Attn: Security Issue with the Prius!!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Aug 11 2007, 01:46 AM) [snapback]493896[/snapback]</div>

Keeping your keys in or on your car is pretty stupid, frankly.

The reason that the rear hatch will open is because the RFID reader is in the bumper and its control module is near the spare tire. If the key is close enough, the tag can be read either by the antenna or by the module via stray signals. The antennas seem to be fairly omni-directional.

 

Moral of the story is:
Never leave the keys/fob in your car unless you have good full coverage insurance

 

you can solve this by wrapping up your key with some foil. I discovered this on a trip to an amusement park where the wife wanted to lock her purse in the car, after realizing why I was having problems locking the car I slid her key into a wrapper from some poptarts that my son had just ate and problem solved.

 

YEEOOWWWW!!! Good Catch Tideland!!

I think I'll drop a call off to the techs at SET to clue them on this one.... The system is NOT supposed read a key inside the car for lock/unlock operations.... At least thats what they told us in all the training classes....

Thanks for the headsup!

 

I don't have SKS. But I read another thread about this.

Solution: take battery out of fob you're leaving in the car.

Personally, I'd never leave any key of any kind in the car. I also don't leave keys to my house under the mat, flower pot or in one of those fake rocks.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bear68 @ Aug 11 2007, 12:25 PM) [snapback]493994[/snapback]</div>

Ah, the difference between engineering and technicians. How is the 'system' supposed to know the difference when it sees an RFID Tag from the hatch antenna? It can't. If the RFID Tag (FOB) is _just_ in range for the rear antenna it will authenticate... Whether it's in the car or outside of it. The antenna's can detect the FOB from three feet - inside or out.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(morpheusx @ Aug 11 2007, 11:43 AM) [snapback]493978[/snapback]</div>

Nicely done!
Great use of materials at hand. Sure beats disassembling the fob to remove the battery or otherwise muck with it.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Aug 11 2007, 10:48 AM) [snapback]494012[/snapback]</div>

What about using the On-Off switch under the steering column to turn off the SKS system if you are going to lock the Fob in the car? The key in the Fob lets you manually lock and unlock the car.

 

Good idea to turn off the SKS. Even with SKS off, the buttons on the fob should still work to lock and unlock.

 

The salesman at the Toyota dealership warned me about this when I bought the car. Turning SKS off seems like a good suggestion.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva @ Aug 11 2007, 09:37 AM) [snapback]493997[/snapback]</div>

Oh, I love those fake rocks! "Look, I'm a key hider!" Especially when people leave those labels on them

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(oly_57mpg @ Aug 12 2007, 01:23 AM) [snapback]494010[/snapback]</div>

From what I 've read about SKS, there are 2 oscillators at the hatch:
[attachmentid=10571]
The Back door oscillator (inner) works together with the Room oscillator to determine whether the Fob is inside the car. If the Fob were to be detected by the Door oscillators or the Back door oscillator (outer), then the 'system' determine that it is outside the car.

 

You know that the strength of the EMF signal is inversely proportional to the distance
between transmitter and receiver. The principle is at play here. The processing unit
compares the stretch of signals from all oscillators, in and out, to determine (better say 'guess') whether the transponder is inside or outside. If the transponder is near the front seats, I would say the chance of error is very small. However, if the transponder is near the hatch, the chance of error would increase.
Just my guess

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ceric @ Aug 13 2007, 06:04 AM) [snapback]494598[/snapback]</div>

Thats a great explanation; there is also a a setting in the body ecu that controls functionality to open the trunk if the key is detected inside the trunk area. You should check that that option is indeed disabled by the dealer.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jasingjo @ Aug 13 2007, 10:22 AM) [snapback]494769[/snapback]</div>

Aha! Now it makes sense. The car knows the fob is inside, but it assumes you've left it there by mistake. So it's allowing you to open the hatch rather than be stuck with your keys locked in the "trunk."

Those of us who never remove the fob from our pockets won't ever set down the keys/fob in the cargo area, but this feature could be helpful for those who leave the fob in a bag (handbag, attache case, etc). While working in the cargo area, it's easy to put down your bag, then perhaps forget to take it before closing the hatch.

 

So this means my lost key isn't in the car anywhere. Nice to know!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MarkMN @ Aug 13 2007, 10:40 AM) [snapback]494783[/snapback]</div>

My thoughts exactly!!!! :lol:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Aug 14 2007, 12:12 AM) [snapback]494721[/snapback]</div>

I think jasingjo has your answer! There is indeed an option called KEY_IN_TRUNK which allows you to open the trunk when the key is detected inside the trunk. My guess is if you left the SKS on the front seat, it would be detected by the Room oscillator rather than the Back door oscillator (inner), so it should not be considered as in the trunk. Perhaps you might want to try it out?