Bug? Can turn off engine while still in Drive.

Status
Not open for further replies.
A

Armchair Bronco

Member
:
2007 Mazda CX-9 GT AWD
Is this a bug? I can turn off the engine on my 2007 CX-9 AWD while still in Drive!

My wife mentioned to me that she and my daughter were shopping the other day. They parked in a parking lot and started to walk away from the car when my daughter said: "Mommy, the car is rolling forward!" My wife had to race to get back in the car, hit the brake, and then put the automatic transmission in Park.

I thought "She must be joking!" so I tried this myself. Alas, she was right. In the driveway, I started the engine, put the car in Drive, turned the engine off, took my foot off the brake, and the car started to roll.

Please tell me this isn't "By Design".
 
Last edited:
If I remember correctly, I was able to shut the engine off in Drive on my Subaru Outback and Honda Accord. I discovered this because there were a few times where i was distracted and shut off the engine prematurely without putting it back in Park (or Neutral) and then tried to restart the car which obviously did not. I don't know if this is the same across all manufacturers. It is probably a safety requirement in the event the gear shift is stuck in Drive mode and it has to be shut down for troubleshooting.

The car will roll if the engine is off and it is in any other mode other than Park because the A/T is no longer pressurized.

However, you can only start the engine in Park or Neutral.
 
Last edited:
We have the keyless ignition on our CX-9. To me, this seems like a major safety issue. I've never had a car that let you turn it off (or on) unless the transmission was in Park.
 
I have done this on ours a couple of times being distracted after pulling into the garage. I immediately realized that I had not put it in park and so I didn't experience the rolling, but it definitely looks like it's by design. I have had a few other vehicles that did the same thing.
 
vikefan7 said:
I have done this on ours a couple of times being distracted after pulling into the garage. I immediately realized that I had not put it in park and so I didn't experience the rolling, but it definitely looks like it's by design. I have had a few other vehicles that did the same thing.
Click to expand...

Wow! I'm not a trial lawyer and I hate living in a "Nanny State" as much as the next guy, but for the life of me I can't think of a single good reason why the CX-9 (or any car) should be designed in such a way.

Seems like this is a big accident (read "lawsuit") just waiting to happen. God forbid that you should forget to put the car in park when facing down on a steep hill with an elementary school playground at the bottom of the hill. (dunno)
 
Armchair Bronco said:
We have the keyless ignition on our CX-9. To me, this seems like a major safety issue. I've never had a car that let you turn it off (or on) unless the transmission was in Park.
Click to expand...

Every car ever made will allow you to turn off the engine without the transmission in park. The safety interlock has always been that you could not remove the key unless the transmission was in park. So the keyless ignition feature has defeated that safety interlock and you are just going to have to be careful to put the car in park before you walk away.

This is no different from having a manual transmission vehicle - there is nothing forcing you to set the parking brake or leave a manual transmission car in gear before you walk away. You just need to be responsible and not expect manufacturers to idiot proof their product for things that are so basic such as putting the vehicle in park and/or setting the parking brake when parking the vehicle.
 
Last edited:
I can't remember owning a vehicle that did not let you turn it off while in drive. You can turn them off in park, drive, neutral, and reverse. How are you supposed to turn a vehicle off if the shifter cable snaps? Most drivers that do not know what is under the hood couldn't figure it out.

Good luck on the law suit option. Never heard of a law suit by the driver because they did not put their stick shift's parking brake on i.e. turned off while still in gear. Hence if you do not place your own vehicle in park nobody is to blame but your own self. This is the problem with blame happy America. Why blame yourself for being inept when you can blame someone else.

Now Armchair Bronco. I am not calling your spouse inept, hell I've done it myself. I have even been a passenger in a stick shift that was not put in park, by my father none the less, and went for a long ride down a short hill ending with an abrupt stop into the side of a building. The lesson is be attentive when operating a motorized vehicle. Too many drivers take them for granted not stopping to realize that one mistake can cost lives.
 
All vehicles I have owned allowed turning off engine in any gears.
However, one can't start engine unless in P. Some vehicles even require your foot on brake also (like Honda).
With SKS and gear in D, one can turn the ignition to TNS, but not to OFF position.
With ignition in TNS position, you can't remove keys in a traditional vehicle. However, with SKS,
one can actually walk away from it. This poses a small issue as stated.

Not allowing engine to be turned off in any gears other than P could also pose other safety problems. Imagine that if gear shifter is locked somehow and you desperately want the engine to be off. You can't do that! Someone will sue Mazda. You just can't please people both ways.
 
This is a good reminder to always use the parking brake, rather than rely on the transmission to hold the vehicle. That little pin isn't going to hold a 4500lb vehicle very well on a hill, or if it gets bumped by another car.

