First marketed as a safety feature for teenage drivers, Ford MyKey technology is now standard on nearly all Ford and Lincoln models. The first car to benefit from MyKey technology was the 2010 Focus.
When enabled, the system signals front seat occupants to fasten their seat belts, while limiting top vehicle speed. It can also route incoming calls directly to the voicemail of paired phones.
“With us, safety is the No. 1 priority,” said Joe Dougherty, owner of a big construction company. “These job sites can be high-risk situations if drivers are distracted by the radio, phone calls or texts.”
Simply put, it’s a programmable key system which tailors the vehicle’s settings for particular drivers.
For example, if a teenager that just got its driving licence needs the family car in order to go places, its parents can program their offspring’s MyKey to limit the car’s top speed, mute the audio system until the seat belts are fastened or disable manual entry into the navigation system while driving.
The most recent application of the MyKey system is the 2014 Ford Transit Connect, an increasingly popular model with businesses because of its fuel efficiency and multiple configuration options. It’s a standard feature on the XLT van, XLT wagon and Titanium trim packages.