[deltron]

Short story, I went out to happy hour tonight. Parked the car. Realized I had left my lunch bag in my front seat after I locked my doors and walked some short distance away, so I walked back, open the passenger door (which opens all the doors), dumped in the trunk and locked all the doors with the remote button.

3 hours later I walk back to my car, and I see my lights are on and I'm scratching my head trying to find a reason why. Low and behold, I forgot to turn my car off. For 3 hours it was idling. Luckily my doors were locked, but I was in a state of shock.

I'll admit, its taking me a while to get use to the wireless key and all but I felt like a real dumbass. My friend from work was parked next to me, he has an X3, and remarked how he's not getting CA on his next BMW for sure.

Any who, I remember reading on this forum before I got my car how CA will give you a grace period if you open your doors (when the car is parked or at a complete stop) to either close the door or restart the car if the CA fob is not the in car. So the car kept going all this time, even after I opened the drivers to leave, opened the passenger door some time after, the trunk, and then closed all the doors.

Is CA suppose to work like this? In either case, beware of the laziness of CA, or you might be subject to doing the same dumb shit I did this evening!

I have to say though that I'm surprised no one harassed my car or tried any shit. I guess I'm either lucky or there's really good people out there (which I think). Like they say, locks are for honest people.

[BK]

To be clear, you parked but left the engine running, locked the car, walked away some distance, realized you left your lunch in it, walked back, opened the passenger door, grabbed your lunch, closed the door and locked it and walked away. And the whole time the car was running? Is the car that quiet that you didn't notice it was running the first time you went back?

Or are you saying you started the car when you went back to get your lunch, and then left it running from there?

[canucklion]

yeah, what BK asked, I'm confused by what actually happened

Originally Posted by BK

To be clear, you parked but left the engine running, locked the car, walked away some distance, realized you left your lunch in it, walked back, opened the passenger door, grabbed your lunch, closed the door and locked it and walked away. And the whole time the car was running? Is the car that quiet that you didn't notice it was running the first time you went back?

Or are you saying you started the car when you went back to get your lunch, and then left it running from there?

[Squawks]

Some places are quite noisy, BK - so I wouldn't be surprised if this took place in such an environment to permit this to happen.

That's another flaw of BMW's poor technical engineering. On top of the fact that the car does not auto-lock by itself when it detects the CA fob is moving away from the car - it also fails to do anything about shutting off the car in the case the fob is moving away as well.

Another reason why Corvette's CA is much better than the E90's CA (that it auto-locks if you walk away from the car...you don't even need to touch the door handle which in all purposes defeats the whole point of CA itself).

[deltron]

Originally Posted by BK

To be clear, you parked but left the engine running, locked the car, walked away some distance, realized you left your lunch in it, walked back, opened the passenger door, grabbed your lunch, closed the door and locked it and walked away. And the whole time the car was running? Is the car that quiet that you didn't notice it was running the first time you went back?

Or are you saying you started the car when you went back to get your lunch, and then left it running from there?

I drove to the pub and left the car running, between going back and forth, etc... I never hit the stop button to turn if off, so it sat there idling the whole time. And yeah, I don't think I even noticed. The car isn't absolutely silent but its surprising quiet; I can only compare it to silence of a typical lexus, you don't even know the engine is on.

When you drive you can hear the engine. Especially if you press hard on the throttle, but when you're cruising you only hear the road.

I did have music on (not loud though) and A/C on. Those two factors probably muffled some of the engine noise.

[BK]

Originally Posted by Squawks

Another reason why Corvette's CA is much better than the E90's CA (that it auto-locks if you walk away from the car...you don't even need to touch the door handle which in all purposes defeats the whole point of CA itself).

Now that's a great idea! I didn't know any keyless entry systems did that, but it makes a lot of sense.

[canucklion]

that's what BMW's CA should do. that was a big turn-off for me, to have to touch the door handle to unlock the door, the only feature of CA that I like was not having to put the fob in the dash to start the car, but not for 700CAD, and it's a feature that SHOULD"VE came with the car, or like Passat's system, you put in the fob then push forward to start the car.

Originally Posted by Squawks

Another reason why Corvette's CA is much better than the E90's CA (that it auto-locks if you walk away from the car...you don't even need to touch the door handle which in all purposes defeats the whole point of CA itself).

[JSpira]

People have been leaving their cars locked and running before comfort access was invented.

This has as much to do with comfort access as the theft of David Beckham´s x5 did.

[canucklion]

since I don't have CA: so the engine doesn't turn off automatically when you leave your car?

Originally Posted by JSpira

People have been leaving their cars locked and running before comfort access was invented.

