Using Emergency Key Start and Drive My Car

There is no slot for the emergency key, other than on the driver's door lock. If you don't have the fob, you are out of luck.

Hopefully you'll be able to find the second fob somewhere. If not, it will be quite expensive for the dealer to program the car to accept a replacement fob.

 

Curious: why was the mechanical ("emergency") key separated from the rest of its fob?

 

The way I understand it, if your FOB had a dead battery, you can use the emergency key to open the car door. If you insert the FOB (with dead battery) in the slot you can start the car.

You can't actually start the car with the emergency key.

 

And you cannot re-program a fob once it has been programmed once already. Do not buy it from a wrecked (read- already programmed) Prius.

I got burned on that one...
You need a new - never programmed fob- if yours was silver Toyota logo (on the fob), you need the silver logo one, not the black logo one.

And you will have to pay the dealer to program it. Not cheap.

 

BTW, the Prius is programmed to recognize the fob, not the reverse. The fob has a counter that increments as it is used, and the Prius will refuse to recognize a used fob whose counter is above some number (like 128 or thereabouts).

You'll need to bring ~$300, your wife's fob, and the mechanical key along, when you visit your dealer to obtain another fob.

 

There are 2 locking systems that have to be programmed.

The first is the transponder (or keyfob-in-dash) system. This one generally works, regardless of keyfob type or new/used status. You can program the transponder function yourself, using the instructions in the first part of http://priuschat.com/forums/knowled...lly-how-program-non-sks-key-fob-detailed.html

The remote functions (both remote keys and proximity) are the usual problem areas. There are two types of remote keyfobs, generally identified as black logo and silver logo. The black logo keyfobs only work with the buttons on the remote. The silver logo keyfobs additionally have the proximity function that allow you to lock/unlock the doors and operate the Power button by just having the keyfob near you. The Toyota Techstream software/scantool is generally required to program the car to recognize the remote functions of a specific keyfob.

The story until recently has been that used silver logo keyfobs cannot be made to function with a car other than the first one that they were paired with. Several people have reported that they successfully paired a used black logo keyfob with their car, but most report failure in such attempts. Note also that the black logo keyfobs only work with cars that don't have the smart (SKS) system. Cars with SKS (lock buttons on the outside door handles) require silver logo keyfobs.

It turns out that there is a Techstream function that does allow programming of used SKS keyfobs. Only "Security Professionals" can perform this function, as they have to both have a Techstream device and the appropriate online registration with Toyota. Part of doing a "Smart Key Reset" is that Techstream shows a code number, and that code number has to be entered into the online Toyota computer system. The online system replies with another code number that then is entered into Techstream to unlock the whole process. In general, the only people with access to the code number system are either Toyota dealers or locksmiths.

A new keyfob can be added by anyone with Techstream equipment, and does not require the online code number lookup. Doing a code number lookup costs extra time, plus access to the premium cost online system. It may be cheaper to just purchase a new keyfob than to pay for the extra procedures required for a used keyfob.

 

I have a spare used silver logo fob that I made into an "emergency only" key. The buttons do not work but you can plug it into the slot on the dash to make the car function.