Sometimes when I’m turning off my car a message pops up in my dashboard that says “LOOK IN THE BACK SEAT” and every single time I think that I’m a horror movie and that when I turn around I’ll see a serial killer dressed as a clown, and so I told the mechanic when I was having my oil changed and he said it’s a just a periodic warning to remind you to check if you left something in the back and that he could maybe disable it but I worry that turning off the alarm would trigger the serial killers to arrive (like how you have to invite vampires into your house or they can’t come in) and then the mechanic said that he didn’t think that serial killers had specific rules for subaru warnings but better safe than sorry, I say.
You can probably turn it off
Your car heard that urban legend! It’s just trying to keep you from being stabbed by the ghost of someone’s granny!
Also, my car needs an “there’s a chipmunk in the engine, so don’t start your car yet” light. I don’t wanna talk about it.
It’s for the idiots in the back that “forget” they have children. Can you even imagine? 🤡
Omg, when I read the title of this post, I thought you said that your CAT, Hunter S. Thompson, was terrifying you and I was eager to find that it was just you car. Maybe you could start taking the cat places with you so he has a chance to terrify you, too.
I’m pretty sure it’s to prevent people from leaving babies back there to ultimately die from the heat, but your story just feels less grim.
Maybe put a piece of electrical tape over the part of the dashboard where the warning flashes, like we did to stop the clocks on DVRs? Just spitballing here….
In that case it seems like warning you when you turn the car *ON* would be better.
Ohhhh…this warning is about leaving kids in your back seat. I originally thought…”what on earth kind of car does she have”. I’m from Georgia – I unfortunatley remember the huge trial about the child left in the car. Did that warning start from that. Anyway, the serial killer warning should somehow be given ‘before’ you open the door, lol…!
Jenny, I’m alive because of a Subaru. Listen to the warning. Carry Holy Water, consecrated earth, and a Bible (to hit the serial killer over the head with and tell them they are going to hell). Serial Killers don’t like crazy people. They run away fast. We’re too much for them to deal with.
My new car is always suggesting we pull over for coffee….
I have a newish Subaru and I can’t say mine has ever done this to me.
My car apparently doesn’t care if I die. Sheesh. She’s so ungrateful. I really should get her oil changed more regularly so I guess we’re even.
I think all cars should have a way to respond to these alerts that will then disable them automatically. Example, every time I turn on my car, the dash message gives me a tire pressure alert. And every time, I respond with, “There’s nothing wrong with my tire pressure! You’re broken and too expensive to fix! I’ve been monitoring my tire pressure without you since I was 16. Shut it!” An exchange which, I’m certain, looks disturbing to anyone parked near me.
To paraphrase a genius, We are all broken. In the best possible ways. 😉
My VW Jetta reminds me not to forget my phone.
It creeps me out the dashboard screen says “goodbye Edward” every time my husband turns off his car. I feel like it’s a direct threat from the car.
“It’s for the idiots in the back that “forget” they have children. Can you even imagine?”
Sleep deprivation is real. Stress and cortisol impact memory and executive functioning. I once drove my son and friend’s son to school drop off, turned around and found they weren’t in the car. They were back at home.
Parents who have lost children that way are devastated that the ‘auto pilot’ of their lives had such awful consequences. Mine was kinda funny because it was the opposite (they were blissfully watching a cartoon and didn’t even hear me go out the door) and it turned out fine…
Oh my gosh! I would have thought it was something like a ghost or a demon! That they are able to just have random, threatening messages show up.
I probably would’ve run from the car, screaming. And tried to convince some nearby church that I need an old priest, a young priest, and an exorcism.
Lisa
So I actually asked about that warning at the dealership when I had my car in for inspection. I, too, went right to “serial killer in the back seat” warning. I may have actually asked the attendant “Why is my car always telling me someone’s in the backseat waiting to kill me?” He gave me a very condescending look and told me that it was so no one accidentally leaves their baby in the car. Then he gave a very pointed look at my sleeping baby that I was holding. So first, RUDE. Second, he immediately knew which warning I was asking about so I cannot be the only one who asked.
