I forgot to turn off my car overnight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ok. She gets it. Instead of bitching her out how about suggestions like she asked?

How about a big "stop...is the car OFF?" Sign on the garage door that you cannot miss as you walk into the house?

I think a better idea is something you have to DO, rather than a sign. I find that when I leave notes to myself like that, pretty soon I don't notice them anymore. They just become part of the background.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ok. She gets it. Instead of bitching her out how about suggestions like she asked?

How about a big "stop...is the car OFF?" Sign on the garage door that you cannot miss as you walk into the house?

Thanks! I will definitely leave myself a note on the garage door. All I could this this morning was how awful my parents and in laws would feel on this day for the rest of their lives...

[Anonymous]

People are so uptight about kids' bedtimes; like something bad will happen if they are sometimes up past their bedtime.

I've seen a mother forget her purse because she was trying to rush home to get the kids in bed by 7:30p to avoid a meltdown the NEXT DAY. I've seen mother's driving erratically. I've seen parents get over anxious about it and pull their kids from a really fun activity because their bed time is in 20 minutes; then the mom was a wreck because it took the kid 90 minutes to settle down and fall asleep.

OP, relax about the bedtime and don't get flustered because the kid will cry in the car. It's not that serious. Your kid will survive if he/she misses a few winks. The kid won't survive an overly anxious parent that ends up making them worse for the wear because the parent read a book about "the importance of strict bedtimes and staying on schedule". Relax!!!

[Anonymous]

You could start locking the door between the garage and the house so you would need your keys to get in the house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People are so uptight about kids' bedtimes; like something bad will happen if they are sometimes up past their bedtime.

I've seen a mother forget her purse because she was trying to rush home to get the kids in bed by 7:30p to avoid a meltdown the NEXT DAY. I've seen mother's driving erratically. I've seen parents get over anxious about it and pull their kids from a really fun activity because their bed time is in 20 minutes; then the mom was a wreck because it took the kid 90 minutes to settle down and fall asleep.

OP, relax about the bedtime and don't get flustered because the kid will cry in the car. It's not that serious. Your kid will survive if he/she misses a few winks. The kid won't survive an overly anxious parent that ends up making them worse for the wear because the parent read a book about "the importance of strict bedtimes and staying on schedule". Relax!!!

Amen

[Anonymous]

Try getting in the habit of locking your car in yours garage just like you do in a parking lot. My hybrid won't let me lock it from the outside with the keychain when it is running. It beeps at me.

Many hybrids have a push button ignition that doesn't require the key to be inserted. But you could also disable that and use the key that may be hidden inside your transmitter.

I would also consider putting carbon monoxide detectors in your garage and throughout your house if you don't already have them. I think I read there are new kinds where an alert on one triggers the others too. But I haven't researched that recently. Ours is so loud in the basement we can hear it upstairs.

My mom left our car on all night in our driveway because she wasn't familiar with the off button and assumed when she walked away and the car was silent it was off.

[Anonymous]

I agree with locking the car. We have a hybrid too and it won't lock if the engine is on.

However - I've left it running twice - both times parked on the street. One time I was really stressed and the other time I was 9 months pregnant - so pregnancy brain. Even the loud noise the car makes didn't get through my stressed out brain.

[Anonymous]

My cousin's grandparents (not the grandparents we share) both died from carbon monoxide poisoning when they left the car running in the garage. They were found the next day, one in bed and one on the floor of the bathroom. The neighbors thought it was strange that their newspaper was still in front of their house and that they hadn't been seen going on their daily walk. When they didn't answer their door, the neighbors called police and the police knocked open the door and entered the house. It was so horrible for my uncle to lose both is parents so suddenly and unexpectedly.

You must, must get the carbon monoxide detectors and put them around the house. We have two on each level of the house. Then figure out a way that you can't have this happen again. I agree with the posters that said a sign won't do it long term...too easy to ignore. Something better is when you have to use your key to turn off the car and that same key ring to unlock the garage door. Something like that.

Maybe there's a way that your car in park will automatically shut off after 10 minutes in "park"? Maybe the dealer can put in some sort of feature like that?

[Anonymous]

Oh my gosh - how scary. I'm grateful that my car will not release the keys from the ignition unless it is in park and turned off. It has saved me many times.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh my gosh - how scary. I'm grateful that my car will not release the keys from the ignition unless it is in park and turned off. It has saved me many times.

NP here. I miss the old school keys - it's too easy with make mistakes with the new push button, key nearby scenario.

Op, perhaps you could add a "car check" to your nightly routine? I always close the blinds and lock the door before I go to bed. Perhaps you could peek in the garage when you lock up at night?

[Anonymous]

OP, get a CO detector put in place near Garage entry way and maybe in bedroom so the alarm may help when it happens again. Also, call your local fire department for other suggestions they may have better ideas!

[Anonymous]

Doesn't the car turn off if the keys get too far away? Or the car runs out of gas??? This sounds weird.

[Anonymous]

Well Op, you are confessing on DCUM, I'm guessing it will remain on you mind.

[Anonymous]

Read the OP, people. It's a KEYLESS car. Leaving a car running has become a huge problem with keyless cars. A keyfob is required to start the car, but there is no key and it is not required to keep the car running. So, you and your keyfob can go into the house, but if you don't push that stop button in the car, the car stays running until it's out of gas. The NTSB has begged automakers to change the way this works because people have died by forgetting to turn their cars off in the garage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Doesn't the car turn off if the keys get too far away? Or the car runs out of gas??? This sounds weird.

Keyless cars do not use a key. Some cars will stop if the key fob is not within a certain distance of the car, but many do not require the fob to stay with the car. Obviously, if the car runs out of gas, it will stop.