DIY SKS Reprogramming?

[starling]

Has anyone tried the SKS reprogrammers that are showing up on ebay these days? Examples:

Toyota smart key programmer OBD support lexus key maker:eBay Motors (item 130316540897 end time Aug-02-09 09:47:11 PDT)

Toyota & Lexus Smart Key Programmer all in one Keymaker:eBay Motors (item 320393071328 end time Jul-09-09 22:43:16 PDT)

Toyota smart key programmer OBD support lexus key maker:eBay Motors (item 170352160177 end time Jul-11-09 18:51:24 PDT)

Just search for "toyota smart key" and you'll get a dozen auctions from various vendors for these devices, all of which are orange (presumably because they're all made in the same factory in China). They all say that they work on 2004+ "smart key" systems.

Seems like it out to let you program the car to accept a used SKS key you buy off ebay, but I'm not sure if I'm willing to risk the money right now to find out if it works. Considering that my wife is already miffed about me losing the key, I'm not sure she'd tolerate me spending money and goofing around only to have to spend more money at the dealer to get it done right.

If it works, though, it could save me some dough. Anyone tried it?

They all say that they only work with the "4D" chip, and not the "4C" chip. Any idea what chip is in our keyfobs?

[RobH]

They don't mention Prius anywhere in those descriptions. My guess is that if it works at all, then it is limited to programming the transponder function only. You can already do that without additional equipment using the instructions in the knowledgebase.

The SKS/Proximity function always requires that you press two keys (lock+unlock?) as part of the programming process. Since the instructions don't mention this step, I highly doubt that SKS is supported. I don't think their use of the term "smart" refers to SKS. It seems to refer to the electronic key function of a transponder.

The "4D" apparently refers to a specific transponder chip. They offer equipment that copies this transponder chip, which means that you could have an unlimited number of keys (all with the same electronic signature). Whether or not the Prius uses a "4D", I couldn't tell you.

[johnjamis]

I just went through getting a new smart key. The used ebay smart key could only be programed by my dealer to operate the ignition by inserting the key(no fob functions). Then, I tried an ebay key that the seller claimed was new with the same result. Next, I got a new smart key from the dealer for 10% off ($175) and it worked for all smart key functions. Programing fees varied from $170 to $40 at various dealers around here (cincinnati, OH). Good luck.

[Patrick Wong]

Please note that the Smart fob contains a counter that increments each time it is used. After the counter exceeds a certain value, the Smart ECU will not allow registration of that fob. This is why attempts to register a used Smart fob will usually fail.

Also note that registration of a Smart fob involves two separate systems: the immobilizer ECU and the Smart ECU. In the case where the fob will work only when inserted into the dashboard slot, this means that the immobilizer ECU has accepted the fob but the Smart ECU has not.