Came out of Costco today and was loading the haul into the
trunk when the Camry Hybrid next to us started up. We look
around, no one else in the area. We're thinking it's some kind
of remote start but ... where's the driver?

I got close to it to make sure I wasn't hearing some other car
running. No, it's this car. I'm thinking Christine and hoping
it doesn't start backing out to drive around by itself with
revenge on its mind.

After a minute or so, it turned off.

okay, then.

nancy

On 4/2/2017 5:43 PM, l not -l wrote:
> On 2-Apr-2017, Nancy Young > wrote:
>
>> Came out of Costco today and was loading the haul into the
>> trunk when the Camry Hybrid next to us started up. We look
>> around, no one else in the area. We're thinking it's some kind
>> of remote start but ... where's the driver?
>>
>> I got close to it to make sure I wasn't hearing some other car
>> running. No, it's this car. I'm thinking Christine and hoping
>> it doesn't start backing out to drive around by itself with
>> revenge on its mind.
>>
>> After a minute or so, it turned off.
>>
>> okay, then.


> Since you don't know the year (or at least didn't specify), I can't speak
> with certainty about the car you saw. But, my 2014 Prius, and the 2009
> Camry Hybrid I had before that, would do that only if left "on" and I was
> nearby with the "fob".

The theory we came up with was that the car was left running and started
itself to charge the battery.

> While sitting, with ignition on, the Prius and
> Camry would cycle the gasoline engine on when the battery charge dropped
> below a certain level and would shut off once the charge met minimum level,
> generally running a couple of minutes or less.

That's what it was like.

> Both have a keyless ignition that relies on the proximity of a remote "fob";
> if it is not nearby, the car will shut-off and cannot be restarted until the
> remote reappears nearby. It works well and my insurance company loves it
> enough to give me a discount for having an anti-theft device.

I did walk away from my Camry once with the engine running and the fob
in my bag. It didn't go crazy beeping or anything. Note that I don't
have an electric car. It did beep inside the car but there weren't
lights and sirens.

> If I forget and start to walk away with the ignition on and the remote in my
> pocket, the car makes a racket to remind me I'm about to do something
> stupid. It also won't let me lock the car with the remote inside.

I closed my pocketbook in the trunk a couple of weeks ago and was Very
happy I could open it.

> I am reasonably certain the owner of that car, though not visible to you,
> was very near.

Unless they were hiding in the trunk, we were quite alone in a wide
area. We park far. There was no one around. That's what made it spooky.

Maybe it was a day late April Fool's joke. Heh.

nancy

On Sunday, April 2, 2017 at 12:07:10 PM UTC-10, Nancy Young wrote:
> On 4/2/2017 5:43 PM, l not -l wrote:
> > On 2-Apr-2017, Nancy Young > wrote:
> >
> >> Came out of Costco today and was loading the haul into the
> >> trunk when the Camry Hybrid next to us started up. We look
> >> around, no one else in the area. We're thinking it's some kind
> >> of remote start but ... where's the driver?
> >>
> >> I got close to it to make sure I wasn't hearing some other car
> >> running. No, it's this car. I'm thinking Christine and hoping
> >> it doesn't start backing out to drive around by itself with
> >> revenge on its mind.
> >>
> >> After a minute or so, it turned off.
> >>
> >> okay, then.
>
>
> > Since you don't know the year (or at least didn't specify), I can't speak
> > with certainty about the car you saw. But, my 2014 Prius, and the 2009
> > Camry Hybrid I had before that, would do that only if left "on" and I was
> > nearby with the "fob".
>
> The theory we came up with was that the car was left running and started
> itself to charge the battery.
>
> > While sitting, with ignition on, the Prius and
> > Camry would cycle the gasoline engine on when the battery charge dropped
> > below a certain level and would shut off once the charge met minimum level,
> > generally running a couple of minutes or less.
>
> That's what it was like.
>
> > Both have a keyless ignition that relies on the proximity of a remote "fob";
> > if it is not nearby, the car will shut-off and cannot be restarted until the
> > remote reappears nearby. It works well and my insurance company loves it
> > enough to give me a discount for having an anti-theft device.
>
> I did walk away from my Camry once with the engine running and the fob
> in my bag. It didn't go crazy beeping or anything. Note that I don't
> have an electric car. It did beep inside the car but there weren't
> lights and sirens.
>
> > If I forget and start to walk away with the ignition on and the remote in my
> > pocket, the car makes a racket to remind me I'm about to do something
> > stupid. It also won't let me lock the car with the remote inside.
>
> I closed my pocketbook in the trunk a couple of weeks ago and was Very
> happy I could open it.
>
> > I am reasonably certain the owner of that car, though not visible to you,
> > was very near.
>
> Unless they were hiding in the trunk, we were quite alone in a wide
> area. We park far. There was no one around. That's what made it spooky.
>
> Maybe it was a day late April Fool's joke. Heh.
>
> nancy

The advent of self-driving cars and flying cars will open up new vistas in the field of practical jokes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbImqlqdozk