Ford's Keypad entry

Maybe someone has put that on their prius, but I don't remember reading about it here. Just google auto keypad entry and you will find several people who make them, mostly for custom type cars.

 

Why would you want to press buttons? Seems like a step backward to me. The keyless entry is so much easier than even using the fob, IMO.

 

the great thing about the thing ford has was you could lock the car and just keep the key in the car, but if you installed that on the Prius you wouldn't be able to lock the key into the car due to the smart key

 

I think it's everyday purpose was to allow you to unlock the car without having to hunt for the keys in bad weather (you would still need to find them once inside to start the car). Just touching the handle is so much easier and quicker.

There are threads discussing how to lock your smart key in the Prius if that's something you really want to do.

 

Nissan used to put the keypad on some of their cars too. A friend's 86 Maxima had it. Ford seems to be about one of the only automakers that sells in the US that continues to carry forward such a feature.

I agree that a keypad is unnecessary on a Prius. SKS is so much more convenient.

I can't speak to 1 SKS equipped 3rd gens, but on the 2nd gen w/SKS (which were 3 door SKS, if you had SKS at all), it was near impossible to lock the key in the car so long as SKS wasn't disabled.

 

My wife (well, she was the girlfriend at the time) had a 94 Merc Sable that had that feature. It was nice because the keys could be locked in the car (which we did on a few camping/hiking trips) or you could gain access to the car with out the key (Like if she was in class with he keys and i needed to get something out of the trunk... all you needed was the code.

 

Congratulations!

 

I had it on a Sable too (95 I think). I was trying to remember whether I also had a fob, or whether I had to either use the keypad or the key to unlock the door.... It was so long ago, I can't remember. But if it just had a key, then the keypad made a lot of sense to avoid scratching the car.

I agree that every once in a while it would be handy to have something similar on the Prius. It's just not useful enough for Toyota to offer as an option (not sure why Ford seems to still have them). Now a biometric device could be cool, and much less 90's-ish.

 

Wife did have a fob, though only one.

 

This sounds neat....I had one of these I installed on my old Ford Focus.

But...what happens when you are out in the woods camping and hiking and when you return to the car, the tiny button battery in the keypad has failed? Break into the car (read damage here) or take a long hike to get home and get your keys.

 

Break glass, drive car.

Yeah, I think it is a step backwards too. I have never had a reason to lock my keys in the car on purpose, unless it was because I had a spare in there on a trip (wife's purse). As a serious question, can you tell me why you would want to lock your keys in the car?

 

We did it when we were camping/hiking and were afraid to lose the keys, or if I was using her car and we wouldn't see each other to exchange the keys (Like if i was using it for a few hours while she was in class or at work) Of course the keys were never left in the ignition (or even out in sight) The Keypad had codes to open the doors, or the trunk, so it was pretty easy to predetermine a location to hid the keys, and being we were in school it was easy enough to always toss your backpack in the trunk, and no one watching would question what you were doing.

 

As for me, I prefer the Prius' SKS; no keys, no pads, no pad codes to remember, no worries!

Actually, I've used Ford's keypad on many cars and I know there was an issue with the pad leaving imprint marks on the numbers. All the bad guy had to do was figure out the sequence.

 

great post here..personally I LOVE the keypad feature on fords...I most recently had a Ford Explorer with keypad and I always left my keys in my car. The likelyhood that the system will fail is probably very low. Also for those worried about security if someone wants to break into your car, your house, or anything.. they easily can.

I love the keypad feature and wish more cars had them... just being able to not have to lug the keys around is a really nice feature.

 

Here's another comment in praise of the Ford keypad. We had it on the Crown Vic that we traded-in for the Prius. It was most convenient to use when we parked the Crown Vic at the airport and rented a car at our destination. I could hide the keys in the trunk and not have to carry or lose them on our trip. I still miss that Crown Vic.

 

Exactly... i've parked at the airport many times and i'm always paranoid about where my cars keys are when im in some far away place. Keypads rock!

 

They are wired into the cars electrical system, so if the "tiny battery" dies, you are walking anyway, because the car wont start.

I had a 95 Cr. Vic with those. I liked the car (I don't fit into most cars, and that one could haul a decent sized trailer too, not to mention the "Cop motor..." lines I got to say), but I started getting bad "vibes" from it. So we started looking for something new and donated that one before it fell apart.