what fuse or relay can i pull on 2015 tacoma to prevent it from starting

Is there a fuse or a relay that i can pull to prevent stepfathers truck from starting? He is 86 years old and is loosing it mentally..

 

Why not just take the keys/truck if he isn't fit to be driving?

 

I can imagine it would be frustrating to be constantly looking for your keys in a demented state.

 

My old man drank a lot.
His Harley would start without a key.
I would take off one of the spark plug wires so he couldn't go anywhere.

 

If this is the case, explore getting guardianship, financial power of attorney and healthcare power of attorney for him. Hopefully he's willing to do this before he is no longer able to demonstrate capacity. Elderly people are extraordinarily vulnerable to financial exploitation. An elderly relative of mine lost literally every penny of her savings due to a scammer and there was nothing we could do about it.

She continued to drive until one day she totaled her car and drove it through a department store wall. Thankfully a police officer called from the scene and said he was suspending her license pending a medical evaluation and drivers test. She didn't even make it out of the DMV parking lot until the tester said "that's it we're done."

You can also chat with his physician about the safety of his driving. A physician in some states can stipulate that an individual is no longer fit to drive.

As far as the vehicle, it can be as simple as installing a circuit breaker on the battery terminal.

 

The link below may help.
https://www.startmycar.com/us/toyota/tacoma/info/fusebox/2015

Cheers

 

Prayers are with you, my friend.

Mom (I'm financial POA and sis is Med POA) got the Dementia Diagnosis about 18 months ago. My sister went with her to the doctor for this trip (I live 1,200 miles away). She was trying to nail the doc down because according to mom he kept giving her a clean bill of health. Meanwhile we knew there was issues.

When she asked about driving, he said well, and flipped back in his notes a few visits and then said "Oh no. No no no. I told you last year it was time to give up the keys. Your reaction time and ability to remember simple information is too slow. Are you still driving?" She was and had been quite a bit.

After the appointment, my sister said, "Take the keys. Drive yourself home. And enjoy that drive because it is your last. I'll be over after work to get them." When she got to moms later in the day, mom locked herself in her bedroom, then locked herself in the bathroom, then locked herself in the toilet and had the keys in a lock box. We spent the next two months trying to get mom's keys from her and she kept driving.

I remember from drivers ed growing up and a few defensive driving classes that "Driving is a PRIVILEGE not a RIGHT." I called the Texas DPS, County Sheriff, and City Police where she lived and asked them to take her keys. They all said no - Driving is a RIGHT and they won't take them until she has an accident or appears impaired on the roadway. WTF...???!!!

Since we had loaded a tracker on her phone a while back we got alerts when she left the house. I called the police and told them when she was on the move and they followed and said they saw room for improvement but not enough to be probable cause to initiate a traffic stop. Unfortunately she was only going a few miles to the grocery store and by the time they found her she was already pulling in pretty much. Small sample size.

We finally got through to her because in her insurance policy (page 27) it says that you have a duty to report any major medical findings that may impair your driving so they can assess if you need to be added to a different risk pool and have an appropriate rate increase. I called her insurance company and told them. They canceled her on the spot. I told her that her insurance was canceled and that if she had an accident now, even if she wasn't at fault (little lie) the other party would take her house and all of her retirement savings. She would go from driving to living under a bridge and would have no medication.

That finally did it for her.
She handed over the keys.

It's hard. Hard to see them like this. Hard to fight them over this. Sorry you are having to go through this.

 

Whatever you do, DO IT NOW. I waited a week too long. My mother turned left in front of a minivan a week after I had begun contemplating taking away her keys. Nobody was hurt. But she turned a showroom condition 24 year old AMC Hornet into salvage in an instant.

DO IT NOW.

 

I’d imagine a fuel pump or ignition relay just thinking off top of my head.

 

It is the most frustrating phase of life when your parents become the kids and you become the parents. So so mind-bendingly difficult.

 

The problem is unless you deal with it firmly they'll find a way.

My dad kept taking ladders from my grandma and she'd end up borrowing neighbors. It was exhausting. The car was forced away due to eye issues.

Maybe negotiate that if a doctor says its ok (which they wont) then you'll keep the truck.

Otherwise, remove the c/open relay.

Best wishes.

 

@mjpbennett - Just checking in. Hoping you have had positive progress.