GM Extended Parking Feature Shuts Off Engine: Feature Spotlight
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With nearly every automaker under the sun now offering active safety and advanced driver features, there are a few more common sense features that get left out of the spotlight. GM Extended Parking is one good example of that.
Born out of necessity in the age of the keyless electronic ignition, this General Motors safety feature will automatically shut off a vehicle’s engine after a certain amount of time while the vehicle is parked, reducing emissions and preventing potential carbon monoxide poisoning in the process.
Interestingly, the purpose of this feature was never explicitly stated by GM, but its purpose remains clear all the same. The risks of a keyless ignition include accidentally leaving the engine running in an enclosed space, which could lead to carbon monoxide poisoning, not to mention unintentionally burning through a tank of gas, though that’s a much smaller risk than the former. The GM Extended Parking feature helps to alleviate those issues.
The GM Extended Parking feature automatically shuts off the engine when the vehicle is parked for 20 minutes without the key fob present, or after an hour when the key fob is present.
GM Extended Parking was first made available in 2013 on select 2014 model year GM vehicles. As of this writing, the feature is standard on 2019 model year and newer Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac models with keyless ignition, also known as push-button start.
Some manufacturers are moving towards the implementation of their own systems similar to the GM Extended Park feature, but regulation on the issue is still murky, as it’s difficult to determine a specific standard time period to switch off the engine.
What’s more, the implementation of a system standard comes with its own unique risks. For example, some drivers will leave pets in the car with the A/C running on a hot day while attending to some errands (something we don’t recommend doing), while other drivers will leave the engine running while they sleep to keep the climate control active.
Nevertheless, current model year GM vehicles will now shut off after a certain period of time when left in park with the engine on. GM’s cross-town rival, Ford, also implemented its own safety feature similar to GM Extended Parking in 2013, while Toyota has announced that 2020 model year vehicles will feature automatic engine shutoff as well.
All told, we think this is a safety feature that makes a lot of sense, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see some kind of industry-wide standardization in the next few years – regardless if those drivers are catching a few z’s in the parking lot.
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Never had issues with my key!
Neither have I. I have driven keyless cars, yet I always turn it off before leaving. I have two dogs and I never leave them alone in any car because I treat them like children (they are 11 and 12 years old).
I have both and the button you have to make sure you make a firm push. It is ok but no bug deal.
Worse is the FCA shift knob. If you are not familiar with it it can be tricky for some to get into the right gear or park. That is what really has killed some.
exactly what GM vehicles have this….I own a 2018 Buick Enclave Avenir and a 2019 Buick Envision Premium 2 and I was never told this feature existed…..does either or both actually have this feature???
I hope they have an override function like Ford does.
If not, they should warn people that purposely leave the car locked, engine on to heat/cool their pets.
I have two dogs and I NEVER leave them alone in the car. When I travel alone I leave them at home. Threat them as children because they are alive just like you.
Runs for about 20-25 minutes then shuts off.
I may have just purchased my last GM product. You have just removed my choice to comfortably nap while traveling. You probably will add to the crash statistics on the highways.
There are many people who want to idle their engines either it’s for pets, or you took your kids to the park while one decides to nap and you lock the car while it’s idling (in your eye sight). Or you’re traveling and pulled over for a nap, or maybe you off road/camping and sleep in the bed with a canopy, or perhaps you do hot shots and sleep in your truck. This feature may save some but kill others, especially if the owner doesn’t know there is such a feature. I think there should of been more though with this type of feature.
I found this out the hard way the other day. I left my 2018 traverse running and locked with my dog inside AC on blast. I went and checked every 5-10 minutes that all was good as this is my first summer with this vehicle. The last time I returned, my vehicle had shut off.
It wasnt bad enough that CHEV introduced engine stop every damn time I put my foot on the break, then they only let you use your FOB to start for 2 ten minute sessions… that’s it no more with going out to restart your vehicle… now this.
For anyone who owns dogs or children or spends a lot of time in stop and go traffic, icy winters or hit summers. I would highly recommend looking elsewhere for a vehicle.
Don’t tell me this tech made it on the diesels.
I believe this feature will save lives. We have had a few of our older customers leave their cars running by accident. One of them in their attached garage. For those of you leaving pets or children in locked running cars, that is very risky practice. For those of you who like to nap while traveling, do you really need to nap for more than an hour? just restart the car if you get uncomfortable. We should never forget that these are machines running on a very flammable liquid producing deadly exhaust at very high temperatures. You might want to think about that the next time you leave anything that breathes inside of an unattended locked and running vehicle.
This technology is ridiculous!!! If people can not figure out if the engine is still running then they dont deserve to be driving a car!!! And if they die as a result then so be it.
How are people really complaining about this? This is a common mistake that happens when people get a new car and have never owned a push-button start. This is a safety option that may save some lives.
