LOCKED THE SMART KEY IN THE CAR

Yep, I wouldn't worry about letting it sit for a week. Any charge lost to self discharging will be regained as the car goes through the warm up cycle and is making more use of the engine. To the battery, there is no difference between letting the car sit and 'warm up', and just driving off. Any discharging already happened.

If he wants to keep the battery in good condition for as long as possible, something like a Prolong charger would be worth looking into.

 

I was just reacting to this description:

That sounded to me, like the vehicle was purposely left running, unattended for 30 minutes, to charge the hybrid battery, IMO..unnecessary, and dangerous.

If I'm missing something in translation? My apologizes.

 

Yeah, but OP stated, car door was locked by just slamming the door shut with the fob inside. That is the part I don't understand.

 

The is only driven once a week. The owner feels it is best for the battery to charge it back up before driving it. There are risks, but this isn't any different than the many people that turn on the car, and let it run to warm up the cabin.

My Camry locks the doors when put into gear. That can be turned off in the settings. Exactly when the doors lock can also be changed there too, and when the driver door shuts could be one.

Perhaps the settings are set to such on this car, or there is a loose connection that triggers the auto lock when the door is slammed.

 

I disagree. This simply IS different.
This isn't a installed remote start system. This isn't warming up the cabin.
For that matter, most Prius owners are so environmentally conscious, they would rather use heated seats, or wear a coat or sweater in the car, than waste gasoline warming up the vehicle. Just a broad generalization, but an observation I have made more than once.

I'll stand by my original belief. That a regular, healthy working Hybrid, is designed to charge up the hybrid battery through regular usage. So there is no need to leave it unattended for 1/2 an hour to charge up the HV Battery.

I don't really like the idea of leaving a running vehicle unattended under ANY circumstance. My opinion is we generally don't leave Toaster Ovens unattended, or Irons plugged in, why do we think it's OK or a good idea to leave 3000 lb +, carbon monoxide producing automobile running?

I know some people love having a remote start. But even in that case, I kind of say...suck it up...I can survive the 5 minutes it might take before the regular heating system makes the vehicle warm.

In short? If you ain't driving? Turns the engine off.

 

I've got a new HyCam not a 2009 HyHy so there may be differences.

That said, I don't think my car would ever just run for half an hour. It might run in the cold to warm up and then shut off. In the warmer parts of Summer you could push the start button and the engine would most likely not turn on at all. The only time the ICE is going to kick on (while parked) is if the car needs to warm up or if the battery gets really low.

I'm guessing that either the HyHy works differently from my HyCam or perhaps the HyHy's battery is not in great shape?

 

First, this isn't a Prius. Second, I have seen, and done so myself, turning on the car without remote start to warm it up. The cars were outside, and this Highlander maybe too.

I agree, and have said so in posts here.

I believe he steps away, so we don't know if the engine is actually running for those 30 minutes, or just the five for the warm up cycle.

 

OK.
I just kind of give up.
This is a 3rd party story of The Client, being relayed and retold by Dxta, and interpreted by multiple people.

I'm just going to say good luck.
Glad ultimately the doors were open, the vehicle shut off, and nobody hurt.