And no, it isn't a bug. As stated, you can turn a manual car off at any time, so no reason to have that on an auto. car makers simply shouldn't have to compensate for every moron out there. You should be smart enough to always put a car in Neutral or park and set the parking brake before turning it off.

When starting, your foot should also always be on the brake, interlock or not.Common sense.

Mercedes is wasting their time with the lane assist and sleepy driver warnings. If another car coming towards you isn't enough of a reminder to stay in your lane, how is a pleasant chime going to work better?

Let's be safe out there.
 
Last edited:
CX9 SportOwner said:
This is a good reminder to always use the parking brake, rather than rely on the transmission to hold the vehicle. That little pin isn't going to hold a 4500lb vehicle very well on a hill, or if it gets bumped by another car.

And no, it isn't a bug. As stated, you can turn a manual car off at any time, so no reason to have that on an auto. car makers simply shouldn't have to compensate for every moron out there. You should be smart enough to always put a car in Neutral or park and set the parking brake before turning it off.

When starting, your foot should also always be on the brake, interlock or not.Common sense.

Mercedes is wasting their time with the lane assist and sleepy driver warnings. If another car coming towards you isn't enough of a reminder to stay in your lane, how is a pleasant chime going to work better?

Let's be safe out there.
Click to expand...
yeah it annoys me to no end that many people park their cars without the parking/e-brake on... you see the whole car bounce forward and backwards (while their fat ass gets out of the car) as the motor torques back and forth while the motor mounts scream in agony

remember those stories you see/hear on the news once in a while where a van with kids inside roll down a hill and they all die... yeah, that little parking paw (no bigger than your finger) broke or the stupid kids managed to get out of park, that's what happened!

use the parking brake for SAFETY and to increase the life of your motor mounts!!!
 
What does any of this thread have to do with motor mounts??? Parking is going to do absolutely nothing to your motor mounts.
 
I think TheMAN meant "transmission mount". However, transmission is attached to the engine. You can say "motor mount" in general sense.
W/o applying the footbrake, the roll front wheels put pressure on the transmission pin (in Park), which, in turn, put pressure on the mount.
That is my read from it.
 
Ok - Transmission Mount or Motor Mount - neither one is going to be stressed in the least by anything having to do with parking. The forces generated will be nothing compared to the forces during driving and normal transmission shifting.
 
ceric said:
I think TheMAN meant "transmission mount". However, transmission is attached to the engine. You can say "motor mount" in general sense.
W/o applying the footbrake, the roll front wheels put pressure on the transmission pin (in Park), which, in turn, put pressure on the mount.
That is my read from it.
Click to expand...
correct

Rix6 said:
Ok - Transmission Mount or Motor Mount - neither one is going to be stressed in the least by anything having to do with parking. The forces generated will be nothing compared to the forces during driving and normal transmission shifting.
Click to expand...
the same stresses are there, over a LONG duration of time rather than just less than a second during shifting.... you're putting 3500lbs of load on those rubber mounts AND the parking pawl (especially on a hill)... that is not safe! you do this long enough, the motor mounts get squished/stretched and breaks sooner.... simple as that

cheaper to just use the e-brake and make your motor mounts happy and last longer... which means less costly repairs! who wants to spend money on motor mounts anyway? no one!


if you want to argue about how it doesn't do anything to the motor mounts, then it shows me you're not qualified to even talk about this
 
theMAN is correct. I was in charge of a fleet of pickups and we were constantly changing the mounts due to guys not using the parking brake, and just throwing the shifter into P. A lot of broken pawls, too.
 
Not sure you can turn the ignition all the way off without being in park (when using keyless starting). If that is correct, the waring system beeps pretty loudly when you open the door. I have put my vehicle in park a few times but did not turn the ignition all the way off and I get alerted. Try it and if it alerts you, ask your loved one to be more conscientious when getting out the vehicle.
 
Had the problem of being able to take the key out of the ignition while still in gear with my '03 Honda Pilot. The key had wore down to the point where it slid out of the cylinder, thereby bypassing the interlock. Didn't matter if the ignition was in the on or off position. One time I walked away from the car (key in my hands, still in drive) and the damn thing rolled into oncoming traffic. Once I replaced the worn key, everything was back to normal.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

A
Does your radiator fan stay on with engine off?
Replies
2
Views
2K
arbsp
A
F
Trans Leak? 2016 CX-9 GT AWD
Replies
3
Views
1K
Favre95
F
C
2007~2015 CX-9 intermittent starting problems
Replies
5
Views
4K
puma
P

Latest posts

Back