When your teenager takes out the family car, you may not always know where he is. But thanks to Ford’s new MyKey system, you’ll have a better idea of what he’s doing.
Debuting on the 2010 Focus and planned for several more models, MyKey is a no-charge standard feature that limits the car’s top speed, prevents the traction control from being disabled, chimes warnings at pre-set speeds, encourages seatbelt use, and caps the volume on the audio system. It works through the message centre in the instrument cluster, and is invisible to drivers who don’t want to use it.
Parents program keys through the ignition, turning them into “MyKey keys.” These trigger the pre-set system when they’re used to start the car, limiting what the vehicle will do.
One key always remains the “administrator,” and is used to program others; it also lets parents operate the vehicle without limits. The MyKeys can be wiped clean or reprogrammed at any time, if desired. Any microchipped key can become a MyKey, whether it’s one of the keys that comes with the car, or purchased from the dealer.
Starting the car with a MyKey always triggers three automatic defaults. The regular seatbelt reminder chimes, but the stereo won’t work until the driver has buckled up, as well as any front-seat passenger. The low-fuel warning comes on at 120 km to empty, rather than the usual 80 km notice. And if the vehicle is equipped with special safety features such as Park Aid or the new Blind Spot Information System, these can’t be disabled by the driver.
Beyond those, parents can also program in speed alert chimes at 72, 88 or 105 km/h; the inability to disable the traction control; a limit of 44 per cent of the stereo’s volume; and a limited top speed of 130 km/h. (That’s higher than most of Canada’s speed limits, but it’s permissible on some U.S. highways, and Ford determined that the car must be driveable everywhere.)
And if your teen’s a technology wizard, fear not. “The system tracks the kilometres, and so the parents can see if the MyKey is being used,” said Kerri Stoakley, Ford’s communications manager. “The parent may note that the child had the car, but there are no kilometres registered on the MyKey, so she can tell if the teenager is using the administrator key. It will also show the number of MyKeys programmed, which lets parents know if the MyKey has been wiped clean and is now an administrator key. And the teenager can’t “de-MyKey” it alone, because you need the administrator key to change it.”
Research found that while most teens initially disliked the system, they were more in favour if they thought it would lead to greater driving privileges.
“Buckle up, watch your speed, and turn down the radio are the three things parents ask,” Stoakley said. “So mom and dad might give more seat time with the system. It’s a good reminder to children that they need to drive safely.”
