Well, I spent the entire day going "old school" with keys. I tried using the fob for the door and the key for the ignition, but inevitably I wound up forgetting to use the key so I just took the fob off my belt entirely. Repetitious habits die hard.
Myself, my center manager, and our DM met with the mechanic supervisor this morning (who was not the one who actually worked on the car)and he said that the problem was a defective electrical relay. He said that all the failures he has seen to date have occured after the car had already been parked and shut off, and that to his knowledge I was the first and only driver to experience a failure while the engine was running and the car was in gear and moving.
One failure is one too many. After about 9 months of use I can say that I really do like the keyless system and that it makes my job easier...but until the company installs some sort of an override safety feature that prevents the car from shutting off while in gear and moving, I am not going to use it any longer. What happened yesterday was really scary, especially when I think about how much worse it could have been. I got lucky.
I also find it fascinating how inconsistent company policy is in regards to giving out the code to the lock box. In my building, all you have to do is call in to the shop and say your fob is acting up and they will give you the code without any hassle. And the mechanics dont ever bother to change the combination either. Apparently there are other locations where they act like you are asking for the launch codes for a nuclear missile.
Bottom line here is that there are 3 changes that need to be made. #1- they need to install a safety override, or a reduntant backup relay, or something that prevents a failed relay from causing the motor to shut off when the car is moving. #2 every car in the fleet needs to have an ignition key attached to the fob instead of locked away in a box, and #3 the box itself needs to be installed in a location that will not require the driver to risk his life by having to stand in the road while trying to open it. Of course....#3 will not even be necessary in the first place if they take care of #1 and #2.