what to do with a key while surfing?

With the fob inside the car and sending "all clear" signals, can you unlock the door from outside?

 

No. The ECU knows the difference between and inside fob and an outside fob. It's the same way with outside doors. If you stand at the driver's door with a fob, someone can't unlock the passenger door. You need the fob at the passenger door.

The reason people wrap the hidden fob with foil is to keep someone from driving off once they break into the car. It's a trivial thing to open a locked car, but it's not trivial to hot wire a Prius. Leaving an unshielded fob inside the car makes it drivable with a simple push of the power button.

Tom

 

Agree combination locks is sooo outdated. I looked at a Fusion hybrid and noticed the big combination lock pad on the driver side door. I thought this looks like some old guy's car

 

Combinations don't cost $300 to replace when you lose/damage them in the surf. I'd really like to have a Ford style combination lock to use when I don't want to carry a keyfob.

 

You can buy a combination key lock box for about $30. Put your fob in there and use the combination to retrieve it when you get back to the car.



Tom

 

I have the licenplate frames that have "safe" built into them and I put the key fob in the frount of my car and the doors won't unlock and the car won't start. I got these as a gift so I don't know where to get them out bit I have seen something similar in a hariot carter magazine.

Sorry for miss spelling. I'm in the hospital from a cat wreck.

 

I regularly carry my 10' surfboard in my 06 Prius. I put the passenger front seat down and the passenger back seat down. I put foam on the passenger side front dash board and slide the surfboard from the back hatch to the front windshield and I put a piece of foam on the rear fin.

I also put my fob key in the back bumper section of the car when I'm surfing.

 

When I have my fob in my gym bag in the back of the car it won't start. So for the OP's situation I'd just hide the fob somewhere in the back cubby and take the mech key in the water w/me.

 

Let me see if I've got this...

1) a fob in the cargo area is out of range and therefore inactive/ignored.
2) if a fob is in the passenger area, the locks can only be activated from outside with another fob.
3) the mechanical key can be used to lock/unlock the car regardless.

Anybody know what it costs to make a spare mechanical key? And how well do they stand up to salt water?

 

Couldn't one also tempoarily remove the battery from the fob and lock/unlock the car with the mechanical key?

 

I had my key in a waterbottle during a run, then threw it in the back. car started. I didn't even know that the key wasn't on me till i tried to lock it, and it wouldn't. mine was right near the back hatch, where do I put it to not be active?

 

I'll sit on the beach any hour of the day and watch your stuff

 

Here are instructions on how to disable the Smart Key System on PIII. I don't know if it works:
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...tructions-disable-sks-without-techstream.html

 

Hey, I just got my car stolen while trail running off Highway 1 in Santa Cruz. I'm about to buy a 2012 Prius so this is a huge issue for me. Wrapping the key in foil is a great idea, but not if your car thieves are raised-by-racoons savages that will pick through your vehicle while you are clearly going to be away for at least an hour, as were my car thieves (they chucked out my climbing bag and they had picked it clean, even my ponytail holders had been removed, Wth). I plan to buy a real-estate type key locker and keep it in the car. I need to verify that this metal will block the FOB signal, but I know these boxes are thicker than tinfoil: Amazon.com: Secure Key Locker KeySafe Key Safe Push Button Lock Box NEW with Weather Proof Rubber Cover: Office Products

Any thoughts?

 

It won't, if you lock the door with the mechanical key and leave the fob inside, it immediately unlocks and beeps continuously for a few seconds. The only way is to mask the key in a metal box as stated above.

 

No difficulty whatsoever.

 

On the 2012 Prius I know you can disable the smart entry system on models equipped with the HDD Navigation system. I don't know if you can do so on the ones equiped with the display audio.

 

1) Press the "Setup" button
2) Select from the menu options the "Vehicle" menu
3) Select" Vehicle customization"
4) Select the option labeled "Electronic Key system" "on/off"

**Remeber that once you disable the smart entry system you will have to place the fob against the push start button to turn on the car. On the Gen II you had the key slot that went away with the introduction of the Gen III. The buttons on the fob will continue to operate normally.

 

Many metal key-safe containers are too small for the Prius FOB.

I use a larger key-safe to lock the FOB to the steering wheel, but need to wrap the FOB in aluminium foil first, because for some reason the metal safe does not reliably block the FOB from activating the ignition (or from opening the door if locked to the door handle).

 

I learned the other day that Faraday cages are best made from copper or aluminum, not STEEL. Didn't know that one.