Bad accident on Westbound I-70 today. Both lanes stop and go for miles.
came upon a Nissan Mirano stopped cold in the left lane. Pretty gal inside,I stopped. even if I couldn't restart her car I figured to just push her off the road out of traffic.

Seems the car died and when she put it in park to restart it just stayed there stuck in park. Worse, the push button ignition wouldn't work. So, stranded in the left lane,of a high speed highway, I couldn't even push her off the road!

Anyone ever hear of such a thing?

Key fob would not operate the doors even though it flashed a red light when pressed.

Batteries die. But she is driving and the key fob battery fails, so it is no longer recognized by the BCM?

Not being able to pull it out of park and just push it off the highway out of harm's way? Scary.


roadster with a stick

 

I am bumping this 'cause I still worry and wonder.
Is the loss of the key while driving a problem with keyless Ignitions or was their some simple thing this young lady needed to do.

I was supposed to be her Knight Savior and I missed my chance 'cause of this technology cr@p!

roadster with a stick

 

From one sucker for a pretty lady to another.

Yes, to my knowledge the car is looking for the wireless code from the key for the keyless ignition to work.

 

Sorry I didn't see this sooner, Franc.
I know you wanted to add another fem to your collection...

Anyway, Nissan's with the intelligent key have a slot in the dash you can plug the key into in the event of this type of occurrence. Usually located on the left side of the dash, above the knees.

Can needs to be in either Park or Neutral, with the foot on the brake, and then just a quick press of the button gets the starter to engage.

Was her car able to go into the modes where she could listen to the radio, or use the windshield wipers? If yes, then I would suspect that the brake sensor on the car failed, which is what tells the ECU that the brake is being pressed.

If it wouldn't go into those modes, the next best thing to do is pop the hood, disconnect the battery terminals (both), and then touch them together, and turn on the headlights for a moment. This drains all the residual electrical charge in the car's electrical system, and clears out any issues.

Then reconnect the battery terminals, and try again.
Usually does the trick with the few reports of this issue I have seen on the Nissan forums I frequent.

If not, then the BCM most likely lost the key programming (rare, but happens), and only a dealer can fix it.

BC.

 

Thanks for the info on this. I'm sure it will be useful to others with similar keyless vehicle set-ups. Most people don't even know their FOBs may have an actual "key" either included (possibly hidden - like on my newer Chrysler) or as a separate alternative. Dealers should try to educate people about these issues prior to them driving off the lot (don't laught at me expecting they should actually know or care about such issues for the owners). Could save time and save people from aggrevating situations and more importantely unsafe situations.

 

Thanks BC. She had radio and some other functions. However, with the key fob inseted into the slot nothing. As it was ther mother's car She did not have an actual "Key."
Knowing how many modern cars react to sensor failures, I should have thought about the battery disconnect.
But to be completely honest her babyblues (actually they were gold) and tight blouse had this old degentrate's brain fuddled.

There is a good chance next time, it will be an old couple. So maybe I canget my act together and be somewhat useful.


again, thanks


franc