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Keyless entry & auto-locking door issues

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by Dr Ed, Nov 19, 2006.

  1. Dr Ed

    Dr Ed New Member

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    This is interesting. I keep my 06 Prius unlock when in the garage. This morning I went to get in the car and the driver's door was locked but all other doors were unlocked. I have keyless entry but the handle sensor did not operate after multiple attempts even though the key fob transmitter was in my pocket as usual. After taking the transmitter out to inspect if it's indicator light was flashing, and it was, I attempted keyless opening again and it worked. Why would the door lock itself, and why would the car auto-lock only one door? If I had pushed the armrest lock button by mistake when getting out of the car it would have locked all doors. And why would they keyless entry handle sensor not unlock the driver's door after several attempts, and then work, even though all others doors were unlocked? I'm thinking the keyless entry did not work because the car thought it was already unlocked as evidenced by the other three doors already unlocked, yet the dirver doors was locked solid.
     
  2. Mikie

    Mikie New Member

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    If there was another RF source nearby (Blue tooth, garage door opener, etc..) it could have been "Jamming" reception of your smart key. If you had a bunch or change or keys in your pocket which covered the smart key, it could have blocked the signal, (this may explain why it worked after you took it out of your pocket to check the status light) or something in your pocket could have depressed the lock button on the smart key. Also, there is a 30 sec. delay from lock to unlock which may account for the brief period of time when the smart key did not appear to be working. As to how the driver's door was the only one locked, it could be a wiring issue, a switch problem or a stuck linkage or you may have hit the manual (mechanical) lock control on your way out of the vehicle, which would only lock that door . If this has not been a habitual problem, I think you can eliminate mechanical problems. When you say all the other doors were unlocked, does this include the hatch back? The reason I asked that is because with the default programming, a smartkey entry via the driver's door will only unlock that door; an entry via the passenger door will unlock all 4 doors but not the hatchback; an entry via the hatchback will unlock all doors as well as the hatchback. Please post if this happens again and give as much detail as you can because the more information you provide, the better we are able to assist you. (ie.. did you just wash the car or go through a rain storm? Water intrusion in a door lock switch or an unlock sensor could cause wierd problems)

    Mike
     
  3. Dr Ed

    Dr Ed New Member

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    Mike, under normal conditions when I hit the manual door lock button (any of the three buttons) all four doors lock. Likewise when I activate the driver door's unlock with a hand pass in the handle all four doors will unlock. In this weird situation I went to open my driver door, there was no beep indicating the door was unlocking from a locked state. The no-beep should have been normal because I did not actively lock the car previously but it had auto-locked. Surprised to find that door locked and after repeated hand repositioning not unlocking I was curious and tried the back door. It was unlocked and it opened. Again I went to the driver door, no beep, no unlock. I checked the fob flashing to ensure it was transmitting and it was. I then pressed the manual lock button on the driver door and it beeped, lights flashed and all doors locked. Then the next hand pass in the handle unlocked all four doors as usual. I did not check the hatch during this investigation. The car was washed approximately 4-5 hours before the malfunction occurred.
     
  4. DanMan32

    DanMan32 Senior Member

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    I believe he was referring to MANUALLY locking the driver door, not by using the electric locks via the switch on the armrest. This is the only way you can lock a single door: by the manual rocker located by each of the doors' handles.
    So, you could have somehow accidentally brushed against the inside door handle thus locking that door, which would not set the rest of the car to 'lock' mode. When not in lock mode, SKS is disabled for unlocking. The fob buttons will still lock and unlock the car though, which is what was indicated was done once it was discovered SKS unlock would not work. The only time the remote door lock doesn't work is when the car is powered on.

    The delay between allowing unlock and lock via SKS is 3 seconds. So if you lock the car completely, you have to wait 3 seconds before you can unlock it by touching the door handle.
     