Yes I agree either your forgetting your kids or god forbid your pets or the beautiful cakes you bought for your family and the bottle of champagne 🍾🥂🍾 how horrible and if there is a crazy clown 🤡 well you could invite him to the party 🎉🥳 and ask him to carry the cakes and please please take care of the kids or pet wish ever is applicable and he would feel so welcome he would never ever think of arming you.win win I say and you have free entertainment for the party 🥳🎉🥳🎉
You can be funny but its actually there because parents forget kids in backseat and then the kid dies. You can totally switch it off, its like your lane warning or back up sensor: just for safety;)
This just reminded me of when I was 18, pregnant, and had just seen Nightmare on Elm Street, and for at least a month I thought Freddy Kreuger was in the back seat of my car. I would have lost my mind if my car told me to look in the back seat.
Post a note on the back of your seats that says “Serial Killers, Vampires and Werewolves beware: This seat is armed with stakes and silver bullets pointed at the back seat. Feel free to exit quietly”
Well shoot… my Subaru doesn’t talk to me. I feel so dismissed…
But seriously, is that feature really so people don’t forget their kids???
My coffee maker tells me on the daily that I need to descale. Like, how did it figure out that I’m a dragon?
I think that warning is actually to prevent leaving pets or children in the car, who could be overcome from heat. Or, maybe vampires. And why the heck doesn’t my Subaru warn me???
This must be a feature in newer Subarus because my 2018 Crosstrek does NOT tell me to look in the back seat! If it had, I might have not accidentally forgotten to take out groceries the other day and then had to play the “do we think this is spoiled?” game. Haha.
My husband’s car has sent that message to his phone when he is in the house. Freaked him out. It also tells him to drink coffee and pull over and take a nap.
It only shows the message if you opened one of the back seat doors before starting up the car. You put something back there so it’s reminding you not to forget it, especially if it was a child.
My previous car had a CD player and the screen sometimes flashed a message that said “LORD” and I was like … is my car recruiting me for some sort of religious cult? What’s with the pushy religious messaging? It was in all caps, so it was definitely pushy. It happened a bunch of times, and I was freaked out, but decided I better not mention it to anyone else in case I was losing my mind. This went on for over a year. Then one day someone else was in the car with me and said “your CD player wants you to LOAD a CD.”
Oh.
(all caps on a small digital screen is confusing)
My car is possessed. The horn will honk for no reason. I could be driving or stuck in traffic , even one time when car was off. Mechanic thinks I’m crazy.
A hitchhiker gets into car and after a few miles says to the driver, “How can you be sure that I’m not a serial killer”.
The driver replies , “Two serial killers in the same car would be one hell of a coincidence “.
My car greets me with a dashboard message that reads “ Good morning, Suzan” and I feel like Hal is in there just waiting…waiting
Even more disconcerting is that it suggests navigation routes occasionally that I haven’t asked for and it KNOWS where I’m going. 😳
But does it tell passengers in the back to look in the front seat?
I don’t worry about serial killers in the back seat of my car. I’m a horse person, so my backseat has buckets, saddle pads, and warm clothing. Plus I keep my barn boots in the car, so the smell of horse manure is ever present.
OMG I LOVE THIS SO MUCH!! This is SO where my brain goes too!? Why not just plaster random signs around that say “Look Behind You!” I’ve played horror games, I know this trick!!
I once left a gallon of milk that had rolled out of my grocery bag in the trunk of the car, the smell was awful the next day, spoiled, curdled stinky milk all over the trunk of my car because the container exploded in the summer heat of my trunk. It smelled like spoiled milk all the years I had left with it, even though I had my car detailed.
So can we get a check backseat and check trunk warning message?
I always check the backseat of my car before getting in to check for serial killers, and then for packages left behind when I get out. Obsessive compulsive disorder helps when you have ADHD/ADD or are just easily distracted due to anxiety or depression. It’s my superpower.
