Keyless entry works great

Back when SKS was new, maybe. But there are a lot more cars with this system to make it worth knowing about if you wanted to steal cars by driving them away. And the technology and basic operation has been standard in all Prii for over a decade now.

Thieves are using laptops and the OBD-II ports to steal some makes/models without keys at all (e.g. by programming the car to accept a new key they brought with them) in just a few minutes. Perhaps that's going to be more likely in the long run, but I prefer to not make it easier on them.

Carrying an electronics screwdriver and a small assortment of button batteries is also a lot less conspicuous than a laptop and cables in the middle of the night. And then only necessary if you didn't know about the passive mode already built into these systems. If I were a thief and found your dead fob, the least I'd do is take it and put batteries in it. If I found your car in a place you frequent often, I'll hop in and be on my way the next time. You probably didn't even notice your hidden fob was missing because, honestly, how often do you check on it?

Others will disagree, and that's fine -- it's your car and your decision on the risk. But Toyota did not intend for you to leave an authorized key (powered or not) on or within the vehicle as standard practice. I imagine neither does your insurance company and, in the event a theft does occur, you better hope they never learn it was there.

Edited to add:
The manufacturers are getting bad press regarding the security of the onboard computers. As that vector for theft increases, they'll probably get their act together eventually. One way would be to lock out manufacturer-specific OBD-II access without a valid key present. But no matter what they do or how they do it, an authorized key gets around all that simply by virtue of it being that: authorized. It's a bearer token -- anyone who can present it is assumed a valid user, and that probably won't change to anything more secure -- it would put too much additional burden on the everyday users.

 

True - I heard about that happening in the major Capital Cities down south, but here, the average thief is the opportunist who generally goes for old cars which have NO security stuff to worry about. But, yes, I'll keep that in mind - mine is still hidden in the house - I think I remember where I put it?

 

i have one place for all the keys/fobs. otherwise? forget it, i can barely find my way home.