Can you Push Start a car with keyless ignition?

"NoahthePorscheGuy" (porsche)
10/22/2013 at 17:27 • Filed to: Help

The Fiesta is having problems again. We tried jumping/ charging it and it still won’t start. Ford Roadside is MIA so we wanted to try push starting it, only to realize HOW DA FUQ do you do it with keyless ignition? Any ideas?

To give some context, the car is so dead it won’t even lock/unlock with the key, the lights don’t come on anywhere. Its pretty bad.

Update :

Ford roadside came, didn’t even try to jumpstart it, I just waved goodbye to it and its on a flatbed. Fuck

Update : This post was almost two years ago to this day. The issue wasn’t the keyless ignition in the end, it was the immobilizer among other things.

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DISCUSSION (43)

Squid > NoahthePorscheGuy
10/22/2013 at 17:29

Manual right? It should be the same as a keyed ignition, you just have to get the car into the ACC/Run mode and it should be the same. That is as long as the ACC/Run mode exists.

imadeaburner > Squid
10/22/2013 at 17:32

I tihnk with fords it does not.

Could always pretend like you aregoing to start it and pop the clutch or sometihng.

Hindered23 > imadeaburner
10/22/2013 at 17:35

try starting it without pushing the brake down

vdub_nut: scooter snob > NoahthePorscheGuy
10/22/2013 at 17:36

Try a regular bump start while holding the button to start? Other than that, no idea.

Squid > imadeaburner
10/22/2013 at 17:39

I've yet to be in a new Ford with this, but from what I remember of the MKS when it was first released with the keyless ignition, there was a radio only mode (like traditional keyed ignition vehicles), and the accessory/run mode which is what allows the car to be bump started with a manual. In my mom's and my sister's Mini's if you push the start button once with your foot off the brake it goes into radio mode, again for the ACC/Run mode. It doesn't make sense to not have that mode available in newer cars. I think you just got to push the start button with your foot off the brake and then get it going down an incline and pop the clutch.

NoahthePorscheGuy > Squid
10/22/2013 at 17:42

Its so dead when i hit unlock the lights won't even turn on. I get in the car and nothing lights up. It can't be locked or unlocked. Its really freaking dead.

imadeaburner > Squid
10/22/2013 at 17:42

I was running into issues in a new Taurus, I just wanted the god damn mileage off the thing.

But NOPE can't do that. So I had to start it.

NoahthePorscheGuy > Hindered23
10/22/2013 at 17:42

No such luck :/

Boxer_4 > Squid
10/22/2013 at 17:45

The problem, as I understand it, is that the car battery itself is dead. Since the ignition switch is electronic, I believe it needs power to go between ACC/ON/RUN. I don't think there is a way to move between the modes without any power. With a mechanical ignition, you don't need power to move between the modes.

nippon > NoahthePorscheGuy
10/22/2013 at 17:46

Maybe this helps:
http://fordstnation.com/focus-st-gener…

desertdog5051 > NoahthePorscheGuy
10/22/2013 at 17:47

Buy a battery?

Squid > NoahthePorscheGuy
10/22/2013 at 17:48

Well you do need some power to bump start a car. Best bet is a jumper box, and if that doesn't have the juice to start it, then leave it hooked up while you bump it. I've found that rolling backwards down a hill and using the torque multiplication of reverse is the easy way to bump a car. Hopefully the roadside assistance comes to your aid. Or a good samaritan with jumpers.

Squid > Boxer_4
10/22/2013 at 17:52

Yeah, that was what I was trying to get at. But used too many words that didn't describe what I wanted to say. Come to think of it, that happens to me all the time.

NoahthePorscheGuy > Squid
10/22/2013 at 18:00

we tried using a jumper box. No luck. We think something is more wrong than the battery.

Squid > NoahthePorscheGuy
10/22/2013 at 18:06

Leave the box on it for a minute or so. Then try to get it into that ACC/Run mode. If you have a DVOM handy to measure your voltage at the battery you could see if it is really low. It takes a little bit for a fully discharged battery to recover. Did you leave the lights on? or do you drive on really rough roads? The factory battery in my old Focus died around the 3 year mark. I never really liked the Motorcraft batteries though. I saw too many with bad cases.

Union of Smog Techs of CA > NoahthePorscheGuy
10/22/2013 at 18:15

No lights at all, maybe you blew a fuse?

NoahthePorscheGuy > nippon
10/22/2013 at 18:15

nope. Ford road side assistance jush showed up, they didn't even try and jump it, they just loaded it on a flatbed and left o.o

NoahthePorscheGuy > Union of Smog Techs of CA
10/22/2013 at 18:16

Ford just showed up and didn't even attempt to jump it, just loaded it on a flatbed and left.

Mosqvich > NoahthePorscheGuy
10/22/2013 at 18:19

Update this post when you get it running, and reply to me, I'd love to see the outcome.

NoahthePorscheGuy > Mosqvich
10/22/2013 at 18:27

The sad thing is that its my first car, i've owned it for less than a month, and its already been to the dealership for problems starting before. FML

Update :

Ford roadside came, didn't even try to jumpstart it, I just waved goodbye to it and its on a flatbed. Fuck

Mosqvich > NoahthePorscheGuy
10/22/2013 at 18:39

I have a Fiesta and like it, but the dealer is the weak link. I don't have push button start. I've had few problems with my car though. I hope it works out.

