The future of cars is very high tech: they’re computers on wheels, full of touch-screen and push-button systems. So many push-button systems, in fact, that for one line of Lincoln SUVs, owners can have trouble telling them all apart. And that’s how drivers have been turning off their ignitions while trying to hit other functions. Like the radio.
CNN reports that the trouble is with the 2015 Lincoln MKC SUV.
The Lincoln MKC not only has a start/stop button for the ignition but also uses an array of switches, rather than the traditional steering column or center console gear shift, for its gears. Like so:
Some users reaching for the “S” button — for sport mode — are inadvertently hitting the car’s start/stop button instead, CNN says. Which is easier to understand when you see the photo accompanying CNN’s story, which appears to show the layout being recalled:
The car’s start/stop switch also is right next to the touch screen that controls the radio, Bluetooth, and navigation functions, which appears to be about as brilliant as it sounds. One consumer wrote in a complaint to federal regulators that a passenger reaching for the radio in their car had hit the start/stop button instead, causing the car to slam to a sudden halt.
Ford has said that they will move the location of the start/stop button (as they appear to have done for the current renderings on their website) and reprogram the power train controls to fix the problem.
The carmaker is not aware of any injuries or deaths related to the ignition issue, but as we’ve seen with GM, cars suddenly having their ignitions turned off while traveling at high speed can be incredibly dangerous to drivers.
Turning a key might be getting antiquated… but it’s also a lot easier to tell the difference between the ignition and the radio in a car with a key.
Ford recalls SUVs because drivers are accidentally turning them off [CNN Money]
by Kate Cox via Consumerist
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