a topic with some questions

For 2 and 3, the car will take care of it. For 1, I'm darn sure the car will cut off. With my wife and I both having fobs, her's unlocks the the car, but I drive. If she gets out, lights start to blink (presumably until it sees my fob.)
Someone else can likely give you a more detailed answer.

 

1. if the car is started and you get out with the keys in your pocket, i know the car stays running, but if someone were to put the car in drive and try to take the car what would happen?
The car would drive away. when the thief turns the car off, the will not be able to restart the car.

2. when the batteries run out, not the gas what happens? i got down to 2 bars the other day and it made me think

The batteries will not run out. if you manage to drain them to 0 bars, the car will run ICE only, until it can Generate electricity to recharge the batteries.

3. there are parts of my commute where i can run off the batteries for a looooong time. should i be doing this as often as i can? this is why i probly got down to 2 bars.
there is no harm in it, the car will start the engine to recharge the batteries when it determines it is necessary to, it will attempt to wait for you to speed up so the gas is not wasted. but if you drain it to what the car considers an unsafe level, the ICE will start and charge as necessary.

 

btw, when the battery shows "empty" on the screen, this means there is still about 40% charge left, and when it shows "full" (8 green bars, rare), there is about an 80% charge to the battery. By never completely draining or charging the battery - or allowing the car to, the battery life is extended quite a bit.

-m.

 

On normal drive, the only way to get down to 2 bars is if you are crawling too long on electric power (very low speeds), or you are climbing a really long hill where battery power is needed to supplement the ICE.

Don't worry though, if you do drain the battery to no bars, the car will still go, though not accelerate as quickly.