Okay, I know it’s to shut off the fuel pump, but when should it be used? I just rented a car from Hertz and they upgraded me to a Lincoln Town Car. Inside the trunk there was button to shut off the fuel pump. I tried to figure out the reason for it to be there.

First I figure it’s for a fire in the engine compartment. You’d want to turn the fuel pump off then for sure. The only trouble is, how do you get to it? If you turn off the ignition, the fuel pump stops by itself, and if you don’t turn off the ignition, the keys sit dangling from the steering column and you can’t get in the trunk.

I suppose if you were carjacked and stuffed in your own trunk you could shut down the engine, but once you’re in the trunk, you’re pretty much done for anyway, and it’s a little late for measures that will only piss off the carjacker.

It might be part of a security system. If you were to open the trunk and shut off the fuel pump a thief might not know how to get the fuel pump started again. Hell, I didn’t know either, the notice on the switch said to consult the owners manual for restarting instructions.

So, are these fuel pump shut off switches common? I’ve only seen two, both in the last two weeks, one in a Grand Marquis and one in the Town Car. Has anyone ever used one of these things and when?