Car has started but won't go

[Suleozev]

Hi,
I had this problem twice now. I start the car (with my foot on brake, of course), put it in gear and hit the accelerator. But the car does not move at all. Everything else is working but I feel that the engine doesn't engage somehow. Has anyone had this problem?
Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[jmueller065]

You have to make sure that the green "go" light is lit. Its the green little car icon on the bottom of the dash with the arrows below it. The FFE is very particular about starting up. If you tap the start button without having your feet on the brake pedal long enough, or if you shift out of park too fast it doesn't properly initialize and isn't ready to go in time.

Here is my sequence to usually get the car going:

• Sit down in the seat
  Put foot on the brake--keep it there
  Press the start button (hold for a 2 count)
  Buckle seat belt
  Check dash for green "go" light
  Shift out of park
  Release foot off of the brake

99% of the time by the time I take my foot off the brake the car is up & ready to run. In the rare instances it isn't ready I've just gone too fast through the sequence. In that case you have to put your foot back on the brake and re-press the start button..the green ready to go light will light up then.

The sequence should be a sticky post so people will see it first...

Perhaps even a FFE faq sticky with info like this, the guess-o-meter, etc.

 

[Suleozev]

Thank you for this response. I think the green light came up but if it happens again I'd check that first.

I have one question. If you fail to press the brake long enough, do you have to shut the engine and restart or can you remedy the situation by pressing the brake? In my case, I had to shut down and restart a number of times before it finally engaged.
Thanks for your time.

You have to make sure that the green "go" light is lit. Its the green little car

The sequence should be a sticky post so people will see it first...

Perhaps even a FFE faq sticky with info like this, the guess-o-meter, etc.

 

[jmueller065]

For the case when it isn't ready: Typically all I have to do is press the brake and tap the start button again and the ready-to-go indicator lights up.

 

[Abelgoddard]

For me, that list of processes is a bit long. The 2 seconds is a bit much - my experience is that you can press on the brake and then give the start button what amounts to a 'firm' press. By 'firm' I don't mean actual extra pressure, just more of an extended tap. Not even a full second.

But, my process is a bit different, too. Get in, brake, Start, seat belt, confirm green go light, engage. Total of a few seconds anyway, and when you're talking about my 3-5 seconds versus what sounds like about 6-7 seconds for jmueller's, who really cares, right? I'd say you'll figure out your own process/pattern very quickly and it'll be about as quick as anybody else's and really all you want is to get moving without frustration.

 

[EVA]

I think the key is foot on the brake (keep it there for the whole process), press the start button and release, put on your seatbelt, then you can shift it out of Park. The key is waiting a little bit after you press the start button, and putting on your seatbelt is the right amount of time.

 

[jmueller065]

Yeah its hard to estimate the amount of time. I'm pretty sure I don't take 6-7 seconds to get going but when describing it I had to come up with some values for time.

 

[Abelgoddard]

Yeah. I paid attention this morning, and realized the car has a few seconds of 'booting up' while I'm belting in, so overall the process is about 5 seconds. Considering an ICE has at LEAST that amount of startup time - and should really be more like 15 seconds of warmup - we're doing pretty good. Though I hear the Tesla doesn't even have a start button, so it's doing a boot process while you're getting in the car I suppose.

 

[ElSupreme]

Though I hear the Tesla doesn't even have a start button, so it's doing a boot process while you're getting in the car I suppose.

Yeah it has a proximity key, like the FFE. But when you get close to the car the doors just unlock. They lock when you walk away with the key automatically as well. When you open the door it starts booting up, and when you press the brake pedal it turns 'on'. And is ready to shift and drive away.

It is a little weird the first few times in the car. But after a couple of days turning a car 'on' seems so archaic.

 

[blackbeasst]

op i had the same problem the first week i got the car. i was too quick on the draw and tried putting it in gear before the green "go" light was on. i thought i had a lemon