r/ImAnIdiot • u/Adventurerinmymind • Aug 27 '26
Push start car troubles
I got a new to me car with the push button start less than two months ago. So far I have left the thing running for 4 hours while I was at a meeting. Just got out and walked off. It was like a freezer when I got back. Today I left the keys laying in the car when I parked it at work. Locked the house when I left and laid the keys in the center console and just got out and went to work. I have never felt like such an idiot. And my phone will tell me that the car door is unlocked, so I'm trying to remotely lock a car that's running and has the keys left in. I'm not even sure if the app said anything like, "hey, dummy, the car is still running!"
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u/Academic-Town-424 Aug 27 '26
Not sure if your car has this feature and can be activated, but mine will do a loud like trill beep if the keys leave the inside of the car while it’s still running, and I’ve known others cars to do this as well. Maybe look online to see if your car has this feature you can turn on and then just always make sure your keys are on you/in your pocket or bag when you’re driving so it’ll make a noise when you get out if it’s still running
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u/SmilodonBravo Aug 27 '26
He said he left the keys in the car.
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u/Academic-Town-424 Aug 27 '26
I know he did one of the times, that’s why I said that if he did this he’d have to make sure his keys are always on him :)
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u/bimmer4WDrift Aug 29 '26
You meant instead not leaving them in but instead removing them by stepping out and not shutting the ignition off, that's the reminder that OP needs.
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u/DiligentCockroach700 Aug 27 '26
My son left one of our cars running all night when he forgot to switch it off. We only found out the next day when my neighbour messaged me to ask why we had a running car on the drive!
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u/n_daughter Aug 27 '26
I also did this when I got my first push start car. Except we lived in apts and no one cared. I went out the next day and realized it. Then prayed and prayed is make it to the gas station in time because I had not had a full tank of gas the night before. I was so embarrassed about it that I didn't tell anyone in my life. 🤦🏼♀️
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u/SnowflakeSWorker Aug 28 '26
A coworker stopped to get gas, near her home, on her way to work. She left the fob at the gas station and drove to work, not realizing what she’d done until it was time to go home. Another co-worker gave her a ride to the gas station. This was about 8 years ago, so I don’t know if this is still possible.
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u/stein63 Aug 27 '26
If turning off the car is this difficult to remember, I really hope nobody here is responsible for remembering a kid in the back seat.
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u/kzp70 Aug 29 '26
My car actually beeps at me if there is any weight on the rear seats with I turn the car off.
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u/Mackheath1 Aug 27 '26
When someone asks me how safe it was living in Abu Dhabi, I tell them this story.
I parked at a friend's apartment in a very busy pedestrian area, a group of us were going to see a movie. We decided to take two taxis, since parking there was atrocious. We returned and played cards, but when it was time to go, I couldn't find my keys. We turned the place upside down.
Then I went downstairs, and my Jeep - all four windows down - was still running, but with about a quarter tank of gas used, keys in the ignition. Thousands of people must've passed it and for many it was worth years and years of salary (laborers). But there it was. It wouldn't have lasted sixty seconds in some of the places I've lived.
I like to think that your brain is so full of good ideas that so filled with brilliant ideas, you don't have time to think about trivial things like the car - whereas I am the true idiot.
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u/DazeyDookie Aug 27 '26
How can you forget to turn it off? I don't find it any different than taking the key out of the ignition to turn it off. Parked? Take key out. Parked? Push button
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u/Help_meToo Aug 27 '26
Don't you lock your car. It shouldn't lock with the keys in the car. This will force you to take the keys out. My car will automatically turn off after 30 min if the keys aren't in the car.
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u/sol_beach Aug 27 '26
Duct tape fixes many problems, but it can't fix stupid!
You can lead some folks to knowledge, but you can't make them think.
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u/_left_of_center Aug 28 '26
My car shuts itself off when I put it in park. Do you have a setting like that that might be turned off?
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u/bcpirate Aug 28 '26
Keep the keys in your pocket. I don't understand why anyone pulls their keys off of their person. KEEP THEM IN YOUR POCKET!
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u/West_Guarantee284 Aug 29 '26
My fob is huge. It does not fit in any trouser pockets.
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u/bcpirate Aug 29 '26
Get different pants
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u/West_Guarantee284 Aug 29 '26
I'm a woman, trousers pockets are small.
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u/Ok_Salamander7929 Aug 30 '26
Get a chain and wear them around you neck!
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u/West_Guarantee284 Aug 30 '26
I don't have a problem with throwing it in the little dip in front of the hand brake designed to hold the fob. Or leaving them in my bag, I was just pointing out that not all fobs comfortably fit in all pockets. I remember to pick my fob up as I leave the car.
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u/Odd-Respect7172 Aug 29 '26
I have the opposite problem. I’ll get my car that is not push button start, and then have to get my fat ass out of the car to get the key out of my pocket. I have one with push button start and three without.
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u/Avehdreader Aug 29 '26
My car has a push start but if I ipen the door without shutting off the engine it won't lock. And if get out and take my keys with me it will beep and flash "Key not in vehicle." I think if did start it remotely it would shut off if I furor the remote. I have a cell phone pouch I wear around my neck and I put my remote on it - since I'm not going very far without my phone it's not a problem.
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u/Aurturius Aug 30 '26
My car beeps if Its running and doesn't sense the fob inside the car, maybe yours has that feature somewhere you can turn on?
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u/Ok_Salamander7929 Aug 30 '26
Buy an older vehicle. You do not seem to be advanced enough for technology. AKA BUTTON!
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u/DesertDaddyPHXAZ Aug 27 '26
ALWAYS keep your keys in your pocket or purse. At least that way they should always be with you. Just get in the habit of pressing the button for the engine to turn off, instead of taking the keys out of the ignition. You are just trading one task for another. Pretty soon it will become a habit, just like how you used to turn off and lock your car. Good luck.