2020+ Toyota Auto Engine Shutoff Feature Workaround (1 Viewer)

[xtern0]

Greetings all.

Okay, so while at this year's Jambo (Texas Toyota Lone Star Jamboree), I blew the clutch on my Taco and had to swap out for my '21 LC200. While packing up camp in Texas humidity (and also while at drive-in movies and sleeping in my rig north of the arctic circle), I like to let my engine idle. I discovered that Toyota has added yet another safety feature: New Toyota Cars Will Automatically Go into Park and Shut the Engine Off - https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a28035147/toyota-automatic-park-auto-engine-shutoff/

This time, its what's called an "Auto Engine Shutoff" feature that completely kills the engine and entire vehicle after exactly 58 minutes of idle, with no driver input, for most 2020+ Toyota vehicles. For Toyota vehicles with electronically actuated shifters, it will also put the car into park, if it is not already and in addition to shutting down the vehicle. The apparent motivation behind this was to prevent carbon monoxide deaths from people leaving their push button start cars idling in their attached garages and killing them. Various pundits have been saying that Toyota vehicles are involved in significantly greater CO deaths than other manufacturers...not sure if that says something about the brand or the folks like myself who buy the brand....moving right along...

Well, I do like to occasionally hit a drive-in movie, occasionally sleep in sub-zero temperatures, I may just end up stuck out in a blizzard during a traffic jam, and in Texas, nothing beats being able to jump into an icy cold rig after you've been breaking camp in 100+ degrees with massive humidity.

I looked in my LC200 manual...nada. Nothing, no mention of any auto shutoff. Went in using TS....again, no easily customizable ECU settings (not without a reprogram anyway). So then I researched 2020+ Toyota RAV4 Manuals. For those of you not familiar, the Toyota LC200 (and its various derivatives) share nearly the exact same ECU and CAN bus configurations and codes as a Toyota RAV4. After searching the 2020+ RAV4 Manual, I located the Auto Engine Shutoff feature on page 198 of the RAV4 Owner's Manual (see attached screenshot).

The RAV4 manual's workaround works. If you start the car and want it to stay idling (car camping in subzero temps, trapped in a blizzard traffic jam, or you're watching a drive-in movie), then simply lock the DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR USING THE DOOR'S LOCK BUTTON. This works if you put the window down as well, but regardless, if you plan to sleep in sub-zero temperatures, then you will need to lock your driver's side door and crawl back from there to go to bed. Before anyone starts spouting off about electric blankets, etc., keep in mind that if your vehicle turns off below certain temperatures and you don't have a block heater with access to a plug, your vehicle may not start again. I have tested and confirmed the 58 minute cutoff, and I have tested and confirmed that it is disabled with the driver's side window rolled down and the driver lock button pressed. I have not yet tested if other doors can remain open when locking the driver's side door or if the vehicle has to be completely buttoned up.

BETTER/BEST WORKAROUND (Thanks @04UZJ100!): Put your vehicle in neutral and apply the hand brake. WARNING: Will only work with traditional shifters (4Runner, LC200, GX570, etc.), Toyotas with electronically actuated shifters will shift the vehicle into park and shut it off.

Only downside with the Toyota-approved workaround is that in order to watch a drive-in from the tailgate, you'll either have to roll down the driver's side window and lock it, or you'll have to crawl over the seats to get to the back.

Anyway, there's a weird safety feature that no one seems to be talking about much, so I'm posting the Toyota-approved workaround.

X

 

[doru]

Interesting info. Thanks for sharing.
For people that sleep inside the truck in colder climates ... running the engine is a bad idea as it eats the gas you need to get back from where you are. Not to mention how expensive is 91 gas. There are portable and very economical solutions both in cost to buy/operate and fuel consumption that do not depend on the truck engine or electrical power. There are more complex ones, but the simplest and compact one I found is something like Mr. Heater Buddy that come on different sizes to accommodate the size of the space you need to heat. It runs off readily available gas canisters, or with a hose hook up to a propane bbq tank, you can run it for a VERY long time. It is used a lot around here for tent/van/truck camping in the winter. If you live above 7000' they may not work, but for Texas that is not a problem.