  5. Paul R. Haller

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    I have this happen all the time IF I am carrying the keys, the fob and bluetooth phone in the same pocket. To get it all to work I have to put the fob in my other pocket by itself or move things around in the pocket. My guess is the signal is interupted by the phone because keys and change by themselves do not cause the problem.
    -Paul R. Haller-
     
  6. Dr Ed

    Dr Ed New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DanMan32 @ Nov 22 2006, 09:44 AM) [snapback]353004[/snapback]</div>
    I almost always lock the car after exiting by hitting the exterior handle button. All doors lock with one push. On the rare occassion that I use the arm rest lock to lock the door while exiting, one push of that button also locks all doors, not just the driver door.
     
  7. DanMan32

    DanMan32 Senior Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Dr Ed @ Nov 22 2006, 11:46 AM) [snapback]353042[/snapback]</div>
    I am not talking about the armrest switch. I am talking about the mechanical rocker located next to the inside door handle. You know, the part that moves when you electrically operate the locks? You can move those parts manually too.
     
  8. Dr Ed

    Dr Ed New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DanMan32 @ Nov 22 2006, 11:46 AM) [snapback]353080[/snapback]</div>
    I have never used the inside door handle locks. Perhaps I hit it while exiting the car but if I did wouldn't the door be locked, preventing me from exiting?

    In addition to the phantom door lock noted above, yesterday after about 5 minutes of driving my climate control fan begins to slow and increase at will. The AC was off and I never use the auto temp setting. My manual temp setting was 72 degrees. It was about 65 degrees outside at the time. As I'm driving the fan slows for about a minute then speeds to the medium setting where I had it set. Then a couple of minutes later the same thing. After a third event the variability stopped and the fan remained at the speed I set. Note again, the first thing I checked was to make sure the auto temp control was off, and it was as always. The fan also did not vary according to mph. I was cruising consistenlty around 40 mph during the variations.
     
  9. DanMan32

    DanMan32 Senior Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Dr Ed @ Nov 22 2006, 09:34 PM) [snapback]353323[/snapback]</div>
    Not if you hit it WHILE you were exiting, with the door open. I checked on this, the other doors won't lock along with this manual lock, nor will it unlock as the door closes.
    However, if the fob was still in the car, then the door WOULD unlock after attempting to lock it this way.

    Also note, I believe you still can exit even if the door is locked. It automatically unlocks that door when you operate the latch from the inside. You'll set off the alarm though if it had time to arm.
     
  10. slvr_phoenix

    slvr_phoenix Tinker Gnome

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    Actually, my 2006 Prius has locked the door on me too. It's only happened twice in the months I've owned it, but on rare occasion it does like to lock my door for me. :blink: I never thought to check to see if the other doors are unlocked or not, but then usually it wouldn't matter as usually only unlock the driver's door anyway.

    But I'm 99.9% certain that I didn't accidentally flip the manual lock. It's actually fairly difficult to (even intentionally) as you open the door. I'm fairly certain it's an electronic issue.

    In that it's only happened to me twice in months however, I'm not concerned. I can't say what environmental conditions may have contributed to the behavior as I can't recall what it was doing on the days it locked my doors for me.
     
  11. DanMan32

    DanMan32 Senior Member

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    I don't find it so difficult to operate the manual lever. If the driver door lock is operated electrically, then the other doors would be affected as well.
     
  12. puyallup-prius

    puyallup-prius New Member

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    Dr Ed -

    Did you get this resolved? I am having the same issue with my 2006 Prius. It also is causing issues with the rear passenger doors as well. Not unique to a single location and ruled out wi-fi and bluetooth interferance. Dealer has had it for two days and is still looking for the cause. Would love to give them their Corolla back and have my Prius with door locks / SKS that works again.
     
  13. swwalker

    swwalker New Member

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    Help!

    Smartkey and door handle buttons lock and unlock all doors EXCEPT driver's door. Is this a wiring problem?

    2004 Prius with just over 100,000k miles.
     
  14. Dr Ed

    Dr Ed New Member

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    It never happened again, so no action was taken.