Smart key system question...

[sluday]

On the 2010 Prius II and III can you open the hatch having the key in your pocket or is the key fob the only way to open hatch ? What if the car is unlocked is there a release on the rear hatch of the car ? I have an Infiniti and it has "smart key" buttons on both front doors and the hatch but if the car is locked you can open the hatch just by grabbing the outer hatch release without pushing the smart key button on the hatch or the key fob.

[HTMLSpinnr]

On a II and III, you must unlock w/ the FOB (or interior switch from the driver's door) to unlock the trunk before opening.

IV and V offer SKS on the hatch (and front passenger door).

[Dolce]

For a car that is supposed to be high tech and user friendly, their SKS and FOB is not very intuitive. Why can't Toyota just make a key and lock that works like any other key and lock since the history of time?

My own dealer couldn't figure out why the 2010 Prius II will only unlock the drivers door and not the hatch via SKS. Then he tried to use the FOB's unlock button to open the hatch and that didn't work for him either. This is new for me and he has been driving only the high end 2009 Prius, so he expected all doors will open, which is a reasonable assumption by common sense. It wasn't until after I got home with the new car and reading the the manual that I find out you have to press the unlock button twice. The first push doesn't count. How stupid is that?

I know you can get it reprogrammed by your dealer to make the FOB work more intuitively. But if Toyota knows the locks can be made more simple to use, why didn't they just do it in the first place instead of trying to get people to pay their dealers crazy fees to make something that should have been done at the factory?

[royrose]

Originally Posted by Dolce

For a car that is supposed to be high tech and user friendly, their SKS and FOB is not very intuitive. Why can't Toyota just make a key and lock that works like any other key and lock since the history of time?

My own dealer couldn't figure out why the 2010 Prius II will only unlock the drivers door and not the hatch via SKS. Then he tried to use the FOB's unlock button to open the hatch and that didn't work for him either. This is new for me and he has been driving only the high end 2009 Prius, so he expected all doors will open, which is a reasonable assumption by common sense. It wasn't until after I got home with the new car and reading the the manual that I find out you have to press the unlock button twice. The first push doesn't count. How stupid is that?

I know you can get it reprogrammed by your dealer to make the FOB work more intuitively. But if Toyota knows the locks can be made more simple to use, why didn't they just do it in the first place instead of trying to get people to pay their dealers crazy fees to make something that should have been done at the factory?

lots of cars remotes work that way, where the first push unlocks the drivers door and the second push unlocks all. So their design is not unusual at all. At least you can have it changed so the first push opens all. Not all cars give you that option.

[Dolce]

By Toyota's own SKS design, the driver never needs to push a button on the FOB to get into the car, as it will automatically unlock the drivers door when he is near the driver's side front door. So the only time he will reach for the FOB will be to open the Passenger side door or the back hatch. So that means the FOB should default to 1 push to open those other doors.

I have purchased several after market remote door locks in the past for my other cars and they all open with 1 push button, as that is the most common sense thing to operate a door. If you want to open a specific door, then you push the other buttons on the remote that corresponds to the other door.

It is not an good option when that option will cost you money and waste of time with the dealer. Yes, other cars don't let you reprogram the lock system becaus they are designed correctly from the start to open with 1 push of the button. I see no good reason for Toyota's design other than to let the dealer exploit the customers with unecessary 'corrections'

[XMAN LIVE]

Originally Posted by Dolce

By Toyota's own SKS design, the driver never needs to push a button on the FOB to get into the car, as it will automatically unlock the drivers door when he is near the driver's side front door. So the only time he will reach for the FOB will be to open the Passenger side door or the back hatch. So that means the FOB should default to 1 push to open those other doors.

I have purchased several after market remote door locks in the past for my other cars and they all open with 1 push button, as that is the most common sense thing to operate a door. If you want to open a specific door, then you push the other buttons on the remote that corresponds to the other door.

It is not an good option when that option will cost you money and waste of time with the dealer. Yes, other cars don't let you reprogram the lock system becaus they are designed correctly from the start to open with 1 push of the button. I see no good reason for Toyota's design other than to let the dealer exploit the customers with unecessary 'corrections'

Are you sure they are charging for this change. I was thinking this would be free...To adjust key setting and turn of reverse beep and etc. Does anybody know for sure? I would be angry also after buying a car that they could not adjust it the way I like it for free.

[IraS]

I suspect the SKS was designed this way as a person safety feature.

For example, what if you are parked in a public garage and someone is lurking near the passenger door? If pressing the buttton on the key fob (or unlocking the driver's door with the SKS) automatically unlocked all doors, the lurker could jump into the car. The default option is to only unlock the driver's door, which would make this scenario much more difficult. If you need to unlock both doors (i.e. there is a person you know waiting on the passenger's side), you just have to press the key fob twice.

If you are not concerned about this possible problem, you can have the system reprogrammed to automatically unlock all doors when you press the button on the fob.

I currently have a 2004 Prius. The only thing I find inconvenient about the SKS is the way it works when the car is running. If I stop the car, leave it running, and walk around to the back to unload an item (carrying the key fob), I can't open the hatch. I have to manually unlock the doors when I leave the car. Again, I suspect this is a safety feature.

[sluday]

If the car is unlocked, Can you open the rear hatch? Is there an outside release button or handle on the hatch or do you need the key every time with the Prius II and III ?

[qbee42]

The SKS is a great feature. Once you have it you will wonder why all doors don't work the same way, especially the front door of your hourse. My key fob never comes out of my pocket.

Part of the confusion stated above comes from a change made with the 2010 model. With the Gen II Prius, you either had the SKS for both front doors and hatch, or you had the dumb fob which worked like any normal fob. With the 2010, the SKS was added to all models, but to keep costs down, the SKS only works with the driver's door on the lower packages. The higher level packages work like the Gen II fob, with minor button changes to the doors.

Tom

[wfolta]

Originally Posted by royrose

lots of cars remotes work that way, where the first push unlocks the drivers door and the second push unlocks all.

Every car I've ever used that had a remote unlock works that way. (Historically, the explanation is that it's a safety feature to not unlock ALL doors by default and it makes sense to me, though it's probably very unlikely that you'll be in a situation where there is someone on the other side of your car who would jump into the passenger seat and carjack you.)