Quote:
Originally Posted by MWS
My question is based on the fact that I've developed the bad habit of leaving the key in the ash tray as the car is always garaged. I've been doing this for the past few years (I guess it is just a matter of convenience) and I haven't had to change the key battery, however it "seems" the interior lighting (dash, orientation lights, etc) stay on somewhat longer. I say "seems" because I haven't stood around with a stopwatch to check time with and without key inside car, and rather than having to do this was curious if key left inside vehicle would still cause some systems to draw power...hince asking about communication between key and car. I should mention that I leave the car on a battery tender so I haven't seen a drain on battery.
To nutshell my question...can key be left inside car (not in ignition) without consequence (aside from any security risks  )? |
Proceed at your own risk here. First of all, many of these cars have factory alarm/immobilizer systems that are actually capable of arming themselves if left alone and unlocked/unarmed for a period of time, which would leave you with a locked car with the alarm on and with the keys in the ashtray.
If you are concerned about power draw, get a digital multimeter and check the car's mA draw over time; after an hour or so, you should see 40-60 mA, if it is more than that, then yes leaving the key in the car is drawing more power than normal, which cold lead to premature battery life.