[appleguy101]

I park my car in the garage at work. I guess I got distracted and left my car running when I parked it. I came back 2 hours later and the car was STILL running. The key fob was in my pocket. Why didn't the car turn off when I got far enough away?

 

[Yankeezone]

That’s interesting and scary as it’s supposed to shut off if you get too far away with the key.

 

[NotcherBiznas]

No it's not. It's working as designed. This is not a Tesla.

 

[Yankeezone]

That part of the owners manual doesn’t really talk about the engine shutting off or continuing to run if the key is not located within close proximity to the vehicle. It talks more about an alarm and warning sound or indicator on the dash.

 

[RkFast]

You forgot to turn the thing off and its somehow the vehicle's fault?

Guys..........

 

[NotcherBiznas]

That part of the owners manual doesn’t really talk about the engine shutting off or continuing to run if the key is not located within close proximity to the vehicle. It talks more about an alarm and warning sound or indicator on the dash.

Can you find the spot in the manual where it says it will turn off? That's the only section I've found that mentions leaving the car on and taking the key with you.

 

[Passporter]

There is a setting so the doors can auto lock when walking away. Nothing for the engine. Least it didn't do it in your garage while y'all slept

 

[Yankeezone]

I don’t think the OP is blaming anyone for the Passport continuing to run. It sounds like they have a legitimate safety concern. I thought it was supposed to shut off if the key got too far away. I must have heard that somewhere and it does sound like maybe it should be a safety issue. I don’t know where it would be referred to in the owners manual. Just wondering what would happen if someone took your car while you had the key fob. Would it just run forever. I guess they wouldn’t be able to start it without it if they shut it off. Weird scenarios.

 

[Chino182]

I've had multiple brand vehicles (Honda, BMW, Nissan, Toyota, Lexus, Jeep, Dodge) with push button start, They all allowed me to walk away with the key in my pocket and none shut down when I walked away. They all would beep to let you know it's still on; but none turned off the engine. I would find it more annoying if my spouse or kids were in the car and I stepped out to use the ATM or to talk to a neighbor across the street and the car would turn off cause the key was in my pocket.

 

[appleguy101]

I wasn't suggesting that the car shut off immediately when the fob goes out of range. You should be able to set a timer for that function so you can leave the car running if there are people in it, for example.

For example, if your fob can connect to the car when it's in your driveway and the car is not locked, someone can get in and start the car, right? However, when the car is in motion and gets too far from the fob, it should warn the driver on the dash board and then eventually shut the car off. Look at what happened to that guy in Atlanta. He left the car running and had the fob in his pocket, 4 kids jumped in and drove it off and he ran after it trying to stop them. If the car simply stopped running when the fob got too far away, he could have just stood there and waited for the car to roll to a stop.

The car is pretty quiet when idling especially if you're a bit hard of hearing like me.

Also, I didn't hear any warning tones from the car as I walked away. Why doesn't it use the car horn like the alarm system when you walk away with the fob and leave the car running?

 

[ProdGirl]

I have to admit I did this at the very early stages.
I parked in the work garage which had all sorts of air purifiers that were loud, I was distracted by our usual morning work shenanigans when parking and the vehicle is so quiet.

The worst part was eating crow when one of my work crew guys came in maybe 30 minutes after I did to tell me and everyone else I left my passport running. He’s also the same guy who took a photo of my turfed rim and put it on our daily communication of who did what site.

 

[Chino182]

For example, if your fob can connect to the car when it's in your driveway and the car is not locked, someone can get in and start the car, right?

I don't believe this is true, The FOB has to be inside the vehicle to start. I had my son stand outside by the driver side door and the passport would not start, If he was in the backseat which is further away, but inside the car it started.

 

[Steveg203]

A few years back I had a BMW and I went shopping and it was maybe 2 hours I come out and my car is running. I couldn’t believe I did that and yes the car was quiet when it idled. This is scary because what if I did this at home when I parked it in my garage. I think they should shut off after 15 minutes.

 

[stevenD]

I park my car in the garage at work. I guess I got distracted and left my car running when I parked it. I came back 2 hours later and the car was STILL running. The key fob was in my pocket. Why didn't the car turn off when I got far enough away?

Apparently the system was designed to facilitate car jackings...

 

[ProdGirl]

In 2019 we were working at San Jose Convention Center and had to move from our apartments to a hotel next to SJCC. The parking garage was only accessible with your hotel room key, yet we needed to check in still and there was no where to park the rental car - - stupid system, I know.

So I went and checked in so I could get a keycard while my work friend drove around the very big block. Guess who had the car key fob in their pocket, yet he could drive around a large block without the key fob...ME! 🤔

We both were so annoyed after an 18 hour work day, then we had to move and then this. I gave him my hotel key card to take the car down while I waited with his luggage and still forgot again to give him the key fob. He made it all the way to the garage without it. Our give a shit factor was about -2% so, nothing was ever done about it.

That was the same parking garage I got curb rash on my OEM’s at the key card gate with about 500 miles! 🤬

 

[HondaN600]

Don't feel bad appleguy, this has happened to us as well, although we didn’t walk away and realized what we had done.
When you go to on/off push button driving and your Honda idles like an electric, something like this can happen.

 

[Icegrill]

🙄

 

[mr_bots]

The key fobs aren't some fancy, long-range two-way key fobs with GPS. When the door handle gets touched the car sends out a weak wake signal that only reaches a few feet. If a fob that recognizes it is in range it wakes up transmits back and if the random number generated between both match it'll unlock the door. The same thing happens when you hit the start button but it is set up to only work if the fob is inside the vehicle (maybe using more than one vehicle sensor to triangulate that you aren't outside). As far as the car is concerned, you're either inside, within a few feet of the driver door, passenger door, or lift gate, or greater than 3' or so away from the car. It can't tell if your 5' or 1,000' from the car. It's typical function for all keyless cars. If you leave with the keyfob it'll beep and display an error if you get out with it running but keep running until it's turned off but won't restart.

 

[Caseythefever]

Yeah, this is how pretty much all push-button cars work. The alternate safety concern, and why this works that way, is what if your fob ran out of battery while driving, and then your car just shut off because it didn't think the keys were nearby? Or what if you and your spouse got in the car and you had left your keys on the counter. But because your spouse had the keys in their pocket, it started. Then later you drop them off at the store, pull into the highway, and your car just turns off.

At the end of the day, it's just one of the small cons that comes with modern technology.

 

[Yanto]

I park my car in the garage at work. I guess I got distracted and left my car running when I parked it. I came back 2 hours later and the car was STILL running. The key fob was in my pocket. Why didn't the car turn off when I got far enough away?

I had the same experience in a busy shopping strips....when I returned about an hour later, the car was still running and the key was in my jacket...it was definitely a scary situation...it took me a while to develop a routine with all the push buttons controls....