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cool "keyless" discovery

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by virtualdood, Jun 17, 2009.

  1. virtualdood

    virtualdood New Member

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    I was intrigued about the keyless entry on my prius. Pretty cool.:)

    Then I wowed and wooed people while driving with the key in my pocket.:D

    But then I decided to play a trick on the prius :spy:

    I drove to a store and decided to get out of the car with out powering down. I went in grabbed a quick stick of gum, and headed to the car.

    It was still running.:whoo: kinda cool. Kinda freaky. But the only drawback is thinking that if I fail to power off, on accident or get into a bad habit of not powering down because it's cool. Well, then the car could vanish! :scared:

    So many people may have already known about this. But the element of discovery is so fun. Crazy discovery in this case. But then again these are Prius's. So the cool factor is always, well, cool. ;)
     
  2. RobH

    RobH Senior Member

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    And the electric air conditioning runs even when the engine is stopped. So when the weather is roasting, you can leave the car in Ready mode with the A/C ON. Put the car in Park, set the brake, get out (three beeps means you've got the key, solid beep means you left it in gear (!)), and lock the door with the mechanical key. The engine will run enough to keep the battery up, but mostly it will be off. Your call on how much gas you're willing to use to keep the car cool, but it's really quite minimal.
     
  3. virtualdood

    virtualdood New Member

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    Dude that's so funny. Since really gas use is always "quite minimal" :D:D:D

    well, i read into this as you saying using the physical key is the only way to lock and keep our cool :cool: LOL and thus keep "run" mode going.

    Thanks for the beep count too. I didn't know that yet either. I have gotten through all the books except the full owners manual. Should be tomorrow.

    Aside from reading the books for familiarity, I am acclimating to the different feel of the prius vs. past vehicles. Low, responsive, sporty vs. heavy, slow, dumb LOL


     
  4. yardman 49

    yardman 49 Active Member

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    Another SKS benefit:

    with a "normal" car, if you leave the car running with the key in it, and someone jumps in and drives off, you're out of luck.

    With the SKS, if you have the fob on your person, and with the car "On" someone jumps in and drives away, they will only be able to drive the car until the first time they shut it off. After that, they won't be able to restart it, since you still have the fob.
     
  5. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    My salesman made it a point to demo this for me when I picked up my new car. With it came the warning that when handing the car to another driver, I must remember to hand over the SKS to them too, otherwise they won't be able to restart.
     
  6. Tchou

    Tchou Member

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    Yes but where they shut the car off, they may have the tools to restart it again...
     
  7. Sandy

    Sandy Hippi Chick

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    My Lancer 08 had that and all the toy BUT we could drive without the key for many miles.. it never stopped, also the MIni.. did the same thing.
     
  8. Blauer Glimmer

    Blauer Glimmer Active Member

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    The Prius won't stop unless you turn it off.
     
  9. virtualdood

    virtualdood New Member

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    Oh yeah, or run out of gas.
    :p:D;)

    Which is ....next to never :rockon:
     
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  10. hellzno

    hellzno Junior Member

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    I had my SKS turned off for so long lol, i didn't activate it until maybe a few months into ownership
     
  11. Doc Willie

    Doc Willie Shuttlecraft Commander

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    But not insignificant. Typically, I will average 50 MPG driving 20-50 miles to a car show. After leaving the car on for 4-6 hours to power the sound and lights, my MPG will read in the mid 30's for that day. Activities like then I am sure are keeping my lifetime MPG below the 50 MPG mard.
     
  12. nthach

    nthach New Member

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    I've haven't heard of Toyota's RFID being cracked yet nor do thieves carry a TIS Techstream on them.
     
  13. bedrock8x

    bedrock8x Senior Member

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    They just replace the ECU with another one that has the correct SKS keys programmed.

     
  14. Blauer Glimmer

    Blauer Glimmer Active Member

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    Pretty sophisticated for your average car thief...
     
  15. virtualdood

    virtualdood New Member

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    If my dogs were any tougher i'd have no worries. Just let them guard the car :D

    but then i'd have dog hair everywhere. That is the price to pay LOL
     
  16. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    Threads like this always remind of the thread years ago about the couple who went to the airport. He drove there, with the fob in his pocket. At the airport, he grabbed his luggage and departed. She drove home.

    Had she gone straight home, it would have been a happy ending. However, she stopped to run a few errands. Once the car was shut off, she was stuck and the fob was cruising at 30,000 feet.

    I forgot exactly how it ended. But here are the options at this point:
    1) If someone at home can drive, have them bring the second fob to you.
    2) Have the tow truck tow you home where the second fob is.
     
  17. virtualdood

    virtualdood New Member

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    How about just keep a spare fob under the bumper in a key hider? :rolleyes: :der: LOL
     
  18. MERIDIAN

    MERIDIAN Junior Member

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    Sometimes,I've forgotten to power down -came back to the car(still waiting for me)and realized most car theives are attuned to hearing a running engine -see no driver and go for it.
    If you do steal a Prius,it's not for joyriding unless the extasy of saving gas is irresistable.LOL:p
     
  19. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    Before I do something like that I would definitely need to test that the hidden fob wouldn't allow me or someone else to open the doors.
     
  20. RobH

    RobH Senior Member

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    Hide a mechanical key outside the car, and a dumb keyfob inside. The mechanical key will get you in the door, and the keyfob will let you start the car.

    A dumb keyfob is one that only works plugged into the dash (Gen2), or held near the Power button (Gen3). The expensive way to get a dumb keyfob is to remove the battery from a fully functional SKS keyfob. The cheap way is to buy a used keyfob off eBay, and program the transponder function yourself. I'm waiting for someone to try a Gen2 keyfob on the Gen3. If it works, then there is a large source of cheap dumb keyfobs for the Gen3. Note also that you don't need the entire keyfob - just the small transponder chip from inside it will work on the Gen3.