'Pinging' Key Fob Kills Battery?

welcome to priuschat!
no, there has to be a mistake somewhere in your info. if your fob is close enough to the car to use, the fob battery will die prematurely from the pinging. (info being sent back and forth)

if you have sks, (fob in pocket, hand on door handle locks or unlocks, no need to use fob to start car)
there is a switch under the steering wheel to shut the sks off when you'll be away for more than a few days to keep your 12 volt battery from running down.

the hybrid battery is fine for at least a few months. all the best!

 

The battery that would be affected is the one in the key fob, which costs a few dollars at most. The "hybrid battery", or traction battery costs a few thousand dollars, but it is offline and not affected by the SKS system when the ignition is off (not in Ready mode).

The last battery is the 12v auxiliary battery in the trunk. That could be run low if a fob is left nearby the vehicle without disabling the SKS system, but it would normally take weeks, not days.

 

On a Gen2 the SKS smart key system will tend to drain the 12v battery on standing for weeks or so. Toyota provided an off switch under the steering wheel to turn off the system in cases like this. Gen3 is improved system and does not have the on/off button therefore.

 

Is there any paperwork on the replacement of the hybrid battery? If not, you can sign up with the VIN at Toyota's website and view all the previous dealer service records.

 

You should keep the fob more than 15 feet from the car to prevent fob/car communication which will wear out the fob battery and the 12V battery.

While you are at it, you should fully-charge the 12V battery now as a new owner. If you are interested in maximizing its longevity, charge it at monthly intervals at least, if you don't drive very much. To me, "not very much" is less than 10K miles per year.

You may also want to replace the fob battery (CR2032 which is available at any drugstore) and make sure both fobs work. If you only have one fob, get another one now before the one fob is lost. It will cost you substantial money (perhaps up to $1K) to get a new fob if you have no working fob available.

If in fact the high voltage traction battery was replaced, that had nothing to do with the fob's proximity to the car. As pointed out, you can obtain dealer service records via Toyota's owners website or ask your local Toyota dealer to research that.