It sound good on paper but IMO, it makes it more complicated when things go wrong. Costly repair etc.. I do agree, how do people not realize their car is still running.

 

Not everyone hears very well. I can tell you for myself, as I have gotten much older, my hearing is not as sharp. Not everything works for everyone.

 

You can't hear your engine running in a garage, standing right next to the car? Unless you have a Tesla, this is a sign of a big problem, and not one that is Toyota's to have to solve.

 

Not surprising at all since Toyota/Lexus had almost 50% of the deaths/injuries in the NYT article about this issue.

 

Totally agree with hat, If you can't hear the engine running in a garage while standing right next to it you don't hear well enough to drive,

 

as a corollary, I have parents that are 70+ years old and don't know how to use my push button start IS350... and i've had a coworker let me drive a rental car, but took the remote key fob with him and it ended up costing us a taxi and a 4 hour penalty to get our job done, so there is definitely cases to making vehicles more idiot proof for those who aren't up to date with the newest automotive technologies which you all have to admit there have been tons of the last decade.

 

I did not say that I could not hear it. But for my parents, it’s not so much they can’t hear the engine. It’s they completely forget to turn off their 4Runner. Appears it does not happen to them in their ES or Avalon as the steering wheel has the exit feature. But it only happens on the rare occasion. I am assuming if their radio is on, it helps them not to forget. My parents do not park in a garage.

As for the not Toyota’s problem to solve. Yes I agree. But not everyone is young and sharp.

 

Not-so-young does not necessarily mean not-so-sharp. The idea that brain function decreases with age is only partly true, and then only with some people.

 

Brain function decreases with age, thats a medical fact. That doesn't mean that older people all of a sudden become doddering fools, its subtle...but its there. When you read the stories about who this has happened to, they're all older folks. I don't have an issue with them making the feature safer for all as long as it doesn't impact its effectiveness as a feature.

 

So explain this? I don't understand this part

 

Meaning that they don't make changes that reduce its functionality in the name of safety

 

They are enhancing their safety warning. In what way could the make changes that would reduce function in the name of safety

 

I agree. Lets say that it required you to do some weird thing like put the key in a specific spot for it to work...that would be an example of what I'm talking about. Not saying Toyota is doing anything like that here.

 

I don't think that is the case. They will not make you have extra steps.

I think there are a few things going on. I think Toyota is just being early in the adoption of extra safety features like in this situation as more than likely there will be legislation coming through that makes electric parking brakes mandatory as well as shut off features. Kinda like how back up cams are mandatory. The tech exists to go into P no matter what if you try to leave it in gear, so why not just add the feature across the board. I was driving a MB GLC43 and now I have been loaned a M340i, both cars automatically going into P if you are stopped and turn the ignition off. Lots of Toyota and Lexus models have hybrid, kind of a good idea to have shut off after 30.

In my experience, I think there are serious concerns with push button start and some of the park shift controls. So more safety is better. The only bad experience (this year) I had which got me thinking along these lines was that I was at a gas station, filling up, someone with a Ford Edge came in behind me, forgot to shift into P (I don't know how the engine went off) and then exited the vehicle and the Edge silently creeped towards me very slowly. I was surprised to learn that it was very easy to hold the Edge from moving anymore forward, and I am less than 140lbs. The guy got into his Edge and then put into park. May never of happened if it was keyed system as I know for Toyota's the key will not come out of the steering column if you shut off the car while still in D.

 

Ok, but the stories about people suffocating were because they left their cars running inside a residential garage. Those folks get out of their cars, and are in a confined space with the engine running. If that happens, we aren't talking any more about how "young and sharp" a person is; that is a sign that it's time to give up your driver's license.

Here's an idea--put a house key on your proximity key fob. Then the person can't get into the house without the fob, and they will realize at the house door they don't have the fob.

I posted above, my friend in high school locked his keys in his running car one day in 1987. He was in a hurry and forgot; he didn't discover it until 3 hours later when we were walking by the parking lot to the tennis courts during gym. Young but not so sharp (at least on that day). Not a proximity key issue.