Remove Key with Car Running?

M

mharrison

Dedicated LVC Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2005
Messages
668
Reaction score
1
Location
Madison, Mississippi
I can remove my key while the car is running. Is it supposed to do that? I mean, I guess I can see it being handy if you want to run in the gas station and leave the car running, but lock it with the remote.

So, Is mine just busted or what? I didn't see anything about this in the owners manual and I read the whole thing. (I'm a geek, what can I say!)

-Matt
2001 Lincoln LS
 
I can do this to my 93 Mark VIII also...

Car works fine...

Someone told me that it could mean the car was broken into...

But when I check a carfax out about my 93 it showed that I am the 2nd owner. And no reports of the car being stolen..

Plus the car came from a small town so it would not be likely that it would have been broken into. (I am not trying to generalize small town vs big city) I just know the town and it's not a Characteristic of the town.
 
my explorer used to be able to do this (sold it), there was nothing wrong with it. i loved it, i could just start the car and take the keys out and put em in my pocket (never had to deal with keys hitting the knees (6.5")
 
my father had 2 explorers and an aerostar that did this dealers said bad ignition switch i heard if you get keys made somewhere else could be slightly off and would allow this to happen ? you have to have the key to start it (has to be in ignition for it to start) you cant just turn the switch with the key near it (chipped keys have to be near it ) ? if so then maybe it was tampered with? good luck
 
Yep, you have to have the key to start it. This happens with factory keys and aftermarket keys. I assumed that the ignition is messed up. I'm not worried about it, I just wondered if by some off chance it was supposed to do this.

Oh, well. It doesn't bother me, and I find it kind of handy.
 
only time i saw when you could remove a key from a running car was when it was a GM didnt know ford did that
 
It's a worn out tumbler assy. It shouldn't present a problem. The only thing I would be worried about is if it's that worn, will it ever fail completely and not allow me to start the car???
 
Lock Wear

mespock said:
I can do this to my 93 Mark VIII also...

Car works fine...

Someone told me that it could mean the car was broken into...

But when I check a carfax out about my 93 it showed that I am the 2nd owner. And no reports of the car being stolen..

Plus the car came from a small town so it would not be likely that it would have been broken into. (I am not trying to generalize small town vs big city) I just know the town and it's not a Characteristic of the town.
Click to expand...
This happens with alot of Japanese autos also. The cylinder has worn out. Its not broken its just worn. And your right it is very convienient. Dont worry about it.
 
My 94 Mark does the same thing. It's actually convinient when I need to run back in the house after forgeting something, I can leave the car running, club it if I feel paranoid about leaving it unattended, and come back with my car undisturbed and still running. Helps especially in summer and winter with the windows up.

I also have a 79 Cadillac Coupe De' Ville that does the same thing.

Kinda' Neat, Huh? :ballon
 
Hmmm

The LS has a security keysense chip in the key which is meant to prevent the vehicle from running without the chip code. I would possibly check under your dash for a previously installed remote starter. There could very well be a valey key or some other bypass kit sitting there under your dash. You could also have a crap ignition switch along with a chip bypass allowing it to run. There may be other possibilities, but that seems the most likely. There's my two cents.
 
My '93 is doing that too. No, it shouldn't do that. It's worn out.
It's not a difficult part to change, but I don't want to deal with the grief of rekeying anything.

I had a Jeep that allowed me to do this once. One day, the cylinder broke and I couldn't turn the key anymore. My car was then stuck in a parking lot in the middle of the night. If you have the opportunity to fix it, it's probably a good idea to do so.
 
my dad had an old 80's model Ford Explorer (truck) that you could turn the key all the way back to the accesory position and the truck would continue to run. wierd. But the steering wheel would lock and you couldn't put it in gear.
 
My 96 T-Bird started doing that about a year after I got it worked fine for another 2 years then all of a suddon I could not shut the car off had to pop the hood and pull the IAC to stop the moter and the batt. cable to kill the electrical sys. Glad it happend though because thats what got me into my LS. Its like a $50 fix if that but it was the staw that broke the camels back (dam 4r70w tranny) Though I still love that car and fit in it better then any other I've ever been in.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

No members online now.
Total: 114 (members: 0, guests: 114)
Back
Top