BS "key detected inside" warning

Perhaps something got lost in translation.

 

The hatch is no different from a door. Open a door and it'll say the same thing.

 

I think it's just a wrong assumption about the reason an error occurred.

Scenario 1:
We get out. My wife leaves her purse in the car* and it has a smart key in it. I have my key on me and I try to lock the door** but the car beeps at me and refuses because of the smart key in the car.

Scenario 2:
You drive the car. After a few minutes the car tries to lock the doors and hatch. It can't because the hatch/door isn't shut properly.

In both cases the error "code" is "unable to lock vehicle" but the error message is associated with Scenario 1. The irony is that in Scenario 1 the vehicle is turned off so you never get to the see the message when it's correct.

* Very low crime area
** I just can't adjust to living in a low crime area.

 

I guess I don't see anything unusual about it. It's a warning that you're potentially leaving the key in a running car and the message would be there if you were to try to lock it.

 

You are tolerant of bad programming. It's a bug.

The fix is for the locking process to know what initiated it so it can set a different error code on failure.

 

It's not a bug. A door or hatch is cycled with a key inside the vehicle. Just as it says, a key is detected inside. On the other hand, it's not very elegant and certainly confusing. The problem is finding a way to differentiate between a deliberate opening of a door or hatch and an accidental one.

Tom

 

You will get this message if the trunk door is not completely closed. I had this happen to me after putting a cooler of ice in the trunk. I went over a bump and got the message.

Knowing the last thing I had done was put the cooler in the cargo area, I stopped and noted that the door was not completely closed. I opened and reclosed the door and the message went away.

Someone explained that with the door not being completely closed and probably bouncing up and down that the car thinks someone is trying to close and lock the door with the key inside.

 

So how is the car supposed to discriminate between deliberately opening a door and an accidental one? Don't call it a bug just because it can't do that.

 

Wow do you post 24/7 on prius chat? You posted at 1128pm and 608am!!! :rockon: Such a dedicated prius owner. :mod:

 

It knows when:
- the car is ready
- a key is in the car
- there is somebody in the driver's seat
- the vehicle is in motion
- a door is open
- a door is unlocked.

"Key detected in vehicle" is normal when somebody is driving the car. After all, if it's not there it says "Key not detected in vehicle".

If there's an open door while moving over a certain speed that's "A door is open".

If it can't lock the door/hatch while moving that's "A door cannot be locked."

If somebody actually attempts to lock the doors with a fob or sensor while the car is stopped, the doors are closed and it fails to lock then that's "Key detected in vehicle". Even assuming asynchronous processing of the action and detection I cannot think of any way in which it is better to display "Key detected in vehicle" while the vehicle is on, someone is in the driver's seat and the vehicle is in motion when "A door cannot be locked" is also correct and more informative.

 

I'm talking about when parked. The car does panic if you attempt to leave the car while running but not in park though.

 

So you want a better system of informing the driver that the door/hatch is opened? Fair enough. Most of us figured out what the warning message meant from our encounters with bumps.