It’s not like it turns off after 5 minutes…. If you want to have a nap on the side of the road you can… for an hour… Is anyone really napping for more than an hour on the side of the road??
Seems like everyone just wants to find something to complain about and hate against.
This kind of feature should have a CUE option, so it can be turned off and also so we can set the time limit
with and without the FOB present.
Also auto heated seats should have an option to let use set the temp that it comes on.
I was surprised to find out by accident that my 2019 Cadillac escalade will shut off when idling by itself. We live where temperatures are well above 100degrees in the summer. The Dealer was surprised to hear about this!
We were lucky. Had we left our two dogs in there without checking the car they could have died. At present, they are not sure how to disable this feature. The Owner’s manual says it should stay running for 30 minutes. We have found it varies from 10 to 30.
Had we known it would do this we never would have bought it. Our Dodge Ram truck would stay running till it was out of gas if necessary. Police vehicles routinely stay running for hours for canines…who in their right mind thought this was a good idea? Informed consent is necessary for pet owners!
I own a Chevy SS and I would and have never ran my car or any vehicle I’ve owned while sitting at idle for any amount of time unless its necessary.
And having dogs in the car is not necessary. Leave your dogs and cars at home and that wont be a problem.
Leaving your car running at idle for 10, 30, 60 minutes or more is horrible on the vehicle. I guess you care more about your dog then you do your car or truck.
Dogs and cats are not worth 30k, 40k, 50k, 60k, 70k!!!
I have a 2019 silverado and use my truck for work. In the winter it is -50 degrees out and trucks must be left running on site with headlights on, amber flashing lights and buggy whip lights on at all time. I guess big oil mines will not be buying Chevs going forward.
I am a long time owner of many suburbans over a 30 year period and worked as buyer of wood products during this time. I traveled the whole southeast corner of the US from Florida to Missouri. The main reason for buying the suburban was too have the extra room for samples, travel supplies, and a place to lay down when I got tired on the road. I had installed a small mattress, similar to what a big truck has in their sleepers, and it was a safety factor when I was tired. Now I am retired but still like travel in my Suburban for visits to friends and activities across the U.S. and I still like to stop and take a short sleep in the back. However now ” BIG BROTHER ” wants to control how I do this and my dealership tells me I cannot bypass or set the extended Parking shutoff for more than an hour , so unless the weather is prefect , I have too get up every hour and screw with a restart !! I am 66 years old and only wish the government would stay out of our lives, most of us are smart enough to know what is safe and what is not. Adults who leave children and pets in a running car when its hot or cold shouldn’t be allowed to buy a car or have kids, because they are either too stupid or too busy to enjoy lives pleasures. How about having an IQ test to determine if you need the extended parking switch ?. Why not install a switch which can set the time before shut off or allow a bypass if desired, rather than put us all in the ” dumb category “
How about never letting a engine idle for more then a few minutes without driving! Unless you are in rush hour stop and go there is no reason to ever let a engine sit at idle for more then a few minutes.
Its destroys the life of the engine, dont believe me. Go look at the cop cars that have their engines running all day and night long. What it says on the odometer is not what is really on the engine.
GM tech told me to leave it in neutral with the park brake set & it’ll run all day long…..
So, leaving in neutral with brake on will allow engine to keep running. Sounds risky, but if you don’t want well meaning people breaking your window to save your dog from the heat, that’s what will be done.
I have a job were I idle for 12 to 16 hours a day. You people that say no reason to idle come do my job. In summer its 110 in winter its 30 or below. My job demands me on site sitting in my truck 90% of the time. If I had been told of this feature I would not have spent 65k on my 2019 Silverado. I will not buy another
Is there away of turning this feature off. I am a K9 Officer and have a heat alarm system that alerts (calls me on the phone as well as being able to monitor the heat) to the temperature in the vehicle as well as starts a fan and rolls the rear windows down.
This is the stupidest thing gm could have came out with. I purchased a 2019 trailboss and was not aware of it when I purchased. I am a firefighter and have emergency lights that are operated with ignition hot to avoid them pulling a draw on battery when vehicle isn’t running. I found out the hard way about the auto shut off. Operating on a wreck first unit on scene in the dark when I look back and all my lights have been turned off and vehicle shut down. They say this is about safety because of stupid people forget to turn vehicles off but what about others that need to have vehicle running and know that they are running. They need to have a override it’s going to get someone killed. I have contacted dealership as well as GM and got a smart comment of them saying it’s in your owners manual did you not know this was a feature prior to purchasing. One question who reads the owner manual before purchasing a truck? And next question if it’s a newer and safety feature how come it wasn’t advertised and or told by the sales man? When I came back to dealership and started to ask questions the service nor sales team even had a clue about it. Someone needs to get a Petition started to either be able to reprogram or delete this feature it should be a choice of the owner to have this on their vehicle.