Toyota to redesign start-stop buttons to improve safety

Consumer Reports News: February 09, 2010 06:43 PM

In light of the unintended acceleration investigations, Toyota will change how its start-stop ignition button operates to provide more intuitive operation in the event of an emergency.

Currently, the button must be held for three seconds to turn off the engine when the car is in motion—something that should only be done in dire circumstances. This prevents accidentally shutting off the car, but many owners likely don't know this lengthy shut-off procedure. Toyota explained to Consumer Reports today that going forward, start-stop buttons will be also able to be turned off with multiple, quick presses, as might be done in a hurry, as well as the current three-second method. Exact timing for implementation is not known.

As detailed in " Five key fixes automakers should make now to reduce unintended acceleration," Consumer Reports thinks all start-stop buttons should allow the driver to shut off the engine with two quick pushes within three seconds.

The inability of the driver to shut off the engine with the car in motion was implicated as a factor in the high-profile tragedy with a runaway Lexus last August.

Consumer Reports has spoken to other automakers about start-stop button operation, and we hope more companies consider the ease of use not just in daily operation, but also in emergency situations. Some manufacturers, including GM and Nissan, already follow the "quick pushes" shut-off philosophy.

Despite this, we don't recommend turning the engine off when the car is moving, because it eliminates power assistance to the steering and brakes. And our testing has shown that it can be very difficult even for strong drivers to steer and stop modern cars at speed without these accessories.

Unintended acceleration can happen for a lot of reasons. It is vital that drivers have the tools to control it. (Read: " How to stop a runaway car.")

—Eric Evarts, with Jeff Bartlett

Be sure to follow Consumer Reports Cars blog (RSS) and Twitter (@CRcars) to keep up with the latest safety information and advice, also see our car safety and unintended acceleration guides.

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