Car Can Be Unintentionally Put in Neutral While Plugged In

[DaveinOlyWA]

no design can outwit stupid. the incident above simply had several warnings that were ignored. try getting out of the car while its in drive, it beeps it buzzes it does all kinds of things, none of which falls into the category of normal operation.

now is it possible you can be in such a hurry as to ignore those warnings? not likely. its more like you jump out, hear the warning, stop. wonder. then decide something is amiss. then go back to do a double take to find out what it was.

I do agree that having the car go to neutral when plugged in is stupid. park is probably a better idea or even an automatic application of the parking brake.

or simply have the EVSE fail to lock into place unless its a valid charging scenario. car must be off to charge right? or is that just Chademo that has that restriction?

 

[Stoaty]

no design can outwit stupid. the incident above simply had several warnings that were ignored.

All true, but the sensible design one would expect the Leaf to have (goes into park when charging cord plugged in) would have outwitted this particular version of "stupid". The problem is that:

"a person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it."

--Kay, MIB

 

[TimLee]

... try getting out of the car while its in drive, it beeps it buzzes it does all kinds of things, none of which falls into the category of normal operation.
...

I will have to try this to confirm what it does with current software.

Been a long while since I did it inadvertently while in a hurry stopping to get license plate renewal sticker.
Once I did it I wasn't very focused on what the warning had been, as the stupid creep was about to plow the car over the curb and sign in front of the car.

Originally the LEAF provided no warning.
Was one of the very early software corrections.

I think it is now a beeping.
Problem is that I think it is the same beeping the car does if you open the door first and then turn the vehicle off.
Having a critical severe warning the same as a bad unnecessary warning is really bad design.

It needs to be a panic type warning similar to what my 2009 Altima ICE does if you turn it off and fail to put it in Park.
That one is impossible to disregard.

 

[Nekota]

no design can outwit stupid. the incident above simply had several warnings that were ignored.

All true, but the sensible design one would expect the Leaf to have (goes into park when charging cord plugged in) would have outwitted this particular version of "stupid". The problem is that:

"a person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it."

--Kay, MIB

I watched my LEAF roll down the drive way but I had the presence of mind to unplug it and chase to recover control... If it made any noise or gave any warning it was very subtle about it. I think I did one of those double bounce entry on the power switch as I exited the vehicle because I always turn it off and like the simplicity of a single switch that does everything. Now I always put the brake on even though that complex contraption is going to fail and will be expensive to repair - but the likely hood of making two mistakes does improve the failure odds. So when "stupid" is used - I could question why would the car go to neutral- that is the definition of "stupid" for me. So is it stupid to have pressed a switch and have a double bounce or a design flaw? Why is the start switch the same as the stop switch? Is it stupid to look at a complicated parking brake and refrain from using it because it looks complicated and likely to fail? Is it stupid to charge outside where the temperature is cooler but the driveway is sloped? What if a little kid just happened to be stupid enough to be behind the LEAF when it's being plugged in? I'm thankful I was lucky in this case but there are some design questions that have very simple answers.