Toyota is looking to increase the safety of its 2020 vehicles and, according to Autoblog, will add engine shutoff and automatic park as features.
Cars equipped with the company's Smart Key System keyless entry will have their engines shut off after "a predetermined period of time in the event the vehicle is left running". Such vehicles already have a sound function which makes it so that a warning prompt is heard if an engine is on for too long. But an additional feature is inbound.
Toyota has not specified how long "a predetermined time" is, nor did they say whether or not this function will be operational when the car is idling with a driver inside or if it will be able to detect when a driver is leaving.
According to a report from the New York Times last year, 28 drivers have died as a result of unintentionally leaving their cars idling in garages over the span of 12 years. This has been attributed to keyless fobs and push-button start functions as older drivers are perhaps more accustomed to switching their cars off using a key and simply forget to switch off before exiting the vehicle. As a result, homes were flooded with exhaust fumes, which unfortunately led to deaths.
Automatic engine shutdown for keyless models could totally eliminate such a problem or threat as cars won't be left running long enough to emit toxic fumes that result in fatalities.
The Jaguar XF boasts a similar function, but that one turns the car off when the driver puts the car in park and removes his/her seatbelt. The vehicle's engine switches off whether or not he/she exits.
Toyota also says that a future upgrade for auto shutoff will send a reminder to a smartphone app.
Meanwhile, the automatic park feature is designed to prevent rollaways and will only be fixed on models with electronic shifters or parking brakes. The system will kick into operation if the vehicle is exited and the driver hasn't put it in park. In such a case, it will either shift into park itself or activate the electronic parking brake.
It's still not clear which models will host these features but it is expected that they will come when the 2020 models go on sale later this year.