Beeping when car is on and you leave with key

Quick fix: turn it off. Set parking brake too.

 

Most safety features have come about from lessons learned the hard way. While they're often annoying generally, that's the whole point, because they also save lives. A bit like the annoying beep smoke alarms give out every minute to remind you to replace the battery.

A Prius can appear switched off when it's not. People used to ICE-only cars are used to the noise of the ICE running as a reminder of their car being on.

A Prius can be in the equivalent of having the engine running with first gear engaged, yet be completely silent. Which is fine until someone leaves it like that and it starts driving off with no driver on board.

While it's maybe ok to leave it while switched on for a few seconds, life can get in the way of that plan, and seconds can turn into hours or days.

A Prius can also be parked in a garage with the engine apparently off. All fine until the ICE kicks in while unattended and the household dies from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Or even outside and the driver comes back to it to find the car completely out of fuel and the traction battery completely flat.

So, yeah, it's gonna persistently warn you in an annoying way when you're potentially putting the vehicle in such situations.

You can leave the door open to prevent it beeping, or turn the car off.

SM-T813 ?

 

Yup. Just turn it off. It's not like you'd wear out the starter contacts by getting back in and starting it right back up.

 

Hah, you think those are obnoxious? My C-Max uses three "manly" loud horn honks!

So, I learned to gently close but not completely shut the drivers door upon exiting. The dome light will still be on, so if that's an issue, I turn the car off.

 

It's for a good reason - TOYOTA has to do it - legislated in some judiciaries:

Compilation of State, County, and Local Anti-Idling Regulations (EPA420-B-06-004)

Some just refer to IDLING - others refer to leaving it UNATTENDED.

Wasn't there a publicised case where a car ran away while idling - with disastrous consequences?

Here - legally I think it's required to be secured if we're more than 3 metres away.

And - that's why TOYOTA won't let you turn it off - because they can't.

 

Yeah, switch it off, that few seconds that you leave it on to run in the house is a perfect opportunity for some kid to jump in and go for a joyride and any damage caused by the joyrider would be on your shoulders.

 

When I see an empty car that's running, I'm always tempted to move the car and then hide around the corner to see their reaction. So far, I've resisted the urge.

 

If I leave my Gen2 with the key, it beeps too. Especially when I leave it in gear. Try putting it in Park...

You can't use the keyfob to lock a car that's turned ON, but you can lock it with the mechanical key.

I think Tesla formally has a "dog mode" used to leave the car unattended, but locked and with the air conditioning turned ON. So you can leave a pet inside the car, protected from the heat while you do some shopping or whatever. I wouldn't do it with a child, but a pet properly restrained would be fine. Biggest danger is somebody breaking a window to rescue the dog from their air conditioned safety. So leave a message that the air conditioning is ON, even a current temperature display to prove that it's working.

The rules about "idling" generally apply to being parked on the road. A parking lot that is private property is not generally subject to the same rules.

On really hot days, I'll leave my Gen2 turned ON while I go into a store. The air conditioning keeps the car comfortable, and I lock it in Park with the mechanical key. Really nice to come out to a comfortable temperature car rather than a hothouse.

 

Yes, I have done the same - and locked my MOTHER inside with A/C - when she didn't want to come into a store!!!! Her choice.

 

I have actually gone out and turned a car off that was left running outside my house for twenty minutes by a visitor to a neighbour and I was very tempted to throw the keys away.

 

When things like this happen I try to think of all the brothers and sisters in the world who have no car or house. They have no mail to check. When I get to the point where I realize beeps like this are a 1st world problem of the wealthy, the beeps will fade away. Think of them as a bell of mindfulness!.

 

I saw one again yesterday. Resisted the urge again. So far, so good.

 

The anti-idling rules based around air quality, generally don't distinguish between public and private property.