Does your vehicle use an electronic key fob rather than the traditional metal key? Can you start your car at the press of a button on the fob or by slotting your key into the dashboard rather than inserting it into a traditional ignition and turning the tumbler?
Back when the traditional metal key was the only type available, Federal Motor Vehicle Standard 114, which became law in 1992, required that a vehicle’s transmission be in “Park” before the key could be removed from the ignition. Our Houston auto defect lawyers mention that this provision was intended to prevent the accidental rollaway of your vehicle and the serious or fatal rollaway accidents that might cause.
But when the NHTSA has expanded its definition of a vehicle “key” beyond the traditional metal variety to include the electronic code that allows remote access activation of the ignition, that standard no longer covered all “keys.” The NHTSA indicated that expanding the definition of “key” to include the electronic code keys fits with the agency’s goal of not discouraging innovation in motor vehicle technology.
And some of the automakers that use the electronic key fobs made the extra effort of including an electronic safeguard that requires your transmission to be in Park before the key is removed. But our Houston auto defect lawyers caution that not all of them took that additional step. There was a lawsuit filed against Nissan a few years ago due to the rollaway dangers posed and accidents that had resulted from the automaker’s electronic code key that didn’t have such a safeguard. The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed because the court found that “key” to be in compliance with the standards in effect at the time. An electronic code could be a key. (Christopher Jensen, New York Times, 2/10/2011) But because it wasn’t the traditional metal variety of key it didn’t have to comply with the 1992 Standard 114 that governed metal keys.
All seven 2010 and 2011 vehicles that used the electronic code key and that were tested by the Consumers Union allowed the engine to be turned off by the driver even as the transmission remained in the Neutral or Drive position. But the vehicles did give audible warnings of the safety lapse. Despite the warning, this could still present a rollaway danger. And this quirk of electronic code keys might also present the possibilities of theft, carbon monoxide poisoning, and issues with turning off moving vehicles in an emergency.
Automakers often forge ahead with new technologies and designs before they have fully worked out possible safety hazards resulting from the innovations. And so we end up with vehicles that have hidden tire defects, fuel system defects, ignition switch defects, and other problems that result in rollovers, rollaways, engine fires, air bag failures, and other dangers that could lead to serious injury or loss of life. Some defects have been linked to hundreds of deaths.
The Houston auto defect lawyers at Denena Points, PC urge you to check your vehicle for hazards that have led to recall. Go to the government recall website here and enter your year, make, and model and see if there are any hazards of which you might not be aware. Especially if you bought your vehicle used, you might not have received recall notices that the manufacturer sends out. Of course, even if your vehicle comes up recall-free, that doesn’t mean that it is free of hidden defects and dangers. That just means they haven’t been brought to light yet.