This has as much to do with comfort access as the theft of David Beckham´s x5 did.

[deltron]

I got the CA so I could impress friends & family how I don't need to put a key in the dash or push any buttons on a remote.

I never left my car running in the past. I'm just happy my baby is ok. It did consume 1/8th the tank which was better than what I imagine. I was expecting an almost empty tank (it was 3/4 full when I got the pub).

I agree with some of you guys. I wish CA would automatically lock the doors and turn the car off if it was park and you were out of CA's range for a 5-10 minutes. Nonetheless I have been stuck in the rain and CA was a nice convenience to quickly get in the car, I just need to be more mindful next time

I'm sure BMW will continue improving the system. I do like what they've done by making it an inconspicuous feature. No one knows what car your walking to until you open the door and lock yourself in. No blinking parking lights or anything, which makes it safer than a remote in some ways. I should probably share my story with BMW NA just so they know how oblivious there customers can be at times.

[aphall]

Wow, who knew this would be a hazard of CA. I sure didn't! Thanks for the story dude.

[ward]

deltron, thanks for the laughs man


3030 for sure!


at least you didn't drive off with the key on the roof like some other guy on here!

[Pretender]

Originally Posted by Squawks

Some places are quite noisy, BK - so I wouldn't be surprised if this took place in such an environment to permit this to happen.

That's another flaw of BMW's poor technical engineering. On top of the fact that the car does not auto-lock by itself when it detects the CA fob is moving away from the car - it also fails to do anything about shutting off the car in the case the fob is moving away as well.

Another reason why Corvette's CA is much better than the E90's CA (that it auto-locks if you walk away from the car...you don't even need to touch the door handle which in all purposes defeats the whole point of CA itself).

Shut off the car when the CA moving away? Which one moving away? if your wife also has a key and when she leaves, the car will also shut off? or you tried to say that if the car doesn't detect the key, it will shut off the engine. What will happen if you have the key in your back pocket during driving on the freeway and accidentally break it? The car shut off too?

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by Squawks

On top of the fact that the car does not auto-lock by itself when it detects the CA fob is moving away from the car.

I thought I had read that it _does_ do that - or at least it can be programmed to do that. In fact, isn't this the default more of operation in Europe?

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by deltron

I did have music on (not loud though) and A/C on. Those two factors probably muffled some of the engine noise.

After reading your first post, that's the first question that came to mind. I always have my radio up pretty loud, so I can't see myself ever not noticing that the car is still "powered up", unless it was a situation with very high ambient noise.

My second question would be, how many beers had you had before making that second trip back the car? Its like I always say: fool me once - shame on me; fool me twice, and I'm drunk.

[exchequer]

Originally Posted by Squawks

Another reason why Corvette's CA is much better than the E90's CA (that it auto-locks if you walk away from the car...you don't even need to touch the door handle which in all purposes defeats the whole point of CA itself).

From the e90 manual (with iDrive) in the Central Locking section:

"Relock door if not opened"
The central locking system automatically
locks the vehicle after a short time
when no door has been opened.

I wonder if this only applies when you unlock the doors through CA and then do not open the door. Or if it relocks any time all the doors are closed after a short period of time.

[ALPINE6SPD]

This is why I always make my mirrors fold in. You have to hold your finger on it for about 3 sec. If the mirrors are folded in then its not running. I have never done it because I really try to pay attention.

[shinsverk]

I don't think I would blame CA for leaving your car running, after you came back to the car a second time.

[Bimmerforlife]

I'm still debating whether I need this option, $500.00 I could really spend on something else like the window shades or park distance. I've been using a remote forever to open cars that it would seem weird not to use one. Seems to be more of a convenience more than anything and it's not that often my hands are so full that would warrant this option.

[Greeney]

Well you dont have to put the key in the slot. To me that makes the Push start actually worth it...

[ALPINE6SPD]

Originally Posted by Bimmerforlife

I'm still debating whether I need this option, $500.00 I could really spend on something else like the window shades or park distance. I've been using a remote forever to open cars that it would seem weird not to use one. Seems to be more of a convenience more than anything and it's not that often my hands are so full that would warrant this option.

PDC is a waste on this car. Not only do you have the ugly holes in the bumper this is a small car and its easy to park without PDC. Get the CA you will use it a hell of a lot more than PDC.

[whippersnapper]

I didn't bother with CA. $500 seemed like a waste of money for a gimmick. Experience with the G35 I've been running for the last few weeks confirms my decision. It is of marginal benefit in some circumstances and a pain otherwise. The fact my daughter can try and "help" lock the doors is a major drawback as is the fact that it doesn't just autolock when you walk away.