My parents have a new avalon with push button start/stop. If they park in their garage and forget to push the off button I am worried they risk carbon monoxide posioning
Possibly this feature is a bad idea for your parents. Too often, a vehicle mfr will change a perfectly adequate and familiar setup such key start-stop to make it different for marketing or whatever reason.
Another example is our old car with the cruise control on the turn signal stalk at the left which I liked as I knew where it was. Our newer car, same brand, has the cruise control on the steering wheel so now I have to find the button when the wheel is moving around when steering. It requires that I take my eyes off of the road.
Standardized vehicle controls written into law have been discussed but no action has been taken.
You mean to say your parents will park in the garage, then walk into the house while the engine in their Avalon is still running?
I think they will quickly adapt the their new car and this won’t be a problem.
[b] You mean to say your parents will park in the garage, then walk into the house while the engine in their Avalon is still running?
I think they will quickly adapt the their new car and this won’t be a problem. [/b]
I think that if that is an issue, maybe they should not be driving at all. While I agree with Wha, and believe that standard controls should be the norm, any driver who may leave their car and forget to turn it off, should not be driving. What if they forget what side of the road to drive on?
OK maybe that was a little harsh, but it is a real issue.
You mean to say your parents will park in the garage, then wait in the garage while the engine in their Avalon is still running?
I think they will quickly adapt to the their new car and this won’t be a problem.
I guess I don’t totally understand this feature. Does it just sense the radio signal from the key fob? I could see how that would be kind of neat, that you can just leave the keys in your pocket and then hop in and push a button. It would really suprise me if there’s not some sort of automatic shutoff for this feature. I’d imagine once you and the keys walk away from the car, it would shut off?
Actually, when I was a kid, an elderly couple in my neighborhood died by leaving their car running in the attached garage overnight.
I would suggest CO detectors for the house (a good idea for anyone with a furnace anyway).
My understanding of the way this system works is that if the key is removed from the inside of the vehicle with the motor running an alarm goes off. If your parents don’t or cannot recognize this warning maybee you should question whether they should be driving.
~Michael
I guess I don’t totally understand this feature. Does it just sense the radio signal from the key fob?
Yes that’s EXACTLY the way it works. Same feature on my wifes Lexus ES350. If you walk away from the vehicle with the fob…the car will honk at you. I think after a minute if the fob isn’t near it it will automatically turn off.
Been the good child and hardwire(no batteries they can remove/ignore) very loud CO detectors around their home.
CO detectors are the law in the state of MA and should be in all homes where heating sources are used.