Pull the fuel pump relay, easy to reverse, car won't start but it will crank so they won't think any funny business is up with the keys.

It will set a code for the fuel pump circuit and he will have to clear it to pass the inspection but when they take it for inspection it will tell them the codes have recently been cleared and will still not pass the inspection, thats why I recomended the starter wire, it won't set a code.

is there a starter relay like in mopars? or just small wire to the starter?

little tiny wire just slides over the blade. There is a big fat wire but it is activated by the little one so you only need to slide that one off.

Crown Vics had them until end of production in 2011 I believe. Nothing much newer has them though- the disablement of the fuel pump after a crash comes from other sources, usually the ABS unit or restraints control module.

If it's keyless remote entry with a start button as opposed to a standard ignition key, couldn't you just pull the battery out of the key fob? If the car's locked she won't be able to get in unless she pulls the hidden key out of the fob to unlock using the key cylinder on the door. Even if she gets inside, the car won't start. I'm not sure about Toyota, but on Hondas the only way to start the car with keyless and a dead fob is to hold the fob up near the start button while you are pushing the button, so that it can read the fob and determine that the key is present. I suspect they all work basically the same and I don't imagine she would know how to start the car with a dead fob. Might be worth a try.

Feeling for you on the dementia issue. Went through that for many years with the MIL. The car issue worked alright for her as she decided that she shouldn't drive anymore all on her own. She still wanted to be able to see her car every day as she had bought it all on her own and was still very proud of it. So we kept it there for her and she never once attempted to drive it. Best of luck to you. It's a tough situation to be into.

I just read the whole thread and on the last post ChryCoGuy said exactly what I was going to post. Just take the battery out of both remotes and the problem is easily solved.

Thought I would follow up.
was able to run a rocker switch hidden under the dash, got a replacement connector and put the switch in line between the original connector and the starter.
works pretty good. has a side affect though.
if you try to "start" with it off, then try to start it with it on, I am guessing the priming squirt still happened. and it will just crank for a long time and then time out and not start.
start it one more time and it will fire up.
but good enough for now.
Thanks for the suggestion.

Bigger issue than the car is why is she home alone? You won’t know how bad off she is getting until it’s too late. Disabling the car can snowball into her walking to wherever and that won’t end well.

The state took my Dad's driver's license away because he was a hazard on the road. But by God, he was going uptown for the mail. He simply fired up his 9N Ford tractor and drove it to the Post Office. In a rural small town, that didn't even raise an eyebrow.

In college, I use to run a poor man's auto theft system - put a toggle switch on the electric fuel pump wire and run it up under the seat or in the center console. When "off" no gas flows - easy to flip on to drive anywhere.

LOL. We had a guy local to me that had his license pulled for DUI (WAY too many times). Used to make a trip everyday to the local country bar not too far from my house. Once he lost his license, then out came the Farmall tractor to get to the bar...He did that for a while. Eventually he died which is another interesting story since my buddies were on the township rescue squad.