Ours also. A lot of EVs are set up so there’s not even a power button–if the drivers seat is occupied (and maybe a foot on the brake) the car is on. If it’s not and the fob/phone/what-have-you gets a few feet away, the car is off and locked. The only problem with our car’s system is we’ve had 2 emergencies where we need to put the dogs in the car while we dealt with the issue. There’s a motion sensor in the car when it locks automatically–cue the car alarm in the middle of a crisis.
The usual trigger for the driver seat belt warning is the car being in “Drive” and the belt not buckled. Under what circumstances would the car be in “Drive” with no one in the driver’s seat? 
His point was the weight switch is already in installed in the driver’s seat. Which responses the switch activates under which circumstances is all software; there’s no additional hardware needed.
My newish ICE car is another one where as I walk up to the car it unlocks and lights up and wakes up. I get in, push the “engine start/stop” button, the engine starts, I select R or D, the parking brake automatically disengages and as soon as I apply a bit of throttle the running brakes release and we’re on our way.
At the destination I come to a halt and the running brakes automatically stay engaged so the car can’t creep. Press the “engine start/stop” button, the transmission goes into park, the parking brake engages, the interior lights come up, and the doors unlock. Step out, close the door, and walk away. When I’m about 15-20 feet away the car locks itself, turns off all the lights, stows the mirrors, and sets the alarm. And beeps gently so I know it did all that as I’m walking away with my back turned.
Since my car keys are in my pocket or my briefcase / bookbag / etc the whole time, it is very difficult to screw up the process. But the car has my back and if somehow the keys are left behind, or I leave the engine running it’ll issue a gentle reminder then raise a ruckus if I persist in doing something stupid like tossing my keys in the trunk & trying to close the lid. “I’m sorry Dave, I can’t let you jeopardize the mission like that.”
The ide of returning to having to do each of those steps manually to begin or end a driving session is horrifying. Next thing I’ll hear you want to go back to no air conditioning and heating houses with an open fire in just one room.
And my point was that there’s no need for such a switch for the stated purpose, since the seat belt warning should only activate if the car is in “Drive”. There may be other reasons to have a sensor in the driver’s seat, but that would be for functions that not all cars would necessarily have. I believe the sensor in the passenger seat, conversely, controls functions like seat belt warning and air bag deployment only if the seat is occupied. For those purposes the driver’s seat can be assumed to always be occupied.
What’s horrifying to me is the idea of having to maintain that network of complex wizardry when things inevitably start breaking. Unless you’re the sort who gets a new high-end wizardry-equipped car every couple of years. Most of us are not.
And I don’t find the normal tasks of driving to be particularly onerous. I usually park in the garage so the car isn’t normally even locked. My official checklist for takeoff is (1) get in the car, (2) start the car, and (3) drive. At the destination the usual checklist is (1) turn off the car, (2) get out of the car, and (3) lock the doors with the keyfob.
Like this?
I have done that a couple of times in my hybrid. Not overnight but the worst was while I was in a restaurant. I am trying to get in the habit of looking at my center console because if the car in on, either accessories or running, the gear is lit up. When off, there is no gear illumination.
Our new-ish car will literally not allow you to put it in drive unless all occupants are belted. I don’t necessarily disapprove, but we’re a looong way from cars when I learned to drive that just had lap belts that a lot of people didn’t use.
What happens when you have cargo on one of your seats?
That requires a reliable way of detecting which seats are occupied.
Our Tesla has dog mode for cooling the car. I wonder if dog mode also presumes there will be movement in the car.
Dewey Finn: Yup–which pretty much all new cars have to disable the passenger airbag if the seat is not occupied. SC: I haven’t tried the Indiana Jones trick. I wouldn’t be surprised if in new cars it’s not only a weight sensor but camera based also. You could have your 70# kid in the front (I think). Our tractor has a seat sensor that kills the engine if you stand up while it’s in gear–we had to disable it because my wife is too light (and at 120# someone at LS is not thinking).
We’ve had four cars with keyless and never had an issue. Come to think of it, I’ve never heard of anybody I know have an issue. The worst is the battery goes out, but the fob has a hidden key in it so you can open the door manually and you can start it by pressing the fob against the starter button.
I snerked when the installer for my car top carrier hardware told me I should put a stepladder in my garage to prevent me from pulling in when I have the carrier on. It took a fuck around → find out cycle or two before I became a true believer.
I’m pretty sure the front seat detector is to shut off the airbag if the passenger is small enough that they would be injured if the airbag went off in their face. But are you saying your car detects whether the rear seats are occupied?
My 2017 Ford Edge is keyless and push-to-start. (Is that the same thing?) Anyway, if I exit the car with the engine running, it will let me know with a quick beep-beep of the horn. But just one beep-beep. If I don’t return to the car, it will shut off after 15 minutes. At least, it did the one time I was standing outside my car yakking with a friend as my elderly mother was sitting inside enjoying the a/c, while we waited for my sister to finish visiting with the friend’s wife.
I have always assumed that this is standard on keyless/PTS vehicles. Evidently not.
it is on modern (last couple-few years) keyless / PTS vehicles.
When keyless / PTS first came out 15+ years ago, mistakes were made. Or rather the engineers underestimated the cleverness of the fools among their userbase. We’ve since schooled them!
I think it’s just the front seats but I have not tested the rears for this. It’s funny–seems for airbag injuries it’s not necessarily weight but height that’s the main issue–if you have to get really close to the steering wheel to use the pedals, that’s the real hazard.
What? No way.
(heads out to driveway to see if it works)
Yep, it works. I feel stupid for not knowing this, but thanks!
Yep, and very loudly.
Just checking to make sure, but you know about the button on the trunk to open it so you don’t have to dig up your fob, right?