Well I can certainly relate to that! It would terrify me too, as if the car itself KNEW that maybe, perhaps, you might then turn around and look and THEN you get axed by the serial killer waiting in the backseat for the car to tell you to turn around, and then they have a big laugh about it after. Kinda like Christine meets Jason vibes. Sorry, that probably didn’t help 😅
: D I just rented a Subaru for a couple of days while my car was in the shop and got that message. I kind of liked it, in case I left the baby (that I don’t have) in her carrier back there or something.
I’m so happy I don’t drive, for the first time in the last, say, 36 years…
As someone else has mentioned, my car (after a certain period of time) will suddenly project a picture of a cup of coffee and demand “Take a Break!” I like to scream “YOU TAKE A BREAK!” But maybe that’s not a good idea…
My Honda does this if I put something on the seat so it feels like something is on the seat.
Well, rats! My Kia doesn’t tell me to check the back seat. Of course, my kids are grown & have teenage kids of their own. So I wouldn’t have that danger.
I’d kind of like to have reminders about coffee or naps, though. 😄
My Kia does this but the warning says check the rear seats. I think the car manufacturers are trying to prevent kids being left in hot cars? But since I never had this service reminder when my kid was little, and I never once forgot her in the car – seems kinda more like a serial killer warning to me
My Subaru randomly does the same thing!! 🙂
My Van has a mysterious countdown, as if it’s going to blow up. I’ve somehow triggered it at least twice, and can’t find ANY reference to it in the owner’s manual. As I’m still here and not blown to smithereens, I THINK it’s okay, but not really sure what it is.
Do they make one that says “Take your grocery bags into the damn grocery store”? Because I’m considering tying mine to my steering wheel.
It isn’t random. The “check the backseat” warning only happens when you open the back door. The car knows that you have opened the backdoor before you start the car or when you start the car. When you turn off the car, it reminds you to check the back seat.
Sell.it.now
Noooo car gets to act like that
My wife and I always say: Don’t forget the baby!
It’s a good warning.
About 20 years too late for a neighbor though. A VERY large family and everyone assumed the baby was out. She survived, but the heat caused damage to her brain. 😭
My car, the Behemoth, dgaf if I die, because the second I put her in park, all the doors unlock 😡
mine does it whenever i opened the back seat doors.
My car occasionally demands that I put a seatbelt on my handbag. The Bloke says that means it’s too heavy and I should excavate whatever’s in there, or put it on the floor not the passenger seat. I assume my bag’s feeling twitchy and start to drive more carefully.
Reading this back, maybe I’m not quite as stable as I like to pretend.
Don’t open back doors and you won’t get the check back seat message
My car needed a “don’t even try to turn on the engine because rodents chewed through your ignition cables” light. But I didn’t have one.
My car also sometimes demands a seatbelt for my tote bag. If I lift the bag (when it’s safe to) and set it back down, that usually hushes up the little blinking light (I hate blinking lights, they get my attention very effectively and it’s not safe to train myself out of responding), but it’s also a 2005 and maybe modern cars wouldn’t be fooled by those maneuvers.
REMEMBER CHRISTINE?????This is how it starts. Next it’s “I can’t do that, Dave”. My name is not Dave or Shirley. But I digress.
Rider 21
My hubby hates all the warnings but I hate how he drives so I think the warnings might save my life some day.
I always check the back seat BEFORE I get in the car (which is the best time to look for serial killers). Why would you not just jump out if your car is warning you of serial killers, it’s kind of too late once you’re both in the car anyway.
Mine does that too, when I put something in the back seat and don’t open the back door when I turn off the car. I wouldn’t worry too much about zombies or vampires or whatever, just don’t leave your DOG in the backseat! 😉
This sounds exactly like the type of conversation my work bestie and I would have. I can’t wait to get to work to tell her this story. lol
Hahaha when I was a teen I had a friend who’s car said everytime we got out “don’t forget your keys” but in the old-fashioned 90’s slurry computer voice it sounded like “don’t forget your cheese” which was immensely helpful when we went to buy weed.
Pro tip, don’t glace in the back seat through the rearview mirror while at a traffic light and then scream because your dead grndmother appers to be sittig in the car. It’s you (me) you’re old (again, me) and you look like your Gran……..
