[elalona]

how long can some one drive with out the CA Key...?

i was with my friend and i went to buy some thing from the mall ...and i told him to meet me at other door of the mall, I went there and the CA Key with me. 5 min later he meet me at the mall door and the car was still runing...

...

[GregL]

You can drive for as long as the engine is not shut off with the push button, or runs out of gas... There's no time limit or range at which the fob has to be in relation to the car. So a car can be started with CA, then the fob left at home and you could actually drive around and go about your business, you just wouldn't be able to start it again after shutting the car down.

[elalona]

they must have a signal to be sent to the car to shut it down...

[user1]

Originally Posted by elalona

they must have a signal to be sent to the car to shut it down...

Are you sure? I thought, like the Greg, that once the car is shut down it cannot be restarted if the CA key isnt in vicinity. If your friend had tried turning off the car he wouldnt be able to restart.

I do wish the CA system worked more like Mercedes KeylessGO. If the KeylessGo is out of range of the car for a certain period of time the car shuts down automatically. This is good for carjacking situations. The car is disabled at a safe distance from the stranded owner. Unfortunately BMWs system lets the car drive indefinitely. Once shut down the car cannot be restarted if the CA key isnt in vicinity.

This is the case for all 3 series keys. Even the non-CA fobs can be removed from the dash. Within seconds of removing the non-CA key the car can be restarted (dont know if BMW corrected this "feature"). The car can be driven indefinitely but cannot be restarted after shutdown without the key.

[DowntownBMW]

anyone tested how close you have to be for the CA to work?

[shingles]

I wonder why bmw decided to allow the car to continue to run even if CA key was not in range... doesn't sound like a safe thing. I hope they change this...

[RiXst3r]

the key has to be inside the car for it to allow a start, just like it has to be near the trunk to allow the trunk to pop, and near the door to allow the door to unlock

[Gripster]

Originally Posted by shingles

I wonder why bmw decided to allow the car to continue to run even if CA key was not in range... doesn't sound like a safe thing. I hope they change this...

Well it wouldn't be good if the car died on the highway because you took the wrong jacket to work.

[BK]

^^ or if the battery in your keyfob died.

As said above, once you start the car with CA, it will run until you turn it off, even if the key leaves the car. The car can sense if the key is inside or outside the car, and gives you a warning when it can't sense the key anymore.

And you can turn off the car and restart it without the key around, if you restart it within about 10 seconds or so.

How close to you need to be for CA to work? For unlocking the doors, you have to be right up next to the door. Within a couple of feet or so. For starting the car, the key must be inside the car.

[DowntownBMW]

Originally Posted by RiXst3r

the key has to be inside the car for it to allow a start, just like it has to be near the trunk to allow the trunk to pop, and near the door to allow the door to unlock

thanks

[DowntownBMW]

Originally Posted by BK

^^ or if the battery in your keyfob died.

As said above, once you start the car with CA, it will run until you turn it off, even if the key leaves the car. The car can sense if the key is inside or outside the car, and gives you a warning when it can't sense the key anymore.

And you can turn off the car and restart it without the key around, if you restart it within about 10 seconds or so.

How close to you need to be for CA to work? For unlocking the doors, you have to be right up next to the door. Within a couple of feet or so. For starting the car, the key must be inside the car.

that makes sense,
otherwise, some dude can sneak up behind us and open the door and start the car, while youre just walking away
that would not be cool

[CASHBY]

the other day i vallet my car and forgot to give them the keys in my pocket.

it was funny whne i came back they were like "wtf how did your car run with out a key"

[shingles]

Originally Posted by BK

^^ or if the battery in your keyfob died.

.

I understand, but in this was the case, you should still be able to plug the CA fob into the slot and start the car no?

[BK]

Originally Posted by shingles

I understand, but in this was the case, you should still be able to plug the CA fob into the slot and start the car no?

Honestly, I don't know. I don't think anyone has had their CA battery die yet (and I haven't either). We don't even know if it gives you a warning when the battery is getting weak. The manual isn't clear on this point.

I'm hoping it happens to someone else on the forum before it happens to me, so I'll know what to do when/before it happens.

[JOYRIIDE1113]

I was driving my dads 7 seruies this weekend, and the screen would prompt me to insert the fob into the slot so it could charge...He has CA.

[gos]

The 3-series FOB with CA doesn't have a rechargable battery.

[Chesmu]

one of many reasons I don't have CA.

[Neon21db]

Originally Posted by Gripster

Well it wouldn't be good if the car died on the highway because you took the wrong jacket to work.

The car wouldn't be able to start if you took the wrong jacket.

[dArNeLLi]

Originally Posted by Neon21db

The car wouldn't be able to start if you took the wrong jacket.

i guess hypothetically, you wore one jacket, got in the car, decided to switch jackets while the car was running, and then take off??

[jhbodle]

BMW probably thought that it was safer in a car-jacking situation to let the criminal drive off without the key. Imagine if some one held a gun to your head, chucked you out of your car and drove off, only to find the engine stops 4 feet away from you. He'd come back and blow your head off for disabling the engine.