I guess it's time for "This question is going to make me feel like an Idiot"

One of my first tests on my own Prius was to leave the car after putting in park and returning to the car without the FOB. It won't run or move without the FOB. My advice, leave it running put it in park and only use the e-brake if on a hill. It helps to pretend it's the Knight 2000 and say, Kitt go into surveylance mode and tell your Prius you will be back in a minute.

 

You need the fob to take it out of Park? I was not aware of that.

 

Nobody is aware of that because nobody thinks to test it out. The only concern you should have is if you want car thieves sitting in your car trying to figure out how the Prius works.

 

The thief would have to be Prius aware, let me assure you, Prius aware people are not thieves...
Simply keep the fob on your body, if a thief managed to get the car moving, suddenly the car would start flashing about the lack of the fob, the thief would likely stop and leave.
If you see the thief leaving press the alarm button and start laughing, a Prius driving down the road with the horn honking and the lights flashing would attract attention, lots of cell phone cameras would capture the spectacle, but chances are the thief would flee the car instantly.

I'd consider an older post office Jeep with no doors, easy in easy out, who would want to steal it.

You already have a good technique, when you stay close you leave it running, when you go further you shut it off, simply touch the handle to lock it, most of your stops are close.
How about a Bluetooth enabled little camera with an app on your phone, if someone were to touch your car it could notify you and you could watch the culprit and definitly identify them, inexpensive and chuckle worthy.

 

True story. When I first got my Prius I walked away from the car only leaving it in park. When I got back 10 minutes later, my Prius was fully illuminated and the car was ready to roll. That one experience was what led me to test my Prius with the FOB present and not present. The OSD will say FOB not present cannot drive or something to that affect.

I am not sure about the Gen 2 Prius but I am pretty certain it's the same as the Gen 4. I encourage you to test it out for youself. I know the Gen 4 uses a lot more battery power than the gas engine which is what usually throws people for a loop. It takes time to get used to the battery aspect of a Prius. I know it's just a hybrid (Gen 4) but it really runs like an electric car. It is probably easier on Gen 1,2 and 3 because they use the gas engine more from startup than the Gen 4. When I am in the garage, most of the time my Prius starts and goes on electric only and only cranks up the gas engine under significant throtle.

Test it out by starting your Gen 2 Prius and leave it in park and leave your FOB 30ft away and see what the Prius computer tells you without your FOB. I am also interested in knowing if the Gen 2 in park switches to battery mode or if the engine continues to run or switched to electric or shuts itself down into a standby mode. Either way when you return to your Prius you would simply take it out of Park and drive off without having to start it up or shut it down. Just remember at the end of your work day to shut it down when you get home.

 

from unlock all doors | PriusChat

To change the settings correctly, on the FOB you press the lock button and the panic button at the same time and hold for 5 seconds to cycle through the different modes.
3 modes
1. Drivers door (unlocks only drivers door) Passenger and Luggage open all doors.
2. DR, Pass, lugg door opens all doors.
3. Each door opens only that particular door.

Jeffrey, I believe all you need to do is change the setting for the fob to unlock all doors. You know your route, I don't, but I wouldn't have any concerns about parking the car in front of a customer's home and leaving it in ready to make a delivery.

 

@Jeffery Merrill : I think you're creating a problem, insisting on not turning off the car. Turning the car off is not hard. Also safer, better for the environment, keeps insurance premiums down, and so on.

In a lot of US States it's apparently illegal to leave an unattended car running. Indianapolis might not be on the list, but hey.

 

If you are just leaving it in park, make it a habit to use the foot parking brake first. It is expensive to replace the Plock mechanism. The pawl can get jammed holding the weight of the car and the actuator burns out.

 

I live in NW Indiana and it is so flat I don't ever remember using my parking brake. I was always told either use your parking brake a lot or don't use it at all. They can seize up when not used regularly.

 

Gen4 car owners should not assume gen2 technology is the same.

You can most definitely drive off with a gen2 if the car is in READY mode, no keyfob needed. All functions will work until it's shut down.

I deliver a lot of packages with my prius and I normally don't shut down my car, it's on the entire day until my deliveries are done. I do this when it's really hot outside and I come back to a car that's nice and cool. Nobody seems to want to steal this Prius.

If MPG are important to you, I can say by shutting down at every stop, you'll get better mpg than if you left it running.

 

+1 to JC's post.

I have wanted to say this is a fiction, but also wanted to test in my car before saying anything and can quite confidently say that once the car is started (and even having foot brake engaged, car in "P"), the fob can be removed from the car and it will happily go into D and drive away once you return to the car sans fob. This is the way I always understood the Gen 2 worked.

The only things that happens is, as you remove the key from the car, the car beeps 3 times and the "key absent" light illuminates on the dash.

I also second the caution that people with other generations assuming all generations work the same way. There are enough urban legends that abound without people introducing misinformation.

If you preface your post with I'm not sure or I don't know if ...., then perhaps it would be better to post nothing, until you're sure of your facts.

 

I believe it is warning you it detected the fob is no longer in the car. My Gen 4 does that.

 

I did suggest Jeffery test out his Gen 2 Prius. I never assumed it would work the same as the Gen4 Prius. I was not dispelling misinformation in my post or creating urban legends. Glad there are Gen2 Prius owners who can help Jeffrey with his Gen2 prius. If anything I was assuming that Toyota stopped creating throwbacks to the Toyota Camry circa 1987-1991. In those Camry's you could remove the key after starting the Camry's which made them favorites among car thieves for well over a decade.

 

This is the problem.

It is always better to say what you know.

 

Many people assumes that Toyota could not make an economical reliable hybrid.
We know how that turned out.