Fob was stolen, can't find spare. Dealer wants $500 :(

Depends on where in the country you are, how soon you need to use the car, and if you can get to a locksmith or if they need to go to you. It's not going to be cheap.

Art's Automotive

If the dealership is including the cost of towing your car into their shop in their price, $500 may not be all that far out of line.

You're in a tough spot. I'd bet that you could eventually find your spare key, but it might take extreme measures, and two or three full days of searching. And, all the while you won't have a running Prius. So, the question you have to ask yourself is "What is three days of my time without a car worth?" Personally, if I had to choose between packing up each and every thing I owned versus paying $500, I'd probably pay the money. But, YMMV.

 

$500 for an "all keys lost" situation is not too bad a price at a dealership.

You can try calling around some locksmiths and see if they can help it may not much cheaper. Hard to say

 

Yeah they'll give you one or two fobs for $500? Two, starting with a fobless car, sounds like a really good deal. One fob, still a good deal.

Or hang in there, find the spare, should cut the cost.

 

You might want to get another key in case the one you have left goes missing...

 

It's to motivate people to not loose them.

Glad you found your spare. Will only cost about $110 to buy a new key and program it yourself.

 

Go buy a NEW key right now.

And if someone stole you other one you might want to have the other key(s) wiped out and only re-register the one you have now.

 

That's a relief! I misplaced mine once, leaving us With just one. Found it, and decided at that point, to attach a small luggage tag with my phone number.

 

Now that you have one working one it won't.
When you lose BOTH a computer board has to be changed out in most models.

Call locksmiths ASAP to get a spare made.
Next time you might not be so lucky.

 

This was true of Gen1, but locksmiths came out with the ability to reflash the key ECU.

Everything since Gen1 can be recovered with Techstream or similar locksmith equipment. The kicker is that it requires a "seed reset". Techstream issues a magic number, and the seed is a computed reply to that magic number. Seeds come from a central Toyota computer that is restricted to licensed dealers and other security professionals.

 

Techstream has a "delete all keys except the current one" function. Do it both for the immobilizer and again for the smart key system. You'll need to get a Mini VCI system that works with the key system (some fail on K-line functions like the keys and TPMS).

 

For this, I'd probably go to the dealer or a prius-experienced locksmith. Have them delete all the keys except your current one using Techstream, THEN make a spare or two, maybe even an extra mechanical key. There's a few threads here about hiding a no-battery-power spare fob somewhere on/in your car. The mechanical key will get you in the driver's side front door (but won't start the car). The no-battery fob will start the car if it's right next to the ignition switch (but won't open/lock the doors). Where you keep those so that you can find them later is up to you.

Need to deactivate stolen key fob for 2009 Prius (NHW20) | PriusChat

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2007 Prius stolen fob | PriusChat

 

Some really good info here thanks guys

 

Yes, that's the right gizmo. Can't speak to the reliability of the manufacturer, though. There are a bunch of chinese versions floating around. I've heard that it's best to download the software from an online source.

Using the OEM tools is very, very expensive (but less risky) which is why I suggested a dealership or other pro.

The official device is this, I think:

And then you need a subscription from Toyota to Techstream:
https://techinfo.toyota.com/techInfoPortal/appmanager/t3/ti?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=ti_home_page&contextType=external&username=string&password=sercure_string&challenge_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftechinfo.toyota.com%2FtechInfoPortal%2Flogin%2Ftechinfo&request_id=5078392247083709271&authn_try_count=0&locale=en_US&resource_url=https%253A%252F%252Ftechinfo.toyota.com%252F

 

If I want to buy used Prius gen 2 (manufactured 2007) can I use this cable and software to check everything that I need to check (battery status, errors, etc.) ?


iPad ?