I'm having a problem that has been reported on this forum a couple times, and I'm just wondering if anyone has a suggestion on how to fix it. Just this weekend, I noticed that the "unlock" button on my fob is stuck down. Our car has SKS, so I have probably pushed this button a grand total of 30 times in the 3 years we've owned the car, so there's no way the button should be worn out at this point. The funny thing is that I can still use the SKS as usual at this point. My guess is that the remote must have some sort of time-out that stops sending a signal if you hold down the button for too long. Why the SKS still works is beyond me. As others have discovered, the remote is glued shut, and to this point, I've had no luck prying it open. I suspect that the button has just gotten wedged under a piece of plastic, so if I could just open it, I'd be able to fix it in 10 seconds. I haven't really gone at it yet, since it still works as an SKS fob, and I'd rather not break this $350 piece of technology. Do people have any suggestions on how I should attack this? Do you think the dealer would cover a replacement (we're still under warranty for the next 2 months)? Do people know if there's an easier way to get the fob open?
Can you post a picture? The unlock button is recessed on my '06 FOB (so I can't see how it would ever get stuck down).
Have you tried running a pin or needle around the edge in case a piece of dirt or something is wedged in there holding the button down?
Talk about a post with great timing!!! As I was getting my free oil change at NoHo Toyota, the gentleman who sat next to me had just drove up in a nice Charcoal gray baby!! My first words to him were ... Hi, have you gotten tired of that damn backup beep yet!!! Well that started the ball rolling and he happened to mention the reason that he was there was his FOB had a STUCK BUTTON! The unlock switch was broken. It was in the down state, or ON mode if you prefer, but it was not making contact. If you pressed and forced the contacts together as you normally would as you depress the switch it would work! The fact that there was no tactile feedback from the switch was bugging him! The only fix was to replace the FOB with a new one. It was covered under the warranty. As I drove away they were finishing programing it, I could tell by the number of times they were testing it!!! beep, beepbeep, beep, beepbeep over and over!!! By the way he was very tired of the back up beep, I wrote down the de-beep info for him, and told him to look us up at Priuschat.com!!! 73 de Pat KK6PD
I could post a picture, but there'd be nothing to see. The button looks identical to the button on our un-stuck fob. It's just that there's no tactile response and the unlock feature no longer works. The trouble is that there's a rubber membrane that covers the entire lock/unlock button group. So, I can't run a pin around the actual button without cutting through the rubber (something I obviously don't want to do). I've tried to run a pin (and a knife) around the seam in the fob, but it appears to be solidly glued shut. That is correct. As far as I can tell, the fob is designed to never be opened. Well, this is good to hear. I hope that my dealer will be as reasonable and will be willing to replace my fob for me. I'm starting to wonder if this is some sort of design flaw in the fob; this is the third case I've read about on this board (in addition to my own) about a stuck unlock button.
A little update: I'm sitting in the dealer right now (at least they have free wireless) and it appears that there's good news and bad news. The good news is that the dealer is replacing the key under warranty. The bad news is that they're having a heck of a time trying to reprogram the car to accept the new key. Apparently, the tech working on my car just called the Toyota helpline trying to figure out how to get this to work. Anyway, I've been here for nearly three hours now, so I really hope they figure this out soon. I have to say that I really love the SKS, but the difficulty in doing any simple maintenance is a real Achille's heel.
A final resolution: After ~4 hours in the dealership today, they finally successfully programmed a new key for me and sent me on my way. Actually, after ~3.5 hours, they claimed that they had finished and handed me the new key. I then started to try things out in the car and quickly discovered that, while the new key worked, the second key that came with the car (i.e. the one without the problem with the unlock button) no longer worked. Actually, the behavior was really interesting. Everything worked as usual if the new key was in the car, but as soon as the original key was introduced into the car, nothing would work (even if I had the new key in there too). After this, I finally got to meet the actual tech (who expressed some strong feelings towards the SKS computer). Apparently, he had been told by my service writer that there were no additional fobs that needed to be programmed with the car. This is funny since, when I came in, I asked the service writer at least two times if they needed my other key to do the programming and was told, 'No.' Anyway, apparently the tech had figured out the quirks of my car, since he was able to add the original key back in within ~15 minutes. So, overall, I'm happy that they covered the new key under warranty, but it really seems like it should be a bit easier than it was.
