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Pruis: What happens if remote battery dies?

We are considering buying a Pruis. The Smart Key system is a good design, but what happens if the battery in the remote dies? I saw there is a little key inside it to open up the driver's door, but there is no regular key ignition in the car. So does that mean if the battery dies, I can't drive my car? :confused:

There's a physical slot you insert the entire fob into,
which is a little RFID transponder reader. Totally passive
on the part of the key, so it will always work.
.
My car doesn't even have smartkey -- base model, so I do
this all the time. Usually there's a little solenoid that
grabs two holes in the fob to hold it in when the car's
powered on; I removed one pin from the back of the keyswitch
to disable that so I can power on the car, pull the fob
back out, and put it away before taking off.
.
_H*

Pruis: What happens if remote battery dies?

We are considering buying a Pruis. The Smart Key system is a good design, but what happens if the battery in the remote dies? I saw there is a little key inside it to open up the driver's door, but there is no regular key ignition in the car. So does that mean if the battery dies, I can't drive my car? :confused:


That is a good question. There is a button under the dash to shut off the SKS. There is also a slot to the right of the steering wheel to slide the smart key into but I don't know if doing so will allow the car to start with a dead battery in the key. Maybe I'll have to look on Priuschat.com to see if I can find the answer.

There is one peculularity to the SKS that could/has caused problems. Let's say you and your wife go somewhere together and you forgot to bring your key with you. You drop her off and go on to a different place. When you shut off the car, you wouldn't be able to start it again when you came back to it. There is a warning that comes up to let you know that the smart key is no longer present when the car is turned on but you have to be paying attention to notice it. This would allow you to keep her key so that you could get going again. Please don't let the SKS keep you from getting the Prius. You'll love it!

There's a physical slot you insert the entire fob into,
which is a little RFID transponder reader. Totally passive
on the part of the key, so it will always work.

Thanks for the tip Hobbit. I thought it might work without a battery but wasn't sure.

Yes, it will work without a battery. I took the battery out of my fob and tried it during the test drive, just to make sure what the salesman said was true. You should have seen his face when I opened the fob of a car I hadn't bought. :D

Thanks everyone for the information. This is very helpful. Our salesperson was not very helpful at all and could not even answer basic questions.

Yes, it will work without a battery. I took the battery out of my fob and tried it during the test drive, just to make sure what the salesman said was true. You should have seen his face when I opened the fob of a car I hadn't bought. :D

Hobbit-- I think we will try this also--excellent tip.

Thanks!!!!

There's a physical slot you insert the entire fob into,
which is a little RFID transponder reader. Totally passive
on the part of the key, so it will always work.
.
My car doesn't even have smartkey -- base model, so I do
this all the time. Usually there's a little solenoid that
grabs two holes in the fob to hold it in when the car's
powered on; I removed one pin from the back of the keyswitch
to disable that so I can power on the car, pull the fob
back out, and put it away before taking off.
.
_H*