key question: what would happen if ...

Stock,

You got it right. In the absence of the SKS FOB, the engine, ICE, once
running will keep running until one of either; it is shut down with the
Power button, or you run out of gas.

Then you need to get the FOB to restart it -- obscenities optional.

Some folks report leaving the ICE running and going into a store on a
short errand. It doesn't matter if the FOB is a few feet away, or across
the state.

Hope this helps.

 

As I recall, this scenario actually happened to one of the Priuschat posters a year or two ago. It was a very frustrating day for him - several hundred miles from home without a FOB.

Keith

 

stock,

Yes, ICE = Internal Combustion Engine

Go here for a listing of the acronyms frequently used here on PC and
their meaning:

http://priuschat.com/forums/knowledge-base-articles-discussion/37699-priuschat-glossary.html

 

For what it's worth, when you shut a door without a fob inside the car you hear three beeps outside the car (a warning to the person about to walk away with the fob) and you get an icon on the dashboard saying there's no fob in the car. If you're not oblivious to one or the other you shouldn't do this easily.