Key Fob & Locking Doors

If the Prius is turned on you can't lock it electronically. You have to physically lock it by extracting the small key from the side of the key fob and inserting it in the key-hole in the door (yes, I know, that's *so* last-century, but it works).

 

Is that true with the key fob buttons? I haven't tried it. I know with the SKS it won't lock from the door buttons, but how about pressing the lock button on the fob?

Tell your husband to get warmer clothes. A true Prius fanatic would never waste gas warming the car just for comfort.

Tom

 

No one locks car doors where we live, but even so, I've gotten into the habit of locking the Prius doors. I'm not worried about it being stolen, I just want to make sure the interior lights turn off. The 12V battery has about the same capacity as two D cells.

Tom

 

Yes, he is wasting gas and money running the engine when he the car is going nowhere. It will warm up much faster if he just gets in and drives. Unlike any other vehicle he has ever owned, the Prius doesn't run poorly when cold. Instead of loading the ICE, it uses the electric motor more until the ICE warms up. It doesn't take long.

 

I live in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York. So it's winter here too (although pretty mild lately). Anyway, I was very pleasantly surprised to see how fast warm air starts coming out of the vents when the car is cold in the am. I get warm air within a couple of minutes of heading down the road - long before the ICE is fully warmed up. It must be the electric heater that some people have referenced. So I've concluded that it isn't necessary to warm up the car to get some heat.

 

With the SKS, will a power-up Prius actually shut itself off when the key fob is not in the proximity of driver seat? (Husband going back into the house with the fob still in his pocket)

Note that the car also won't lock if the hatch is not fully shut as well. Couple of times I think the hatch is shut tight (but it isn't), and I can't lock the car with the fob....until I figure out why.

How often you use the Door/Hatch square button to lock the car instead of lock button on the key fob?

 

Never. The Prius will continue to run without the SKS fob, until it is shut down. Then, of course, it will not start without the fob. Doing it any other way would be dangerous: Imagine driving down the highway when the battery in your fob dies; you don't want the car to stop just because of a dead battery. It has led to a few embarrassing stories about people dropping off a spouse and driving to another store, only to not be able to go back and pick them up.

I always lock my Prius with the square locking buttons. I never take the fob out of my pocket. There is no real security reason to lock our Prius where we live, but I lock it to make sure all of the doors are shut. The Prius 12V battery is small and will quickly die if you leave lights on.

Tom

 

Second that. He should get in and drive.