Millions of car riders are at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning because of keyless ignitions. This risk led to the filing on Wednesday of a lawsuit against 10 of the largest vehicle manufacturers.
The keyless ignition is a built-in feature of new vehicles to start a vehicle with an on-off button minus the key if there is a nearby electronic fob. It also alerts the driver that the engine is still running or to switch off the engine when the key fob is taken out of the vehicle, reports CNN. Without the key fob nearby, the vehicle is not supposed to start, but complaints filed claim that the engine continues to run despite the fob being far from the car.
Dispatchtimes reports that since 2009, over 27 complaints have been filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration over the keyless ignitions. The complaint says that the carmakers were aware that the absence of an automatic shut-off brings with it the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
One victim of carbon monoxide poisoning was Chastity Glisson of Boca Raton, Florida, who died in 2010 in her home. Authorities explained her death to the keyless ignition in her car. A total of 13 deaths have been recorded due to the keyless ignitions, reports iolMotoring.
Named as defendants in the lawsuit are BMW, Nissan, Toyota, Mercedes Benz, Fiat Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai and Volkswagen. The lawsuit, which includes BMW's Mini, Nissan's Infiniti, Toyota's Lexus, Honda's Acura, Hyundai's Kia and Volkswagen's Bentley, was filed for failure of these carmakers to recall their vehicles with keyless ignitions.
The 28 plaintiffs filed the lawsuit in a Los Angeles federal court. Besides the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, the complainants also said the defect lowered the resale values of their cars. It is the same court where Judge James Selna approved in July 2013 a $1.6-billion settlement to resolve complaints that the value of Toyota cars have been lost due to that defect.