Leaving car "on" unattended, but secure?

Remote starter and then be sure the auto shutoff can be set long enough to avoid killing your dog. Probably want one of the better cell enabled units.

 

Someone still might bust out a window, not knowing the car is on?

This doesn't seem a good idea to me, mostly just a vague unease about what might happen.

 

When my son bought his Prius v he specifically bought it with remote start. He sometimes has hos dogs at outdoor agility trials and he can leave them in the car with the air conditioning running. His salesman found out that factory remote start was cheaper than port installed.
Many people at these events leave the animals with the covered back hatch open with battery fans blowing to try & keep the animals cool.

 

(I have a Gen 3, not 4, but anyway, Gen 3 works like this): The car has to be READY for the A/C to run.

The good news is, once it is READY, you can take the fob with you; there is no need to leave it in the car. The car will stay READY until turned off.

But the car will try very hard not to let you lock all the doors while it is READY. It won't listen to the fob buttons at all, and if you lock the driver door from outside with the mechanical key, the car will unlock it again.

Reaching in through the open window, locking the door from the inside controls, then letting the window auto-close, seems to work.

Returning to the car, only the mechanical key will unlock it.

The bad news is, even if you've taken the fob with you, the car is READY, and as long as it's READY, it can be driven away by anyone who breaks in. They won't get another chance if they turn it off, but as long as they don't turn it off, I'm not aware of any limit on how far they can drive it.

Some kind of hidden kill switch to defeat the shifter or park actuator seems like the most promising idea I can think of.

 

Without triggering a warning taking it out of READY mode?

 

That's the mission, should you choose to accept it.

 

Get a Tesla with Dog mode?

 

How do the onlookers know when your Tesla is in Dog Mode?

 

The following link shows full details: tesla releases ‘dog mode’ to keep pets safe and stop passers-by reporting you
Basically, the Tesla fills the center console with a sign indicating the dog is safe and comfortable.

 

People kinda laughed at Tesla's "dog mode".
But people love to travel with their pets, and safety and comfort when they are left in a vehicle is important.

My Dad is retired, and takes his dogs to parks for walks, vets, groomers, something called "Doggie Daycare".
But he seldom, really never leaves the dogs unattended in the vehicles. So I really have no answer.

I would say, of course safety and comfort of the animal is paramount, and if the animal is going to be unattended for any significant length of time so is some way of letting concerned passerbyers that the animal is fine and not in any danger.

 

That is why the pet should only be transported safely in an anchored crate in the car, not running loose or harnessed in place.

 

Actually, My Dad let's the smartest dog drive.

 

So, leaving the Prius climate-control on, with a cheap tablet in view showing a temperature reading, ought to be about as effective at keeping the windows unsmashed (unless somebody smashes one to take the tablet).

 

I would want the tablet, especially if it was a 12.9” Ipad Pro with cellular. However most of the apps only pickup outside temps from servers with perhaps a few that measures the ipads battery temp which has at least a 30 minute thermal lag from a dramatically increased ambient. I suppose someone could modify an OBD2 app to pick out live data and provide cell alerts when the system shutdown which would more closely emulate Tesla’s dog mode.

 

Yeah, if the tablet can display the "room temp" from the A/C ECU, that would be about ideal. The sensor is in the dash, in a tube connected to the HVAC blower, so it is always actively sampling the inside air.

 

I would imagine you would have to disable the Drive/Reverse switch but its networked as is most everything. I would go with the Remote Start setup to shutoff when the door opens. Even those may require an ecu reflash in some cases and or soldering leads to the ecu. Apparently Viper is a leader in these products. They allow cell connections but you pay for that service monthly. On a Prius v they require connection into the Prius network and also get a connection from the D shifter.