ABC World News reported that the owners of some five million cars with keyless ignition systems could be at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning after investigators found a link between a dozen deaths and similar poisoning incidents that resulted from owners accidentally walking away from their vehicles without turning them off. ABC provides the example of a couple, the Fontanini, who left their car running in the garage, which then filled up with carbon monoxide that eventually seeped into their house, causing their death.
Keyless ignition carbon monoxide threat: ABC News reported that currently some car models make a warning sound inside the vehicle when a key is not present. Some even shut off automatically after a while. The NHTSA “proposed a rule almost four years ago that would require a brief, but piercing alarm, but not an automatic shut off if someone were to leave a car running and take the key fob,” the article reports. Agency officials “say they are reviewing public comments and say they plan to issue a final rule in February,” according go the article. Ford, maker of the Lincoln MKS maker, the Fontanini’s car, said, “Ford takes the safety of our customers very seriously; the keyless ignition system has proven to be a safe and reliable innovative feature that has been well-received by customers. Ford vehicles equipped with keyless ignition alert drivers when the driver’s door is opened and the vehicle’s engine is running.” The company “adds that many of its current models with keyless ignitions do have an automatic shutoff feature, which turns off the vehicle after 30 minutes of inactivity,” the article reported.
For more info, please visit: http://abcnews.go.com/US/abc-news-investigation-potential-risk-keyless-ignitions/story?id=34161887
