Everyone knows not to leave kids in a hot car, but that doesn’t mean they always remember or fully understand just how hot a car can get even when it’s not that warm outside. To help with that, automakers have started adding features that remind you to check the back when you park, Toyota has now taken that a step further, adding a feature it calls Advanced Rear Seat Reminder to all Siennas.
Advanced Rear Seat Reminder uses millimeter-wave radar inside the car to check for movement after it’s parked. It can then send notifications to the owner if it thinks they’ve left someone behind. If it senses any movement in the minivan after it’s been turned off, the driver’s door has been opened and closed, and the car has been locked, it will flash the hazard lights and make a noise. After 90 seconds, if you still haven’t come back to check the car, and movement is still detected, it will honk the horn at you.
None of this requires the Toyota app, but if you do sign up for it, about four minutes after movement is detected in a locked, turned-off Sienna, it will send a push notification and a text message to the number associated with the account. After two more minutes, the van will call your phone if it still detects movement.
If you don’t lock your car, you aren’t completely on your own, though. You won’t get the chime and the flashing lights and the honking, but if you registered for Toyota’s Safety Connect and opt-in to receiving Advanced Rear Seat Reminder notifications, it will still text you if movement is detected in a parked car.
In a perfect world, we wouldn’t need tech like this, but unfortunately for us, we don’t live in a perfect world, and people forget things sometimes. If your minivan can tell you if you’ve left your kid or a pet in the car on one of those days where your brain just doesn’t want to work right, that could easily be a life saved.