taylorc418

I've searched the forum, and couldn't find exactly what I was looking for.

I just picked up a Ford Escape from RDU and went along my way, beginning a 2 hour drive on a 2-lane road. Speed limit is 65 and I come up on a truck doing 50 or so. I decide to pass, and step on the gas to make it around the guy. In doing so, I hear some weird noises coming from the car, and then look down to the speedometer, and notice in the info bar (where mileage is usually displayed) that it says "Maximum speed reached." I'm nearing 80 MPH at this point (not uncommon, especially if the speed limit is 70 - I'm usually doing 80+). Luckily I had plenty of room, else I might have been in trouble if I needed more acceleration.

I do some research and apparently it's a safety feature of Fords to be able to be programmed with a max speed of 80 MPH and volume on the stereo to 40% of max. I only have one key to the car, and it's not the master. Anyone have any clue on how to deactivate this? It's a little bit of a safety hazard as I didn't know until I hit the max speed that it was even turned on. No signage on the car, etc. to denote this.

drzoidberg

Had the same problem when I rented a Taurus Limited out of DCA. It was annoying because it also prevented the music volume from being turned past a certain level; I can't remember if it actually prevented me from exceeding a set speed limit, or if it just gave an audio chime when a speed was exceeded.

Anyway, as far as I know, only the station manager has the ability to remove the MyKey restriction.

cordelli

Without the admin key, you can not make the change (unless it has remote start I believe).

Bring it back and ask they remove it and explain why and see how that works out

It is a fairly common question on many of the question sites for months, it's apparently not at all uncommon for the rental companies to treat their renters like teenagers just learning to drive.

Also see this thread where it hints it comes that way from the factory, was not programmed by the rental agency

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/dolla...rus-mykey.html

It's also possible the spare key is with the spare tire in the trunk, is so it may be the admin key

kennycrudup

Thanks for the heads'-up to avoid Fords, though!

taylorc418

It was interesting because I've rented either an Edge or Escape twice a month for the past 6 months, and this is the first time I've encountered the issue.

And yes, I'm well aware that all I ask for is to go 20 over the speed limit I won't even talk about the Sirius subscription being expired.

kennycrudup

Hey, that's one of the things I check first! Key on, then tune to a non-default channel (a very few still work if the sub's been deactivated, so try one of the others) to make sure it's still working.

taylorc418

It was the first thing I did! So I took my bag and walked the lot - but the choices were limited, and I didn't feel like a Grand Marquis or minivan last week. It's what I get for picking up on a Tuesday.

I returned the car today, and went inside to inform the staff of the MyKey activation. The exchange went like this:

Me: I think it's a safety hazard that it's not posted anywhere on the car that the max speed is 80.

Staff: But the speed limit in most of North Carolina is 65.

Me: I know, but it's my choice to speed if I want to. And I was trying to pass on a 2 lane road.

Staff: But that's speeding!

Me: ::shakes head and leaves::

muskoka

I had a mid-size reserved on the last wknd of Aug in YYZ to travel north
of Toronto to our lakeside cottage with a buddy for 4 days of boating, golf, & general R&R. When I got to the booth, the attendant informed me they were out of midsize & would I be interested in a convertible? I of course jumped at the chance , but expecting a Chrysler Sebring or some such middling convertible.

I was directed to the end of the row, and there sat a brand new bright red Ford Mustang 5.0 L 400 HP convertible. A thing of beauty to say the least. I almost couldn't contain myself as I checked out. As we began our drive north, remarking about our good luck, my buddy of course begins playing with the stereo ,and the Sirius Sat radio (which actually worked nicely). Before long, he discovers it won't go higher than 40% volume and the screen says MyKey. ... is this? Next, as I begin to test the mettle of this beast on the freeway, I get this chime and message on the speedometer display at 125km/hr= Max speed reached MyKey.

What a way to ruin my Karma and tame a horse that wants to run! Bastiges you are Ford & National !

ssitnerpinc

Seems to me that National could have a lawsuit on their hands if an accident resulted from this and it wasn't posted in the car or rental agreement

kennycrudup

Well, to their credit, you know you'll never hear a National rep ever condone driving anything except the limit; you wouldn't, but to be sure some d-bag would kill or injure themselves and National would end up sued because "they said it was OK to speed!"

AviatorAce

I had this happen before on a nearly new Lincoln Navigator from National. I was driving down the freeway when I noticed the lane about a mile ahead was blocked with a stalled car. I accelerated to merge to the left, began changing lanes and then the Navigator cut off the power, chimed and displayed "MyKey" until I was below 65 I think. Of course, I had to slow down and the driver behind me honked and started tailgating me as if I was trying to slow him down and cut him off on purpose. When I called National to explain the problem they didn't want to send a tow truck to exchange the vehicle and they weren't aware of what was happening. Instead they wanted me to drive 30miles back to National to exchange the car. I didn't have time for that so I google'd the problem, tried to find the master key (which I couldn't), and then kept the car until it was due. Fortuantly, when I returned the car, the freeway speeds in LA rarely exceeded 30mph, so I didn't really have to worry about the mykey limit.

Never the less, this mykey sounds like a horrible idea; if your child can't be trusted to drive a car safely, then he/she shouldn't be trusted with a car; let alone a brand new one.

My advice, when you start your car to drive off the National lot, check the display and look for an indication stating something along the lines of "mykey is active, drive safely." If you see it, run far away and chose something else.

Chaa006

As far as I know, this insanity has not yet reached the U.K., but I have experienced a similar phenomenon in my SAAB 9000 on the odd occasion when I ask it for excessive turbo boost : a safety override cuts in, and the engine goes dead for about one second. A horrible sensation if you are trying to join a fast-moving motorway and need to get up to full cruising speed in a hurry ...

noiseboy

Interesting, I have a 1996 Saab 9000CD 2.0 Turbo and never had this as a problem. ( I do have a problem trying to keep it under 100mph, what an evil beast this car is )

NB

drzoidberg

But parts of I-85 in NC have a 70 mph speed limit, and on one instance I had to accelerate to 80 mph to pass a stalled car on the side of the road, and mykey started chiming.

CarolDisney1

I knew there was a reason I don't ever want to take a Ford Product! Speed limit is areas where I drive is often 75 or so... I don't want to be rear ended because the care is "protecting" me!