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How to turn off push button start car?

RS250 Chester

RS250 Chester

New member
Joined
Jun 28, 2002
Location
Sacramento
Moto(s)
Aprilia RSV Mille, Aprilia RS250, Cagiva Mito 125
I had never thought about this, but it happened last night to my in-law in her 2016 Nissan Pathfinder. She couldn't shut off her car.

She was pulling into her neighborhood and an error message appeared on her screen and the light dimmed on the push start button. She also said her turn signals stopped working. When she got home, she pressed the push start button to shut off the car, and nothing happened, the car kept running. She was going to drive to her friend's house to ask for help, but she couldn't get it out of park. I have some ideas about what's going on with the car, but in order to shut off the motor, the neighbor pulled a fuse and it eventually turned off.

What's the procedure to shut off the motor in this scenario. I don't know all the details, but it sounds like she doesn't have a removable push start button to insert a key. Her key fob was also not doing anything.
 
Jam a potato up the exhaust pipe.

This also works to prevent a car from starting.
 
Think you’re supposed to hold the fob against the start button for certain situations where shits not working as it should.
 
Long press.

Also: some cars have "bugs" i.e. the button stops working. Also: Different Makes are not the same (i.e. thread title a bit too general).

Nissan search:
Should work for stopping.

If your Nissan car, truck, or SUV has a key fob port, you can still put the fob in the port and tap the brake pedal or clutch as you press the START/STOP button. If your Nissan doesn’t have a port, just step on the brake or clutch as you press the key fob against the START/STOP button.
Click to expand...
https://www.tamaroffnissan.com/how-to-start-a-nissan-with-a-dead-key-fob/
 
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From the 2016 pathfinder owner's manual page 5-12:

EMERGENCY ENGINE SHUT OFF
To shut off the engine in an emergency situation
while driving, perform the following procedure:
– Rapidly push the push-button ignition switch
three consecutive times in less than 1.5 seconds, or
– Push and hold the push-button ignition switch
for more than 2 seconds.
Click to expand...
 
Some cars you can pull off the cover of the start button, and there is a slot to manually turn the car. Maybe that works? I know mercedes does this.
 
Akira-R said:
Some cars you can pull off the cover of the start button, and there is a slot to manually turn the car. Maybe that works? I know mercedes does this.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I own a Mercedes and was expecting that her start button could be removed to expose a key slot, but that's not the case.

Not exactly sure what happened yesterday as she was in a bit of a panic (it was late at night), but I know she said the start button was unresponsive, as well as her fob, as well as a whole host of other issues, wonder if an electronics module died on her
 
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So don't know about the Nissan, but for my Dodge, you can pull the Start button out of the dash and the hole that post goes in is designed to fit one end of the key fob.

You can turn the fob just like a traditional ignition key on and off.
 
I should read my owner’s manual to be ready when that shit breaks.
My bike has a keyless ignition also, I carry an extra fob battery under the seat.
 
RS250 Chester said:
I had never thought about this, but it happened last night to my in-law in her 2016 Nissan Pathfinder. She couldn't shut off her car.

She was pulling into her neighborhood and an error message appeared on her screen and the light dimmed on the push start button. She also said her turn signals stopped working. When she got home, she pressed the push start button to shut off the car, and nothing happened, the car kept running. She was going to drive to her friend's house to ask for help, but she couldn't get it out of park. I have some ideas about what's going on with the car, but in order to shut off the motor, the neighbor pulled a fuse and it eventually turned off.

What's the procedure to shut off the motor in this scenario. I don't know all the details, but it sounds like she doesn't have a removable push start button to insert a key. Her key fob was also not doing anything.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry that happened to your mom. My mom just bought one of those push button start/stop cars and I didn't realize it when I went to park it for her yesterday (she's visiting from AZ). Literally did not know what to do for a couple of seconds then pushed the button and it stopped. If it hadn't I would be freaking out.
 
GM is hold for about 5 seconds (or till it shuts off). BMW and Mercedes are push 3 times in fast succession.

Two things are LIFE SAVING in new vehicles w/ solenoid doors: how to turn the pushbutton vehicle off when under acceleration AND how to open solenoid doors w/ out power. There's always a pull handed somewhere.

Two relevant articles that have me doing this in all cars I'm not familiar with:

Solenoid Doors:

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-new...fter-becoming-trapped-inside-corvette-n373316

Pushbutton Ignition:

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.co...d-all-he-could-avoid-2009oct18-htmlstory.html
 
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