That will teach you to leave that DAMN EASY BUTTON at home!!!! However, glad they covered the cost!! A win for you!! 73 de Pat KK6PD
Argh, the unlock on my "main" fob is stuck down too :/ Downside of not using the SKS I guess... For the record, it lasted approx 2.5 years of normal unlocking abuse.
Mine WAS stuck down... since mine has worn through, i decided to experiment a bit. It turns out the Lock, Unlock, and Panic area ( on the fob ) is 1 large gromit (for lack of a better name) it sits around this shelf.. pops in and out. If you get a hold of the rubber, pull it up and re seat it. I didn't notice any type of glue.
Well, the good news is that the dealer should be willing to replace it. The bad news is that it may take your dealer 4 hours to figure it out. Do make sure that you give them both fobs if/when you take it in, even if the service writer claims they don't need the second one. Hmmm. Interesting. I was trying to split open the fob along the plastic seam; I didn't try too hard to get the rubber "grommet" out. How hard was it? How did you grip the rubber?
I unstuck the unlock button. I tried to use an exacto knife and open the unit along the side seams. Too hard. Then I noticed a Prius key fob for sale on ebay with the rubber part covering the unlock button cut away. So I carefully used the exacto knife to open the rubber square over the unlock button and opened 3 sides of the rectangle. The plastic embedded in the rubber was stuck in a convex position putting pressure on the unlock button. I popped it back up and then put a little tape over the rubber flap so if it got stuck in the down position again, I could unstick it again. Seems to work now. Note: With the button stuck in the down position, the fobs with the smark key function will continuously send a signal to the car every few seconds or so. Eventually, it'll drain the 12V battery. That's what the dealer told me. So if you have a stuck button, either keep it away from the car when you're not going to drive it, or fix it.
The keyfob case can be cracked open by removing the mechanical key, and applying force with a pair of needlenose pliers in the mechanical key slot. I also removed the battery before opening the case, but I don't recall if that is necessary or not. I've done it to one keyfob, and the glue broke loose without any damage to the plastic. After cleaning out some of the old glue, I put the case back together with new glue. I'm not sure quite what you would do to correct a stuck button, but it certainly is possible to take the case apart and put it back together.
I unstuck the unlock button. I tried to use an exacto knife and open the unit along the side seams. Too hard. Then I noticed a Prius key fob for sale on ebay with the rubber part covering the unlock button cut away. So I carefully used the exacto knife to open the rubber square over the unlock button and opened 3 sides of the rectangle. The plastic embedded in the rubber was stuck in a convex position putting pressure on the unlock button. I popped it back up and then put a little tape over the rubber flap so if it got stuck in the down position again, I could unstick it again. Seems to work now. Note: With the button stuck in the down position, the fobs with the smark key function will continuously send a signal to the car every few seconds or so. Eventually, it'll drain the 12V battery. That's what the dealer told me. So if you have a stuck button, either keep it away from the car when you're not going to drive it, or fix it.
hi, old thread this happened to me. my prius smart key got stuck after 3 years of keeping it in jeans i guess. i have that extended warranty from troy. toyota platinum care agreed to pay for the replacement of "the mechanical failure of the key fob" so i take it to the dealer drop it off for 2 hours, they wake me up and call me 90 minutes later saying "they need the spare key for reprogramming" i drove straight to the dealer and told the service guy straight up that i dont think he knew he was doing and why in the heck do u need the spare for, it will hold 4 keys. we had a brief spat, he said 'i need a key with a working unlock/button to program the car' i think he was wrong anyway he gave me a new fob for free and gave me my broken fob back, he never deleted the broken fob out of the system, so now i got 3 prius keys. i'd sell it on ebay but im worried that cars wont accept an older fob that has been used a lot and the person would want a refund so i think ill keep it as a spare and not sweat about the key not being deleted
Great thread. Mine had done the same about a year ago... and I had simply shelved it in favor of the second key... Recently my wife needed it, and had to go through the pain and agony of using the valet key and actually plugging the fob in.... Yuck! So I exacto knifed around the top and sides of the unlock button, and it released enough pressure that they thing now works fine... Awesome. Just good enough for a backup!:rockon: Thanks for the advice!
