So I was on the Bluetooth phone when I pulled into my garage and put it in Park, but I didn't press the Off button so I could keep talking on the car phone. After about 10 minutes, the FE gauge suddenly zoomed from E mode all the way up to 0 mpg and I could hear the engine (or something) revving up. Why would the car do that when I'm just parked? Is it bad for the car?

 

It's normal.

As long as you keep the car in READY state, it will try and keep the batteries charged and the engine at full operating temperature so that... well, so that it's READY.

 

As Tom said, everything is working properly. The "engine" is not over-reving and will shut down when the battery is recharged enough (normally in just a few minutes).

One thing to add. -- Be sure NOT to try this in "N". If the car is in Neutral, the batteries will not recharge.

 

I was on a trip this yr and was in a construction zone 14 miles and took about 45 min.Hated the wait but loved the car I didnt use much gas it ran on the batterys most of the time and when it started on gas it didnt run long and went back on battery.
I did feel sorry for the other people using all that gas to go no place.It was hot and the air ran all the time and i like it cold.

 

You know how you can listen to the radio (and use the bluetooth hands free system?) when parked with the car turned off by just pressing the start button without pushing on the brake? I assume this uses a lot less battery and the engine won't keep coming on as you sit there.

My question is.. is there any way to put the car in this state after driving without turning it completely off? With normal cars you can park your car and turn the ignition one click between turning the engine on and taking the key out..

 

After driving, if you push the powe button (foot on brake) with the car still in drive....it goes straight to "acc" mode.

 

I thought you had to shift to N? D still works?

 

Just press the Power button with the gear selector in any position but 'P'. The TCH will go from READY to ACC. There's no need to push the brake pedal (other than to stop the car from moving!). To switch finally to OFF, you must be in 'P' and then two pushes will be required.

Stan

 

Is this something people do often? I tried it yesterday and it sounded like the engine abruptly stopped (I was in D when I pressed the power while stopped).. and while the radio did stay on it didn't feel quite as smooth of a shut down as when I put it in Park and turn the whole thing off.. might have just been in my head though.

 

ToyotaGoblin — I think that you're just imagining that the ICE shut-off was less smooth than normal. This is a perfectly acceptable shut-down procedure that leaves the car in ACC rather than OFF mode. It was explained on a card that was attached to my gear-shift lever when I got the car. I'm attaching a scan of the card.

Stan