The wife & I went to lunch this week & after lunch when we came out & I got into the Prius, my radio was on ? You guessed it, I had left the darn car on !!!! We have had this 2006 since August & this is a first for me. This had happened one time before when I picked the Prius up from having vent visors installed. The car had been left running for several hours & the gas mileage was down to like 25mpg. Not too smart here I guess. Bill in FL
Don't feel bad. I'd had mine for about four months or so. Cruised on to work, went inside at about 8 am 'Bout 10:30 or so, a work buddy of mine came by the office and said "April, I think you left your car on." Sure enough, I went out and it had been running for about 2 and a half hours without me realizing it. Happens to the best of us, I guess. I just wasn't used to not having to take the key out of the ignition!
... so I guess there's one good reason for owning a lowly pkg #1: no problems with leaving the car running! :lol:
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(livelychick @ Mar 8 2007, 07:34 PM) [snapback]402596[/snapback]</div> I quite frequently forget to turn it off. I put it in park, shut the garage door and get out. Fortuanately if beeps at me to remind me its on. The first time it happened, I couldn't figure out why it was beeping until I looked inside to see the MFD still on. Dave M.
This is part of the reason I don't use the Park button. The only times I've come close to inadvertently leaving it on was when I had it in Park to listen to the radio or something then jumped out only to hear the beeps and realize my near-miss mistake.
I'll never have this problem. Does it make me glad I got a package 1? Nope....still wish I'd gotten a 3.
I did it also. While on a trip, my wife and I went out for dinner right before dusk. When we came out it was night and we saw the display on. We locked the car before we went in for dinner and do not remember hearing any alarms. I haven't tried it, but with the car on, is it possible to drive it without the smart key?
I do the same, I don't push park when I park, I just go from drive to "off". Amazingly, it works. I see the park button illuminate before the whole car shuts off.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dmckinstry @ Mar 9 2007, 02:53 AM) [snapback]402702[/snapback]</div> The beeps do help...but if you've just put in your iPod earbuds because you didn't want the song you were listening to to end...you don't hear the beeps... That's what happened to me that fateful day. I think it was Paul Simon..."Late in the Evening."
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TomorrowMatters @ Mar 9 2007, 10:01 AM) [snapback]402743[/snapback]</div> The beeps have saved my ars on 7 or 8 occasions, and so far not enough noise to have drowned it out.
I was wondering if it was possible to just leave the car running without realizing it since the car is completely silent in park AND there is no key to remove from the ignition. My other fear is that I forget to put it in park and it rolls away! I haven't tested that yet to see if it's possible. I wish Toyota would have built in an auto-shut off in the event that the key leaves the range of the vehicle while the car is powered on. I guess the beeps are nice, but if you are distracted or in a noisy place you might not notice them. A related question: Is the Prius more difficult to steal than a normal car b/c there is no key shaft to hot-wire? (assuming you have not left the car powered on)
I haven't left the car on. I do, however, leave it on for brief periods while my wife waited for me to run a shopping errand. When I got back in the car, I immediately pressed Power, turning it off. I had forgotten that the car was already on. Did this a few times. I briefly used Power without Park when shutting down. But after three times of the car not responding to my Power-off press, I have stopped that practice. The car didn't immediately power off, and it rolled a foot or two. That's all the warning I need to always press Park first. I think I pressed too briskly, and the car ignored the press. (The manual actually advises to press slowly.)
AHH HA HA HA!!! That's awesome. I never even thought of that. I've left the car running in the driveway to run inside and get something. Kinda thought it might turn itself off in the absence of the keyfob, but I didn't come to the realization that it could be left on unintentionally. That's 'F'ing funny!! :lol: No offense to anybody who's done it, i'm just glad the power button puts it in park!! Good call on Toyota's part! <----- That's the face I made when I read the first 3 posts
Interesting, if I leave the car on with the key fob in the car beeps at me when I open the door. This is another reason I am glad I don't have a smart key!! Dave
I found out that it operates without a keyfob the hard way... Went and picked up my new Prius at the dealership 60 miles away from my house. Went through the formal inspection, yada yada. Drive it 55 miles back towards my house and get a call from the sales guy on my mobile phone..."Ooops, we forgot to give you the keys, ma'am." [can you hear the forehead smacking at this point?] I couldn't believe that the car would operate without the fob close by...I drove nearly all the way back to my house without a darn key. I got home and had to turn the car off, lock it up and then had to wait a whole 24 hours for the sales guy to bring the key out to me. Talk about torture...
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Mar 8 2007, 09:12 PM) [snapback]402611[/snapback]</div> Not guilty........YET.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(stargazer0725 @ Mar 9 2007, 12:12 PM) [snapback]402954[/snapback]</div> What happened to your second fob? EDIT: Sorry, I missed the "NEW" car part.