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Minor Smart Key problem = ECU Replacement

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by hill, Mar 6, 2006.

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  1. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    hmmm. well DH said the new kind of SKS ECUs can be programmed to use old fobs... or something like that... don't know if that applies to the existing priuses. bah. i'll have to ask him when he gets home and cleaned up.

    maybe when he goes in tomorrow (not to do any work, thankfully, but to talk to his service mgr and clean up his work area, he's already done his ~75 hours of time this week thank you) i can get him to quickly print off some info before he gets too sick of the place...
     
    #21 galaxee, Mar 10, 2006
  2. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    I'm certain that when galaxee gets a report from DH ~ that it will corroborate what MULTIPLE service techs are now telling me ... that modernly, the new ECU's WILL program to old FOB's. Heck, no one more than I, has a vested interest in NOT buying into THAT truth. As for "proof" ... that's what makes my little world go round.

    http://members.calbar.ca.gov/search/member...l.aspx?x=172147

    Words are my tools. I could probably wear the system down, if I spent a few more hours of written & verbal persuasion. Sometimes time is more valuable.

    In this instance, both truth AND the factual proof are against me. After all, Irvine Toyota gave me back a new ECU, and ONLY ONE OLD working fob. By looking at its old worn housing, it was obvious that this totally functioning fob is my old one.

    It'd be silly to sand there, accuse the techs and service rep of being.... what. Liars? Maybe they wrecked both new fobs? ... Yet somehow managed to properly clone my old inoperative fob back to a working state before that happened? Yea, right. At this junction, I'd have to be some kind of conspiracy theorist to not buy into the glaringly obvious. “Take to area 51!â€

    The only remaining thing now is to see if my extended warranty will foot the bill, for a 2nd / replacement / spare fob. Of course I'll have another go at reprograming my original-inop fob as well.
     
    #22 hill, Mar 11, 2006
  3. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Once again, you're missing the point. You don't need proof of anything other than the fact that your SKS doesn't work. If it doesn't work and it's covered under the warranty then they must fix it. It's just that simple.

    Take it in, say 'fix it'...don't accept the car back until they do. You don't need to accuse anyone of anything. You don't need proof of anything. You don't need to bring them the technical data. Just say "fix it". Act like you're an ignorant old lady that doesn't have a clue about fancy things like this but you just want it fixed...but a stubborn old lady that won't take "no" for an answer.

    Listen, I honestly feel for you to a degree. This is a tricky and rare problem that few techs have seen before. I think you're, in part, responsible for not being more tenacious when the car was originally returned to you not in full working order, but that doesn't mean that Toyota doesn't still have a responsibility to fix it now.
     
    #23 efusco, Mar 11, 2006
  4. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    sorry... no report at this time. :( he didn't have enough time to stop by and chat with the parts guy before he had to take off. tomorrow they're closed, and starting monday he's gone for a week.

    if this is still an issue next week... we will do what we can once he's home.

    i think evan has a point- if you just walk in and say "hey, you guys didn't get this one working and it was on the repair order to get them both working. the job isn't done yet" and just push the issue, they should just shut up and do it considering they were supposed to do so, and failed to accomplish it. while proof is a good thing, i don't know how much credibility a forum like this holds to someone like a service manager. he's more likely to believe the techs in his own shop, not someone on the opposite coast no matter who he works for...

    i don't know if playing dumb will get you anywhere. unsavory businesses keep an eye out for people who appear clueless and will feed you any line they can to get you out if they think you'll buy it. but being stubborn and insisting that the repair order stated two fobs were to be programmed to the new ECU, and only one was properly done leaving the job half done... might get you your second fob.

    sorry they're being such bullheads :angry:
     
    #24 galaxee, Mar 11, 2006
  5. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    The "playing dumb" comments were hyperbole to make the point of simply insisting the repair be completed as it was supposed to be. I'd never seriously suggest someone act stupid or ignorant.
     
    #25 efusco, Mar 11, 2006
  6. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    Thanks for the sympathy. Today, I finally completed my Toyota Dealer "shakedown" and got my dead FOB replaced and programmed. Thanks all, for the sundry opinions.

    Total hours spent getting a remedy (writing letters, making phone calls, driving to multiple dealers, waiting at multiple dealers, taking shuttle ride to & from dealers, downloading service manual files, reading articles about the issues, reading these posts):

    FIFTEEN HOURS

    Price of cheapest FOB with programming if I would have just bought another without 'insisting' the dealer make it right: Around $170

    I figure at my 2005 rate of income earning, averaged over 356 days, after taxes is around $400/day take home. Thus, i now have a "free" $400 FOB, whereas if I would have just paid the $400 I could have had TWO new ones within a couple hours. Sigh. Oh well, at least I'm a wealth of knowledge when it comes to FOB's and their ECU's. And I'm still smiling ... and dig'n my car.
     
    #26 hill, Mar 25, 2006
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