the end of the "don't lose your keys or else" myth

[Muhahahahaz]

Originally Posted by dafrogman

Here's one.

I have a 2005 Prius with the silver-logo SKS key fob.
One of the original key fobs was lost but we still had the other original key.
Per the instructions in this forum, I purchased a key fob (silver logo) on Ebay and approached a dealer about programming the unit so I again could have two functional-keys. The dealer said, "No problem", and quoted me a price of $42. I took the Prius into the dealer with the original key and the one purchased on Ebay. The dealer was only able to program the second key to start the car. They stated that since (the fob) had been married to another car, the security system would not recognize it and it would ONLY work as a car-start/immoblizer-defeat type-key. Am I missing something? I thought that any like-key could be programmed for immoblizer AND door-lock/unlock as long as one of the original master-keys was present. The dealer says the security-functions and the engine-start/immoblizer functions are apples and oranges and I'm out of luck on the door lock/unlock functions.

True? Fiction? What must I tell the NEXT guy in order to get it right?

Please Help!

Well, as far as the car-starting and lock/unlock buttons go, these can be programmed yourself! See this thread: Finally! How to program a non-SKS key/fob. Detailed!

(Works for non-SKS functions on SKS fobs as well.)

As for the SKS part, you'll need the dealer to do it, and yes, he CAN. Most dealers seem to know very little about all this stuff...

[Patrick Wong]

Originally Posted by Muhahahahaz

...As for the SKS part, you'll need the dealer to do it, and yes, he CAN. Most dealers seem to know very little about all this stuff...

The Smart fob has a counter that increments each time it is used. If the counter is beyond a certain value then the Prius Smart ECU will not allow that fob to be added to the list of authorized fobs. This is why most owners who buy used Smart fobs end up with frustration.

[Muhahahahaz]

Originally Posted by Patrick Wong

The Smart fob has a counter that increments each time it is used. If the counter is beyond a certain value then the Prius Smart ECU will not allow that fob to be added to the list of authorized fobs. This is why most owners who buy used Smart fobs end up with frustration.

Hmm... interesting. I wonder if the counter can't be reset?

Anyway, I'm just mostly repeating what I've heard here on PC, so I'm not surprised that it gets even more complicated...

[daikon]

Originally Posted by Muhahahahaz

Hmm... interesting. I wonder if the counter can't be reset?

Anyway, I'm just mostly repeating what I've heard here on PC, so I'm not surprised that it gets even more complicated...

does anyone have an answer to this?

[qbee42]

Originally Posted by daikon

does anyone have an answer to this?

Yes. The answer is the counter can't be reset. Keys are made to be secure, and reseting an old counter is a security risk.

Tom

[inventor00]

I just found a little red button in my pocket and low and behold it was from my Smart fob!! I shoved it back in (seting off the car alarm twice in the process). Is there any way to fix this short of buying a new fob? I am afraid it will pop off again.

[gak27]

Here's a good one for this topic:

With our son now driving, we wanted to have a spare fob for the Prius. The dealership we bought the car from has a program that replaces lost keys within the first year of ownership, free of charge. Our salesman suggested we "lose" a fob and get a replacement through the program, which we did, then "find" the third fob and have all 3 reprogrammed. The lost fob sat at home, unused, for months and we had the new fob and the other old fob reprogrammed.

Fast forward to yesterday: having some other work done on the car, we went to the dealership with the "found" fob planning on having all 3 reprogrammed (gratis, by the way) ......and the "found" fob still operates the car! I double-checked this by having the other fobs far enough away from the car to not work. All 3 have full functionality.

[galaxee]

Originally Posted by inventor00

I just found a little red button in my pocket and low and behold it was from my Smart fob!! I shoved it back in (seting off the car alarm twice in the process). Is there any way to fix this short of buying a new fob? I am afraid it will pop off again.

if it came off, it's broken. it's meant to be held in from the back side, so coming out the front is broken- sorry... no way to fix that

Originally Posted by gak27

the "found" fob still operates the car! I double-checked this by having the other fobs far enough away from the car to not work. All 3 have full functionality.

there is a distinction made when reprogramming, to either add one key or erase all and reprogram from scratch. they should have asked whether it's lost at home or whether it was stolen/lost out in public where someone might pick it up and try to find and steal your car.

[RobH]

Originally Posted by inventor00

I just found a little red button in my pocket and low and behold it was from my Smart fob!! I shoved it back in (seting off the car alarm twice in the process). Is there any way to fix this short of buying a new fob? I am afraid it will pop off again.

I'd suggest that you buy the cheapest keyfob you can find on eBay. Then transfer the circuit board and transponder from your damaged case into the eBay case. That way you don't have to change any of the programming.

To open a keyfob, first disassemble it like you were replacing the battery. Remove the mechanical key, sliding panel, battery cover, and battery. I've split the case by inserting a needle nose pliers into the space where the mechanical key goes, and then spreading the pliers. Just use the pliers to open enough space for a dull blade to fit, and work the blade all the way around. The transponder is a small separate chip (with no connectors) that has a separate compartment in the case. Clean off the old glue from the two halves.

You might want to start by disassembling the replacement keyfob. That way if you break everything, at least it isn't your functional key. Once you've got a good case, then you can take apart the damaged keyfob without worrying as much about it. I just used Elmer's white glue to reassemble a case, but others have suggested better glues. One important consideration is that you want the new glue to be weaker than the case, so that you can take it all apart again in the future.

The leftover circuit board is useless, so you may as well throw it away. But the transponder could be transferred to the damaged case, and then used as a dumb keyfob (keyfob in dash only - no buttons or SKS). It would be useful to keep as a spare in order to avoid the main topic of this thread - what to do when you lose all your keys.

[inventor00]

Originally Posted by RobH

I'd suggest that you buy the cheapest keyfob you can find on eBay. Then transfer the circuit board and transponder from your damaged case into the eBay case. That way you don't have to change any of the programming.

To open a keyfob, first disassemble it like you were replacing the battery. Remove the mechanical key, sliding panel, battery cover, and battery. I've split the case by inserting a needle nose pliers into the space where the mechanical key goes, and then spreading the pliers. Just use the pliers to open enough space for a dull blade to fit, and work the blade all the way around. The transponder is a small separate chip (with no connectors) that has a separate compartment in the case. Clean off the old glue from the two halves.

You might want to start by disassembling the replacement keyfob. That way if you break everything, at least it isn't your functional key. Once you've got a good case, then you can take apart the damaged keyfob without worrying as much about it. I just used Elmer's white glue to reassemble a case, but others have suggested better glues. One important consideration is that you want the new glue to be weaker than the case, so that you can take it all apart again in the future.

The leftover circuit board is useless, so you may as well throw it away. But the transponder could be transferred to the damaged case, and then used as a dumb keyfob (keyfob in dash only - no buttons or SKS). It would be useful to keep as a spare in order to avoid the main topic of this thread - what to do when you lose all your keys.

Great idea! I will try that.