Sorry if I am redendant, but need dupe key

You can get into the car with the mechanical key, but you cannot start the car with it. You need to have the fob. Is your car equipped with SKS? In order to start the car, you need to either insert the fob into the slot by the steering wheel (works for both SKS and non-SKS cars) or just have the fob with you (SKS cars). You can buy used fobs on ebay, or new fobs from a dealer, and get them programmed by your dealer, but you need to do it BEFORE you lose your current fobs. The dealer MUST have a functional fob that is already programmed for your car in order to program a new one. If you would lose all yours fobs, you would pay a LOT more to have the car reset to work with new fobs. That's why I recently bought another fob, so we could keep one in a safe place as a backup!

 

No, you do not have to buy another fob to get a key.

I have had two cut for my car. It is a standard Toyota key blank. My car is non SKS and I keep a fob in the glove compartment and have one of the keys in a plastic key box that I screwed into the left front wheel well. If I lose the fob I can get into the car to get the spare fob from the glove compartment and start the car.

This will not work if you have SKS tho.

 

Another poster, jasq, had said his dealer charged a lot more than my local dealer (I think it was $75 ).

My local dealership, in Fayette County, PA, only charges around $35 to program a fob! Probably too far away from most PriusChat members (I've only seen 3 other Prius locally, not counting the Barcelona red one currently on the dealer's lot).

But if anyone is considering visiting 2 local Frank Lloyd Wright creations (Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob), or enjoying the whitewater rafting at Ohiopyle State Park (there's also a very nice bike trail), bring along your Prius and your unprogrammed fobs! Call Eddie Z. at Uniontown Toyota (724) 437-8422, and get a bargain rate while you're in the area! Just tell Eddie that Lisa P. sent you.

 

Why not wait until you lose one before you have a duplicates made?

 

This answers the question that I was about to ask. I just need a spare "key" made to hide outside like you've done.

Oh yes it will! Just remove the battery from the one you keep in the car. The fob will need to be inserted into the slot to start the car, but that's the least of your worries if you've lost the other one! This is exactly what I intend to do. Though I'll likely hid the extra battery-less fob a bit better inside the car.

 

darelldd,
I found the key box at an auto supply store, they came 2 to a blisterpak. I removed the magnet and used a sheeet metal screw to attach it to the inside of the wheel well. Works well and is completely out of sight. (Magnet won't work as the wheel well is plastic)

 

I was able to get a good deal on a used fob. Had I waited until I lost a fob, I would have had to get a new one ASAP from the dealer, if I didn't want to take a chance of losing the 2nd one before I got a new one. As I stated earlier, if you don't have a functional fob for your car (in order to program the new fob) it would be very expensive to pay not only for new fobs, but also for reprogramming the car to work with those new fobs!

I just look at the money I spent on the 3rd fob (slightly over $100 total, for the fob, programming, and a replacement fob key to fit my door lock) as being like an insurance policy against such an event. Plus, I was able to give my BF his own SKS, while still having 2 in my possession.