While not every 2020 model in Toyota’s lineup will have them, Toyota aims to increase safety by adding two safety features to their cars available in North America: Engine shutoff and automatic park.
In the event that the vehicle is left running after a certain period of time, it’ll shut off on its own. This feature will be available for cars that have a Smart Key System, which is a keyless entry system. In existing Toyota models with this system, it already gives an audio and visual warning about the engine running in idle.
We’re not sure exactly how long the amount of time will be before Toyota decides that the engine needs to be turned off. Toyota also didn’t explain how this will work if the car is left idling with a driver in the vehicle, or if it’ll only shut off when there’s no driver in the car.
So why this technology? Apparently, some people accidentally leave their cars running while they’re parked in the garage, which can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning or toxic fumes inside the house.
The reason for this is suspected to be because people aren’t used to the push button for the start and stop of the engine and may simply leave the car running. In the future, Toyota says it will send a reminder to turn off the vehicle to an app on your smartphone.
So what about the automatic parking feature? Is it just for people who weren’t taught how to parallel park? No, it’s designed to stop rollaway vehicles, apparently for people who sometimes forget to actually put a vehicle in park.
The automatic park feature will only be on models with electronic shifters or parking brakes. The system will activate if the driver has left the vehicle but hasn’t put it in park. The car will go into park itself or activate an electronic parking brake.
No word yet on exactly which models will have these new safety features, but we’ll likely know more later this year when more 2020 Toyota models become available.
Source: Autoblog