Anyone having trouble unlocking the driver's door?

I ran into a similar problem when using my cell phone as a "digital key". Occasionally the car does not recognize the phone as a key UNTIL I turn off the phone's wifi. Then the blue-tooth signal works and the car unlocks.

I've pretty much gotten it down to :
a) the wifi is at the edge of my wifi signal when I'm in the driveway. I frequently have no signal there.
This assumes that the cell phone is sending a signal over the internet to the car's cellular receiver.

b) My phone has two blue-tooth chips. I can listen to music via headphones while using Android Auto. I can't tell which one is trying to communicate with the car.

c) We bought a couple of faraday pouches to isolate the main key fob when it's not in use. My wife uses the pouch when she is in the car on the passenger side with her purse. That helps ensure that the smart seats adjust to my settings and not hers.

 

That sounds like a pain. Fortunately, nothing like this has ever happened to me and my 2024 Prius Prime SE.

When this happens, was the driver’s side door previously locked or unlocked?

And when the driver’s side door locks you out in this scenario, is the sensor on the door handle responsive at all (i.e., does it make a sound when you press it)?

 

if the car is locked, how do you get into the passenger arm rest?

 

Do the rear doors unlock?

 

Oh, if it's only the driver door, then I'm betting it's just a squirrelly door lock actuator. Those(Toyota in general) were always flakey even before the pandemic's effect on the supply chain. It's not a stretch to imagine a bad one getting through quality control these days.

OTOH, it could be a wiring/ECU issue. But I'm still betting it's going to be the actuator.

 

Or you could just deactivate the fob by holding the Lock button and pressing twice on Unlock. The light will flash, indicating the Fob is deactivated. It works. To reactivate it, just press a button on the fob, like, you know, unlock!

 

Nope.