Benzed92 > Hindered23
10/22/2013 at 20:05

This. Definitely gets it into ACC Mode.

Manuél Ferrari > NoahthePorscheGuy
10/22/2013 at 20:59

What a bummer. Sorry it happened.

Damn technology for making our cars worse...

NoahthePorscheGuy > Manuél Ferrari
10/22/2013 at 20:59

This is the second time the fake ignition has caused a problem. Its literally my only major gripe with the car.

NoahthePorscheGuy > Squid
10/22/2013 at 21:02

I did not leave the lights on, and no doors were open. We think it was a problem with the dumbass Microsoft Powered MFT system trying to update all night. The time it took for the battery to drain, if it was in fact the battery and not something more sinister, was a little less than 8 hours. Ford has the car now so we will see what happens.

Manuél Ferrari > NoahthePorscheGuy
10/22/2013 at 21:03

Time to trade it in for a 944 Turbo!

NoahthePorscheGuy > Manuél Ferrari
10/22/2013 at 21:06

Funny enough, that was my dream first car, an older 88 non turbo. My argument is that it was a fraction of the price, the first car with airbags and low power. My mom but her foot down because it would be too unsafe. Also I don't want to be that spoiled schmuck driving a Porsche (even a 4k one) to a public school.

Manuél Ferrari > NoahthePorscheGuy
10/22/2013 at 21:20

Does driving a $4K Porsche to a public school make you a schmuck? I would hope the kids these days would think it's cool to save old cars from the scrap heap!

NoahthePorscheGuy > Manuél Ferrari
10/22/2013 at 21:33

The fact its a Porsche makes you seem spoiled. 95% of kids these days have no idea about cars other than brands. So if I show up in a junked out old 944, im a spoiled brat driving a Porsche, but if I role up in a 20k Fiesta ST its totally fine. My friend actually got a 3k 968 that hes been fixing up his self and has gotten nonstop shit about. On the brightside he has yet to be caught for parking in the teachers section ;) ...

NoahthePorscheGuy > Manuél Ferrari
10/22/2013 at 21:34

its also a very diverse school both racial but especially socio-economically, so it can just come off as wrong.

Squid > NoahthePorscheGuy
10/22/2013 at 21:38

Hopefully it was just that. They should not let the stupid infotainment center function like that. Next time it needs to update try seeing if you can do it with a flash drive instead of letting it go to wifi if thats what goes on. I don't really have a clue with this shit. I don't have a fancy system in my car so I don't really know.

Manuél Ferrari > NoahthePorscheGuy
10/22/2013 at 21:40

I have a quick fix: have a sticker made that says "MY CAR COST ME $4,000" and put it on your back window. Problem solved!

Manuél Ferrari > NoahthePorscheGuy
10/22/2013 at 21:43

I would not be able to resist the urge to mess with people if I went to your school. I'd buy a sub $20,000 Mondial and flash my "Ferrari" around.

NoahthePorscheGuy > Manuél Ferrari
10/22/2013 at 21:53

meh, not the move.

NoahthePorscheGuy > Squid
10/22/2013 at 21:55

Normally it does update with USB, but for some reason Sirius was updating, and I had been getting a "Sirius Update (0%) message for the past few days. Moral of the story is fuck sync, fuck keyless ignition and love Ecoboost 1.6 and love manual transmission.

Manuél Ferrari > NoahthePorscheGuy
10/22/2013 at 21:57

Yeah it probably wouldn't work that well in real life... It's a bummer that people just judge the brand.

Nibby > NoahthePorscheGuy
05/11/2014 at 08:26

Dunno if you can do this with the Ford, but...

Our 2010 Prius's 2nd key fob has a dead battery. The car has keyless entry, push button start. What I did is press the fob against the power button, then the car's screen tells me to push brake and press start with the fob against the power button again. It works.

Roberto G. > NoahthePorscheGuy
05/11/2014 at 10:26

That's why electronics make our life better, easier and more comfortable. Key is for idiots.

NoahthePorscheGuy > Roberto G.
05/11/2014 at 10:55

this is from october o.O

deekster_caddy > NoahthePorscheGuy
10/22/2015 at 11:36

If it’s dead to the point where dash lights won’t come on, you won’t be able to push start it. You need fuel pump and injector cycles to get it running, which requires power.

If you had power, but not quite enough to crank the starter, I would expect you can put the ignition into ‘on’ mode somehow without starting the engine (like pressing the start button but not pressing the brake pedal or something), then you might be able to pop the clutch from a roll - but then again, that might not work at all depending how it was designed to operate. Would be neat to try when the battery is charged and you have a hill to play with.

I’m really surprised more cars don’t have low-batter cutoff protection these days. Especially with the push-button start and keyless entry systems.

Sam > NoahthePorscheGuy
10/22/2015 at 12:08

I feel like it needs a backup circuit with a small battery just for situations where the battery is dead like this.

vondon302 > Boxer_4
10/22/2015 at 12:40

Came to say this.

nuke-guy > NoahthePorscheGuy
10/22/2015 at 12:59