Idle Timeout Surprise

I recall the accessory timeout to be 20 minutes which doesn't mean much. I hit this annoyance when trying to index my music files. They required ~30 minutes so you sit there and idle until it's done. I really don't like these unnecessary limits forced on drivers that don't want or need them. I did a post on the music player getting locked out which was another annoyance. We finally solved the problem with a Sony Walkman dedicated player connected via Blue-Tooth.

I think you'll have luck with neutral and the parking brake. You'll be passing through R on the way to N. That should defeat the idle timer which I'll assume runs in P. Just make sure you don't roll into something.

I need to try the 4LO experiment and see what that does. More later. Travel safely.

 

Did you ever try this? I’m reviving this thread to get an answer!! Wife and I like to go to the drive in theatre nearby, and it’s super annoying when we’re trying to “snuggle” and the car shuts off and the lights come on (simple fix I know)

 

Here is what i found as a solution.

 

Is this feature only on 2020 and up with push button start? I idle mine (2019) a lot in the summer ( 3+ hrs.) because the dogs go everywhere with us. I have never had it shut off. I've had doors locked for over an hour and also doors unlocked for over an hour and still runs. Dealer never gave me a manual when we bought the 4Runner.

ETA: Looks like it started in 2021 models

 

Can confirm. My 21' SR5P does this. I was having some power work done where I live and had the 4Runner in the driveway running so I could plug in the freezer in my garage while the power was cut. It shut off after an hour.

 

One reason for not idling is the engine is not being properly lubricated. This may be outdated but oil pickup was dependent on RPM. Therefore, low RPM, over longer periods of time "starved" the engine of oil and the engine was then running for long(er) periods of time with inadequate lubrication. The thought is 10 psi per 1000 RPM, so idle being ~10 psi isn't enough to properly lube the running engine.

Additionally, the oil change interval based on mileage goes out the window. If you're not changing oil based on hours, you're inadeqautely changing oil. If you average say 30 miles an hour driving, every month you're off by 1000 miles, (idling every day for an hour) relative to engine wear. Every year you've caused an additional 10,000 miles worth of engine wear, possibly with inadequate engine lubrication.

I would consider, outdated thinking or not, that an engine idled in this manner was trash at about the 10 year mark.