OMG, I have a Subaru (11 years) and haven’t seen that message yet. Who knows what I’ll find in the back seat if I were to take a peek!
Mine says “See you soon,” which I also have thought to be mildly threatening.
Ok, childless weirdo here…let me get this straight…cars are now programmed to remind parents to not forget that their kids/pets are still in the car? Dude.
The U.S. Surgeon General issued a “mental health and well-being advisory” for parents earlier this month.
He said that two-fifths of parents say that on most days, “they are so stressed they cannot function.” Given the U.S. Surgeon General’s health advisory, it’s no wonder things like that are now added to newer cars.
I can’t imagine being a parent nowadays-truly-I mean that with no snark. 💕
Also, on a lighter, silly note I second #9 Hope Griffin Diaz 1000% and add that vampire stakes in the glove box would also be a great addition to one’s car arsenal 🧐😆. You never know when the undead will show up or some asshole carjacker. I think Buffy would agree with my sentiment. 😆 Happy spooky season everyone!
I have a subaru – I’ve never noticed the warning but also don’t really pay attention to my dash. When I saw the title of this post, I immediately thought about how I thought there was a problem with my brand new crosstrek because a random dinging kept going off just randomly like … real quick once or twice and then it would stop. There were no lights coming on my dash to tell me what it was for and it was really brief. I was getting so nervous. Brand new car and a phantom bell!! I went around a tight curve one day and my dog kind of slid in the backseat and the bell went off when he shifted. It was then that I realized my fat dog kept tripping the sensors (no seatbelt) but because he shifted around so much while I was driving, he’d only trip it once in awhile and then move again. It took Days for me to finally realize what was going on. I was actually about to drop off the dog and head to the dealership when I figured it out.
And have them remove that other, “Are you in the car alone?”, reminder while they’re at it!🤡
I just tell my car,”There’s nothing back there! Stop looking for it!”
I also tell it “ I did not!” do whatever the beep says I did, and frequently, “ SHUT UP!” My car goes into a panic attack if I don’t brake when it thinks I should. It’s as if it has my mother channeled to it somehow.
I saw the first “Alien“ movie in a drive-in and that monster was in our back seat breathing, the entire move. I’d of appreciated a dash light.
My car displays a bright red warning and a loud beeping that there is something too close in front of me, at the exact time that I am in reverse and actively backing up. This is needless arrassment
We also get the “keep your eyes on the road” message and I usually yell “have you never heard of PERIPHERAL VISION!?!
I am sending everybody I know here for the comments.
That reminds of time back in the day, I was home alone doing my hw at desk in our den. I looked at saw an eye staring back at me from this metallic pin. I instantly knew it was reflection of serial killer standing behind me. Gripped with fear, I turned slowly waiting to see killer clown ready to plunge knife in my chest, but no one there! Ghost serial killer clown? No it was a holographic pin of eyeball. 🤡🤪👁️
Have you considered the _way_ you look in the back seat? If you look in the back seat _with the mirror_, then it’s more of a mystery/Twilight Zone episode, whereas _looking over your shoulder_ is classic horror movie. It’s all in the perception…
My car used to give me that same message, and it always reminded me of absent-minded (Negligent?) fathers who forgot to drop the baby off at daycare and they came out from work at the end of the day to a dead baby in their back seat.
It is for the absent minded 😀 but it must be terrifying some times. :pa
Thanks for sharing!
My Rogue does the same thing only not at the right times. Plus unlike movie people I’m actually aware if someone is in my back seat before I get in.
That’s a hilarious and relatable story! I can totally see myself freaking out over a simple car message. It’s always fun to imagine the worst-case scenario. Thanks for sharing your humorous take on everyday life. I hope you’re able to enjoy your car rides without any more unexpected scares!
khalidelarbi
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اغانى مهرجانات
The “LOOK IN THE BACK SEAT” message is a safety reminder to check for forgotten items, kids, or pets. Your mechanic’s right—it’s not a supernatural serial killer signal. Keep it active if it reassures you, but remember, it’s just a helpful feature, not a horror movie cue. Stay safe, and maybe check for stray fries instead of clowns.
Amazing!