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Holding hatch button doesn't unlock everything

Discussion in 'Prius v Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by ira888, May 16, 2012.

  1. ira888

    ira888 New Member

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    Hey all,

    I've had a Prius (2nd generation) since 2006 and have been thrilled with it.

    So today, I purchased a Prius V (three, I believe). Very happy with it in general so far, but incredibly disappointed to discover that some of the features I have most enjoyed about my 2nd generation don't seem to come with my version of the Prius V.

    On my Prius (2nd), I can unlock the hatch (and all other doors) simply by depressing the rectangular button with the key FOB in my pocket. That does *not* work on my Prius V and everything in the manual and what I can find online says that it *should* work.

    That is the issue I think can be resolved (hopefully not by having to go into the dealer, as some online suggest).

    What appears to be unresolvable is the fact that my model of the Prius V does not allow for unlocking/locking from the "3 points" - only from the driver door. My hatch does *not* have the second, smaller button for locking, like the manual shows. Why would they not make this standard, like it is with my Prius (2nd)? Very upset about this.

    Anyway, please let me know if you have any suggestions about the first issue I described (not being able to unlock all doors by depressing hatch rectangular button).

    Thanks.
     
  2. Rh0

    Rh0 Junior Lurker

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    To make all the doors unlock on first button press, try this:

    Standing near your driver side door press and hold both the lock and unlock buttons of your fob for at least 5 seconds until you hear the car beep twice.

    Got this from another thread on here.
     
  3. n0na

    n0na Junior Member

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    The Prius v five allows you to do what you want to do. The Prius v three does not.
    The instruction manual describes both cars, so it's easy to get confused when the manual describes an option that you don't have on your car model.

    With the v3 you can unlock only the driver's door when the key fob is in your pocket. To unlock any other door or the hatch as you approach the car, you will have to press the unlock button on the key fob. One press will unlock the driver's door and two presses in rapid succession will unlock all doors and the hatch. You can "customize" the operation by using "setup" in the navigation system so that a single press will unlock all doors and the hatch (no need for two presses).

    The instruction manual describes other customization that just simply isn't available. For example, they say you can customize the system so that when you unlock the driver's door with the key fob in your pocket, all of the doors and hatch will unlock. But I haven't found anyway to do that. There are some things in the instruction manual that were described before the final design of the car was complete and some of those features were never implemented into the car.
     
  4. ira888

    ira888 New Member

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    Thanks, but I know this already. I am speaking specifically about doing so from the hatch door (as well as from the passenger side door).
     
  5. ira888

    ira888 New Member

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    Thanks for your help on this. Very disappointed to hear it, though. Does anybody else see this as a huge mistake on Toyota's part? Why should this handy feature, which was standard with the 2nd generation, be only included with the most expensive of the V models?
     
  6. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    They will add it in a subsequent model with other minor features and styling updates to make you trade in your old one. This trick is as old as car marketing. The configuration change to open all doors from the driver's side does work as described, certainly on a V pkg 3.
     
  7. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    This feature was not standard on the Gen II Prius, but was a rather pricey option. The standard Gen II Prius had no SKS, so even the driver's door had to be unlocked manually with the fob button or mechanical key.

    For the Gen III, Toyota decided to include driver's door SKS as a standard; think of it as "SKS Lite". It is actually an improvement over the Gen II.

    Unfortunately, Toyota didn't think this one through all of the way, and the result has been marketing confusion. Many buyers, like the OP, see this as a step backward, so something that costs Toyota more is viewed as cost-cutting cheapness.

    Tom
     
  8. Chazz8

    Chazz8 Gadget Lover

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    I read here in the Gen III forums about somebody that bought the parts and added the SKS to the passenger door and rear hatch. You just have to find a good mechanic and throw some money at the problem, or go to your dealer and throw lots of money towards it. Longer term soloution would be to wait for Toyota to add this feature to the Prius v trim 3, but I would not put it past toyota USA marketing to move this feature the other way to the Adv. Tech. Pkg.
     
  9. n0na

    n0na Junior Member

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    Well, if it can be done, how do you do it????????

    I turned the car "on" (push the power button twice with the foot off the brake). Then I pressed the "Setup" button next to the screen. Then I pressed "Vehicle" on the screen. Then, to unlock all doors with a single press of the unlock button on the key fob, I pressed "Remote 2-Press Unlock" to turn off the "2 presses required feature." But, how do I configure the system to unlock all doors when opening the driver's door with the key fob in my pocket? The instruction manual says it can be done, but there's no such choice on the screen. You can configure "Auto Lock by Speed." And you can configure door locking/unlocking when shifting out of or into Park. And, you can change the "Lock/Unlock Feedback-Tone" (whatever that is). And you can turn the SKS on or off (Key System with Elec. Key). But, I see no way to get all doors to unlock when I open the driver's door using SKS.
     
  10. Erikon

    Erikon Active Member

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    I think I remember I had this problem, and it came down to exact timing. Where the manual says hold the door unlock switch for about 5 seconds, it should be EXACTLY 5 seconds! Use the blinking dots on the clock to time it.
     
  11. Rh0

    Rh0 Junior Lurker

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    Have you tried the procedure described in #2 post of this thread? The one where you hold down both buttons of the fob next to the sks door? It worked on my v5. The end result is that with the fob in my pocket, when I open any sks door, all the doors unlock.
     
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  12. tanasit

    tanasit Member

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    Yes that trick works for me too but make sure you hear 2 beeps after that 5 seconds hold.
     
  13. n0na

    n0na Junior Member

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    Thank you. That worked for me. For some reason, that method is not documented in the instruction manual. Instead, the manual claims the optimization is to be done via the Setup screen, but that's not the case. In any event, I now have my v3 set up so that all doors and the hatch unlock when I unlock the driver's door using SKS (key fob in my pocket) and I can also unlock all doors and the hatch with a single press of the unlock button on the key fob.