Proper way to shut down

[splashback]

My dealer told me I did not have to put the car in "P" before hitting the power button.
When I just hot the power button the car make a weird noice. When I put it in "P" before I shut it down it does not.
Any input?

[Husker4theSpurs]

Most will say you can do it either way ... maybe best to get in the habit of putting it in "P" first just in case one forgets to turn the power off.

[darelldd]

Pressing just the power off without pressing P doesn nothing different. When you turn the power off, the car first engages P for you and then powers down. No weird noises should be heard either way. And there is no harm in doing it either way. Hardest part is making sure the car is off!

[daniel]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darelldd @ May 2 2007, 02:11 PM) [snapback]434246[/snapback]</div>

... No weird noises should be heard either way. ...
[/b]

There is a whirring noise, as the car pumps hot coolant into the thermos. But it does not matter whether you hit P first or not. The ONLY reason for hitting P first is to get into that habit, so that if you get out of the car without shutting it down, it does not drive away once you take your foot off the brake. That has happened to people. Usually not more than once.

[darelldd]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel @ May 2 2007, 02:16 PM) [snapback]434249[/snapback]</div>

it does not drive away once you take your foot off the brake. That has happened to people. Usually not more than once.
[/b]

If it would go and park itself, we could sell that as a feature!

[ekpolk]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darelldd @ May 2 2007, 04:11 PM) [snapback]434246[/snapback]</div>

Pressing just the power off without pressing P doesn nothing different. When you turn the power off, the car first engages P for you and then powers down. No weird noises should be heard either way. And there is no harm in doing it either way. Hardest part is making sure the car is off!
[/b]

Generally, I'd agree. I do it both ways, usually a byproduct of bufoonery vs. specific intent... That said, I do notice a slight "lurch" when I hit the power button with the car still in Drive, whereas when I press Park first, there seems to be no lurch, not with pressing either Park or the power button. Not sure why this happens.

[dmckinstry]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Husker4theSpurs @ May 2 2007, 01:42 PM) [snapback]434227[/snapback]</div>

Most will say you can do it either way ... maybe best to get in the habit of putting it in "P" first just in case one forgets to turn the power off.
[/b]

I habitually put it in park. A significant minority of the time, I forget to turn off the power until I get out and hear it beep at me. It's good that it knows how to nag. Otherwise, someday someone will drive it off.

Dave M.

[Highly ImPriused]

I accidentally began getting out of the car yesterday without hitting park or power. My intent was to leave it "running" while I got out briefly, but I somehow forgot to hit park or didn't depress it enough or something. I think my foot must have still been on the brake as I unbuckled and opened the drivers door since it never moved that I could tell. It made a loud beep at me and flashed some warning message in large letters on the MFD about not doing that. Luckily that snapped me back into reality before the car actually rolled away and I was able to quickly press Park. That cleared the message and I never did get a good look at what it actually said. Nice to know the car was smarter than me in that situation.

[jamarimutt]

It's better to press Parking and then Power. I used to press Power only, but sometimes I did not hold the Power button long enough for the car to go into P and turn off, and on a couple of occasions I actually left the car while it was still on and in D!. The car beeps like crazy to tell you something is wrong, luckily in both cases it was unable to drive away. Now I hit P, then Power; it takes a second longer and is much safer.

[ilusnforc]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Highly ImPriused @ May 3 2007, 12:25 PM) [snapback]434928[/snapback]</div>

I accidentally began getting out of the car yesterday without hitting park or power. My intent was to leave it "running" while I got out briefly, but I somehow forgot to hit park or didn't depress it enough or something. I think my foot must have still been on the brake as I unbuckled and opened the drivers door since it never moved that I could tell. It made a loud beep at me and flashed some warning message in large letters on the MFD about not doing that. Luckily that snapped me back into reality before the car actually rolled away and I was able to quickly press Park. That cleared the message and I never did get a good look at what it actually said. Nice to know the car was smarter than me in that situation.
[/b]

I've seen the message you refer to when I open the door while the car is in any position other than park. In most cases this is when I slightly open the door while parking along a curb or backing into the garage so I can see better and the message says something along the lines of "put the car into park befor exiting the vehicle" or basically don't open the door when the car isn't in park.