same\_mountainbike](https://community.cartalk.com/u/the_same_mountainbike)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2017, 4:06am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/push-button-start-car-if-you-push-it-while-driving-will-it-kill-the-engine/109477/20 "2017-11-19T04:06:58Z")
It’s a mixed bag. There are a lot of things like backup assist, rear view cameras, and the new automatic stopping features (for pedestrians etc.) that I think are great features, but there are also a lot of things that I don’t believe contribute to safety or convenience. Controlling everything with a touch screen and menus is, I believe, much less safe and demand more attention from the driver. All the satellite and internet connectivity are also distracting from the job of driving. I just read Automobile’s review of the new VW EV bus. They tested that and an old “Type 2” microbus around the Bay Area. Interestingly, the reviewer’s comments, while generally good, were that the old microbus seats were more comfortable than the molded foam seats on the new bus. That’s a subject that we’ve discussed before. Manufacturers have forgotten how to make comfortable seats. Overall, I was intrigued by the new bus. I really liked a lot of its features. Done reliably, it has the potential to change the minibus world as much as the original did all those decades ago. [Next page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/push-button-start-car-if-you-push-it-while-driving-will-it-kill-the-engine/109477.md?page=2)