 

[xtern0]

Interesting info. Thanks for sharing.
For people that sleep inside the truck in colder climates ... running the engine is a bad idea as it eats the gas you need to get back from where you are. Not to mention how expensive is 91 gas. There are portable and very economical solutions both in cost to buy/operate and fuel consumption that do not depend on the truck engine or electrical power. There are more complex ones, but the simplest and compact one I found is something like Mr. Heater Buddy that come on different sizes to accommodate the size of the space you need to heat. It runs off readily available gas canisters, or with a hose hook up to a propane bbq tank, you can run it for a VERY long time. It is used a lot around here for tent/van/truck camping in the winter. If you live above 7000' they may not work, but for Texas that is not a problem.

The issue in Texas is Air Conditioning, but that's more of an annoyance I guess. However, even in the high Cascades, temperatures are a non-burger compared to Alaska/Yukon/Rockies. I'm talking temps where your oil turns to sludge, batteries sh*t the bed, and your gasoline won't flow. Prudhoe Bay, AK type stuff; I'm not talking about a family ski trip to Snoqualmie Pass. lol

 

[Leelanau]

Only downside with the Toyota-approved workaround is that in order to watch a drive-in from the tailgate, you'll either have to roll down the driver's side window and lock it, or you'll have to crawl over the seats to get to the back.

View attachment 3318091

It does say that you can use your mechanical key to lock the door as opposed to rolling down the driver’s aide window and pressing the lock button.

 

[cboyd]

It does say that you can use your mechanical key to lock the door as opposed to rolling down the driver’s aide window and pressing the lock button.

Yea, I read the same - use the mechanical key and you should be good. make sense for leaving it running for AC or heat. Good info though, I’ll have to try this on my 2015.

but all this begets the question: you run you engine during the drive in movie? Up where I live they come around and make you shut it off! For safety and noise reasons.

that said, I have drained the battery at the drive-in using the “Shift to neutral, power of!f, Shift to park trick” which only give you 20 mins. even using a battery box to add some more juice, running the aux killed it. So leaving it running makes sense, but they won’t allow it.

 

[04UZJ100]

Put it in neutral with the parking brake on.

 

[xtern0]

It does say that you can use your mechanical key to lock the door as opposed to rolling down the driver’s aide window and pressing the lock button.

I have no plans to test this, primarily because I have my smart key inside a leather protective cover, so using the physical key is possible, but a bit of a hassle. Remember, that's from a RAV4 manual; but your theory is sound.

 

[xtern0]

Put it in neutral with the parking brake on.

Tested and found to work as an additional auto shut off bypass. This also bypasses the auto shutoff, but ONLY on traditional shifting vehicles like the LC200, 4Runner, etc. If the vehicle has an electronically actuated shifter, then I guess its supposed to put the vehicle into park and shut it off.

 

[xtern0]

Yea, I read the same - use the mechanical key and you should be good. make sense for leaving it running for AC or heat. Good info though, I’ll have to try this on my 2015.

but all this begets the question: you run you engine during the drive in movie? Up where I live they come around and make you shut it off! For safety and noise reasons.

that said, I have drained the battery at the drive-in using the “Shift to neutral, power of!f, Shift to park trick” which only give you 20 mins. even using a battery box to add some more juice, running the aux killed it. So leaving it running makes sense, but they won’t allow it.

Your 2015 won't have an auto shut off, or it shouldn't anyway.

Yeah, we run the vehicle for the exact reason you just pointed out, and yeah, they've complained to us before. In accessory mode the radio only stays on for something like 20 min or so. I think I did figure out a way to keep it going for 75 minutes, but I can't remember how I did that. I think I did something like the trick you are mentioning.

My son just pointed out to me that the solution to the drive-in issue is for us to buy a high quality bluetooth speaker. This still bugs me since you lose the surround sound effect. Either way, I think Toyota not allowing their newer vehicles to have some type of bypass for accessory mode to remain on is VERY annoying in certain situations.

 

[xtern0]

Put it in neutral with the parking brake on.

This is, hands down, the best workaround for our vehicles. Much better than having to worry about if/when you locked the driver door. So thanks to @04UZJ100 for chiming in!