This morning, my husband went out to get in our Altima hybrid and drive to work. On approaching the car - he heard the motor running. He checked the gas and the tank was down a quarter of a tank. I had driven the car to the grocery store last night... and I left it running when I got out and went inside. I thought I had turned it off... but I inadvertantly left it running.

This has happened to us a few times now. You punch the button and you think the car is turned off... and then you come back a couple hours later.

I know it truth that this is HUMAN error and not a mechanical failure with the car... but part of a correct design is to take the human factor into design considerations. Having a car keep running when you thought you turned it off strikes me as potentially dangerous... and definitely a problem.

Is there any way to set the car so it automatically turns off after a set time if it is left running?

 

Doesn't it also beep (long, continuous tone) when you get out of the vehicle with the smartkey? Our TCH does and I believe the TCH and the NAH share the same Synergy hybrid system.

Scott

 

Welcome to our world Marianne. Gripper and I have both discussed this problem elsewhere. I would send an email to nnaconsumeraffairs@nissan-usa.com to reinforce this problem. They have big liability problem due to the carbon monoxide generation in a closed garage. If you don't have an CO monitor (like a smoke detector) then I would get one today.

It happend to us when my wife parked at the airport and was late. She left it on and the headlights in Auto. So the ICE would turn on periodically throughout the day and at night the lights would come on. Once the gas gauge hit E, the ICE stopped coming on and when we returned both the 12v and HV batteries were dead. I documented that experience elsewhere here. (this also killed our mileage performance for that tank of gas!)

You really have to form a habit of making sure the car is off when you walk away.

 

Cast, I will check for the beep. If that is the case maybe I can train my pea brain to listen for it. I honestly didn't notice anything... and I thought I'd turned the car off.

Tom, Believe me... I'm going to try to really develop the habit of triple checking to make sure it is off.

 

Marianne -

The only reason I know is beacuse I was out delivering cookies (from my kids fundraiser) and hopped out with the smartkey in my pocket and the TCH still on and it protested. When I tried to press the button on the door handle to lock it it gave me a very long (and quite loud) "beep" (more of a tone really) and did not lock.

I can see how it can happen!

Scott

 

Do you have an alarm on the car? Most cars will not activate the alarm if the car is running. For example, with my 2007 TCH, if I try to activate the alarm with the FOB while the car is started, I don't get the "alarm activated HONK" to let me know the alarm is on.

I don't know anything about the NAH. It does not make sense that Nissan would have allowed the car to be left on and the smartkey taken away from the car without an audible warning like the TCH has. With the TCH, if you leave the car on and take the key out of range, the car beeps loudly to let you know you are messing up.

 

There is a warning tone, as has been discussed elsewhere in this forum. But I can see how you could miss it, if preoccupied, or in a noisy environment.

 

Hello,

The Nissan Altima Hybrid, when functioning normally, does the following: 1) The dashboard lights up when the engine is on, 2) If the door is opened while the engine is on, a single beep is sounded and a warning light and warning display is shown, 3) If the car is exited and the door closed/locked with the engine on, then three quick beeps are sounded, and 4) After this the car assumes you want to leave with the engine on for whatever reason.

This is good or bad depending on how you look at it. I live in the Northeast and have no garage. It sometimes takes 40 minutes or more to chisel my car out of an ice/snow storm and I need to turn it on to help warm it up. I also have mechanics and state inspectors that require the car to be left running for all kinds of tests. Sometimes I need to run in to the bank quickly and need to leave the heat/ac on for my passengers. I would not want the car to constantly beep at me or turn off on me when I'm doing these things.

I do wish the NAH had a louder warning beep, but it does warn you with light and sound. I don't think this is a design flaw, but does require some extra diligence on the part of the driver.

Hopefully Nissan will make some tweaking to make us all happy, as I would not want anyone injured by leaving the car on accidentally.

 

okay, I've tested this out every way I can possibly think of... and I am FIRM in my belief this is a design flaw. YES... there is a tiny little beep... but there is no real alert other than a little quiet "beep" when the door is opened that significantly alerts me to the fact I've left the car running.

I'm 50 years old. My hearing isn't perfect... and I routinely am a bit harried and bombarded as I'm going through my day. Between street noises, the confusion that comes with being in a hurry, etc... I think the "human factor" here really requires a significant alert that just plain isn't there. That little beep is way too quiet... and it is way too easy to think you've turned off your car and get out. I know that I am responsible if I leave the car running... but I really believe this is a "human factor" issue that needs to be addressed in the design of the car.

 

My hearing isn't great anymore (in my forties) and unless I am in a quiet environment, I don't hear the beeps. The pitch is a real challenge.

I did go to a store with my family recently and when I tried to lock the car, it kept beeping at us and we discovered the power was still on so we repeated the following several times to sink it into our consciousness

"Several beeps means the power is still on. Several beeps means the power is still on.......etc"

Of course, it was a quiet parking lot and if it weren't I wouldn't have known til I came out from the store!