What has the cold weather done to my beautiful Prius?

[Tamim]

Hey guys my 2005 Prius is acting up again


Starting about a week ago which is coincidentally the same time that it started to get really cold here in south California (50's at night), the remote key sensor on my car began to fail.

When I walk up to the walk and put my hand next to the door handle it no longer unlocks the car, neither if I push one of the two buttons on the remote.

When I enter the car I could previously start the car with the keys in my pocket, but it no longer detects the keys and I am forced to physically insert them into the dashboard slot in order to start the car.

I had initially thought maybe my keys were out of batteries or maybe they were defective so I tried my other pair of keys to no avail, same problem.

Would anyone happen to know what could possibly be going wrong?

[efusco]

There's a button under the steering wheel that got hit on accident (maybe when it was washed?), push it and all will be well.

[DaveinOlyWA]

sudden changes in temps can affect your 12 volt battery. remember, everything on your Pri relies on that battery when the Pri is powered down.

[Tamim]

Originally Posted by efusco

There's a button under the steering wheel that got hit on accident (maybe when it was washed?), push it and all will be well.

I pushed the button on the bottom of the steering wheel that says "KEY" but it still has the same problem regardless of what position this switch is in.

What am I to do

[Rokeby]

Originally Posted by DaveinOlyWA

sudden changes in temps can affect your 12 volt battery.
remember, everything on your Pri relies on that battery when the Pri
is powered down.

+1 Unless the battery has been changed, the OEM one would be 4+
years old. That would be the typical service life. Before a failing
battery totally goes south, any number of seemingly random 12V
electrical system irregularities or failures have been reported.

Sounds like it could be time to get a new 12V battery, either because
you need it NOW in the random efffects period -- restores peace of
mind too -- or will in the near future after the total failure. (Which,
strangely enough, can occur while the car is use, but isn't
detectable until you shut the car OFF. )

[usbseawolf2000]

SKS fob's battery may be low. Try with the spare one. Try to replace the battery.

[firepa63]

The button under the dash needs to be on the OUT position for the SKS to work. When was the last time you changed the battery in the fob? If it's still the original, I would change that first before going for a new 12v battery.

[BAllanJ]

You've probably changed to a different jacket because of the cooler weather, with different pockets and now you're keeping the fob in the same pocket as your cell phone and it's interferring...
... and 50F is really cold????!!!

[richard schumacher]

Test the fob batteries: press any button on the fob. You don't have to be near the car. A small red LED should flash in one corner. If not, dying/dead fob battery.

Test the 12V battery with a voltmeter, either at the jump point under the red cap under the hood, or at the battery itself. Leave the car off for several hours first. With the car still OFF, if the voltage is less than 12.0V then the battery is dying.

You can also test the car's 12V battery using this procedure, no tools required (thanks to jdenenberg):
- Without brake pedal, press the Power button once and release to enter ACC mode
- Press and hold the MFD Info button while turning the headlights on and off three times to enter Maintenance mode; release Info button
- Press “Menu” (on screen)
- Press “Display Check”
- Press “Vehicle Signal Check” - the battery voltage is shown and should be about 12.4 to 12.8 Volts (normal for an unloaded battery)
- Again without brake pedal, press Power button and release to put a current load on the battery - the voltage should stay above 12.0V (if less than 12.0V the battery is not well, or there is a fault or unusual load somewhere)
- Press brake pedal and press Power button once to enter "Ready" mode - the battery is now charging at about 14V (if less than 13.6V or more than 14.4 there is a problem, possibly with the charging circuit)
- Turn car OFF to leave Maintenance mode

[Tideland Prius]

Try replacing the battery in one of them. Remember that the other FOB loses battery too even if it isn't used daily.