Engine running 3 hours later

[strike]

Forgot my engine on for over 3 hours. Neighbor let me know lights were on and that's how I found out. Isn't there supposed to be an idle timeout of some sort?

 

[JDraper]

No

 

[VinceL]

It would seem there isn't. How close was the key to the car. I too would think that with the key out of the car for a period of time would result in the car shutting off, assuming you have the keyless entry.

Did you leave the key in the ignition?

 

[strike]

It would seem there isn't. How close was the key to the car. I too would think that with the key out of the car for a period of time would result in the car shutting off, assuming you have the keyless entry.

Did you leave the key in the ignition?

No. Key was real far from the Ex but it didn't make a difference,

 

[VinceL]

^ Weird.

 

[spitfisher]

How was your gas mileage?

 

[SWEET ST]

How would one think that the car should turn off because of not sensing the fob, come on people this is now probly going to be another reason for people to ***** about ford and the explorer give it a break lets have some kind of common sense !!!! There is only a timer when the explorer is remote started in increments of 5,10,15,etc.... But not into hours!!!!

 

[dco43054]

^ Weird.

Nope - not weird. The way pushbutton start it is supposed to work.

Say you start the vehicle, get out so someone else can drive, they drive off into traffic, and then it quits because you still have the fob in your pocket. BIG problem then.

Once they shut it off, it can't be restarted without the fob.

 

[VinceL]

I still think it is weird. Then again, I would never allow the scenario you describe to occur.

 

[peterk9]

Nope - not weird. The way pushbutton start it is supposed to work.

Say you start the vehicle, get out so someone else can drive, they drive off into traffic, and then it quits because you still have the fob in your pocket. BIG problem then.

Once they shut it off, it can't be restarted without the fob.

Not totally correct. After shut down, the vehicle can be restarted within 20 seconds without the fob being in range.

Peter

 

[colintrax]

What's the issue with this? Did it overheat? Run it outta gas? If nothing happened why did you bother starting this thread?
My dad's crazy ex girlfriend took his truck and left it idling all night (a good 8 or 9 hours) and it's still fine.
Why would it shut off? Think of all the dip dongs who don't mind burning gas while watching their kids soccer games just for the ac? I think it's irresponsible and a waste of money. But I don't mind sweating, ya know. Your bodys natural AC

 

[blwnsmoke]

What is so wierd about this?? If you have key ignition, does that mean the car should shutoff after idling too? Keyless ignition is designed to let you start the vehicle in a faster, more convenient way. Its safety is that the fob has to be in close range. Once started, it is no different then a keyed ignition.

Moral of the story, pay more attention lol.

 

[peterk9]

What's the issue with this? Did it overheat? Run it outta gas? If nothing happened why did you bother starting this thread?

The OP posted asking if there was an auto timeout after a certain period of idling time, which there isn't.
This is not the first time this issue has happened. I believe there was a similar post quite a while ago. I myself have hit the button on several occassions thinking that I had turned everything off only to see that the screens were still on as I went to exit the vehicle.

Peter

 

[strike]

What is so wierd about this?? If you have key ignition, does that mean the car should shutoff after idling too? Keyless ignition is designed to let you start the vehicle in a faster, more convenient way. Its safety is that the fob has to be in close range. Once started, it is no different then a keyed ignition.

Moral of the story, pay more attention lol.

Yes - Exactly right "Pay Attention" - I have a garage but never put my car in it so other than wasting gas I don't think any harm was done. Now if this happens to someone who garages their car things might turn out differently.

With push button start even though I hit the button it sometimes isn't hard enough and I don't notice that the car didn't turn off. The fact the radio stays on until the door is opened doesn't help (oh and if you don't open the door and you do shut the engine down the radio shuts off after 15 minutes). With keys it's a little harder to do miss shutting the car off .

My stove at home which has a lot less computing electronics than my Ex knows to shut down after 'x' hours to prevent a fire. The Explorer should be able to detect a constant idle and shut down after 'x' hours too... it just doesn't make sense to me that remote starting will only run for 10 or 15 minutes but you can permanent idle the car from a running state.

 

[VinceL]

What is so wierd about this?? If you have key ignition, does that mean the car should shutoff after idling too? Keyless ignition is designed to let you start the vehicle in a faster, more convenient way. Its safety is that the fob has to be in close range. Once started, it is no different then a keyed ignition.

Moral of the story, pay more attention lol.

Idling is not the issue. The car continuing to run without a key nearby is what I am questioning as a safety issue. I don't know how far away the OP's fob was from the car, but I wouldn't think the car should let you get more than 5 feet from the interior of the running car without honking at you or putting the hazards on, or some other visual/auditory warning, just as a friendly reminder.

And I agree, paying more attention is key.

 

[VinceL]

how was your gas mileage?

lol :d

 

[peterk9]

Idling is not the issue. The car continuing to run without a key nearby is what I am questioning as a safety issue. I don't know how far away the OP's fob was from the car, but I wouldn't think the car should let you get more than 5 feet from the interior of the running car without honking at you or putting the hazards on, or some other visual/auditory warning, just as a friendly reminder.

And I agree, paying more attention is key.

I agree Vince that there should be some kind of reminder. The Highlander I had would produce an electronic beep if you walked out of range with the engine still running. I found it odd that with all the electronics on board the Explorer doesn't.

I'm also sure that most owners are not aware that the Ex can be restarted within 20 seconds after being turned off without the fob being nearby.
Another reason to always lock it up.

Peter

 

[VinceL]

I didn't realize the 20 second rule even existed.

 

[blwnsmoke]

Idling is not the issue. The car continuing to run without a key nearby is what I am questioning as a safety issue. I don't know how far away the OP's fob was from the car, but I wouldn't think the car should let you get more than 5 feet from the interior of the running car without honking at you or putting the hazards on, or some other visual/auditory warning, just as a friendly reminder.

And I agree, paying more attention is key.

The Ex does alert you, it says it on the left mft screen when you walk away from it lol.

I agree, there should be a soft tone or chirp to alert you.

 

[peterk9]

I didn't realize the 20 second rule even existed.

As I mentioned, you are probably not alone. It's called the Fast Restart feature.

Peter