New Prius Owner__Random Beeping

[adouga]

Hello All,

I recently got a used 04 prius. I love it but I have one problem. The car will beep-beep randomly while driving down the road. No warning lights or other sounds are noticeable. 2 short beeps. Any ideas?

[orracle]

I was confused by the title. I thought it was the owner who was randomly beeping.

[Stefx]

Do you have the Smart Key System?
If so, avoid putting it in the same pocket with other metallic/electronic objects (lots of keys, cell phone, etc). The car might be losing signal to your electronic key intermittently.

[adouga]

Yes I do have the smart key system. Will the car beep if it loses signal with the key? Maybe a week battery in the fob? I usually put the key in the cup holder while driving. Should I put the fob in the slot in the dash?

[steveholtam]

The cup holder should be fine. It could be the fob battery... They are supposed to last a few years, so yours might be reaching old age.

[hschuck]

Originally Posted by adouga

Yes I do have the smart key system. Will the car beep if it loses signal with the key? Maybe a week battery in the fob? I usually put the key in the cup holder while driving. Should I put the fob in the slot in the dash?

I have reciently experienced what appears to be the double beep you refer to in my 05; it will happen several times and then not reoccur for several weeks. I, like you, think that it may be a low battery warning on the SKS fob. It then goes away before I get around to testing it by replacing the battery. It is nnot a problem so I am waiting for a complete battery failure to confirm.

BTW, the best place to keep your fob while driving is in your pocket/purse. The SKS is at its best if the fob is always left on your person. I put mine in a back pocket (opposite my wallet) when I dress in the morning, remove it at night, and don't otherwise handle it. Since the car unlocks, starts and shuts-off, and locks without need to touch the fob, why would you?

[lenjack]

Do you have a cell phone with a low battery charge switched on while driving? I had strange beeps till I realized it was my phone battery warning.

[Stefx]

Originally Posted by adouga

Yes I do have the smart key system. Will the car beep if it loses signal with the key? Maybe a week battery in the fob? I usually put the key in the cup holder while driving. Should I put the fob in the slot in the dash?

If you never have a beep with the fob in the slot, then you'll know it's the fob causing the beeps. Either fob low battery, defective fob or defective "SKS antenna" in the car.

Anyway, putting the fob in the slot is a good way to check.

My previous car had a similar system. For a while I had a "key" indicator on the dash. Troubleshooting at the dealer revealed a defective "antenna" in the car (antenna for the electronic key system).

[Wayne]

Be sure to look at the MFD as soon as you hear the beeps -- I know you say there are no warning lights, but any message displayed on the MFD won't last long. You get two-beep warnings for low fuel and low temperature for instance, but if you look late you won't know what it was about. See if there are any messages displayed at the top of the MFD right after you hear the sound.

[homerjsmpsn]

Greetings,

I have a one month old dark blue prius that was maliciously rear-ended at a traffic light. (Actually, the damage was only some dents and scratches). I took the vehicle to a dealer who replaced the bumper and hatchback panel. When I went to pick the vehicle up, the smart key system would not lock or unlock the car. When I pressed the black lock button on the door handle, the car made a long beeeeeep and that's all. I am very worried that the dealer screwed up my smart key system. Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions? Thank you.