kill switch for a any honda is going to be more for a "no one can start my car but me" type of deal. As for runnin lean...it will and can happen....thing about it. You engine is dead but still running with the throttle still open. Don’t care how you look at it AIR is still gettin into your engine...causing to run LEAN. More air than fuel. The air gets hot and expands....with no fuel to combust the air has nothing more to do but expand in the cyl....you should know what happens now.

Running a engine lean is retarded as heck!! if anything you want to run the mixture rich so the fuel coats the walls so you have added protection for the air....

 

Tony,

What vehicle are you considering installing some kind of kill switch?

 

'05 Lexus LS430 (That's why I put this thread in the "Off Topic" section.)

In a truly emergency (life-threatening) situation, I'm not worried about engine damage in the least.

I take it that even if or when Toyota provides this option, the car's computer will do the emergency shutdown. But even the computer must do it with some combination of ignition or fuel cut-off, right? After all, this is not the same as coming to a normal halt in the garage and turning off the engine. The car is going to be running full-tilt boogy and something's got to stop that from happening.

AND, theoretically at least, the computer is what's causing the car to "run away", so it isn't too much of a stretch to imagine that some type of "sure fire" emergency meaure would have to operate outside of the computer.

When all is said and done, even if I install absolutely nothing on the car, if a runaway does happen, I can always shift the car into neutral and hope that the computer's rev-limiter prevents the engine from being damaged from over-reving. After the car has stopped, which should take very little time after the engine is disengaged, I will turn the ignition switch to the off position. Hopefully the bloody thing will actually turn off.

Thanks for making the effort to advise me, guys. If I've learned one thing, it is that what sounds like a very simple thing to do is definitely not.

 

Shift to neutral - when the engine is bouncing off it's rev limiter, you'll have very little vacuum for the brake booster. The brakes will work just fine, but they'll take LOTS of muscle. Disconnect & plug the vacuum line to the brake booster, and try it. (not in traffic...)

Brake system designed from the beginning for vacuum boost will take a lot more muscle compared to a 1970 car that was designed without power brakes.

 

Jim, that's good to fully appreciate. I hope I'd have the presence of mind to jam on the emergency brake to a point just short of lock-up, then apply added force with my foot, or both feet, on the brake pedal.

 

I'd use the brake pedal first - most people are capable of it, but they're just surprised by the effort. If you use the handbrake & lock up the rear wheels you'll lose directional control.

This is all hypothetical cause if it ever actually happens, the most important this is just to avoid panic. You've obviously thought about it so you're better prepared than most.