Learn something new everyday.. SKS

It's in the Owner's Manual...

 

thanks for bringing it up.

at 100+ pages, i'm sure several things are in the owner's manual. its great to be reminded of some of the programming options available since most people would only look thru the manual to look up something they needed help with. in this case, they would only know about the option if they stumbled upon it.

posting this will probably encourage more people to look at it. hopefully, they will also post what they found to be cool about the new Pri's

 

Jeff,

It is part of just about every answer to a PriusChat question. Somewhere in the manual the issue is covered. Many times, however, the manual either isn't clear or the particular "answer" isn't something easily discovered in a review of the index. This is definitely the situation with the SKS system.

If you've read some of the other, related threads lately, you'll find I embarassed myself rather dramatically by making an assumption about the SKS. In a thread about setting the TPMS, I advised folks they could find the TPMS "Set" button by feeling under the driver's side dash. All they had to do, I said, was find the ridge with a button to the left and a button to the right. The left button is the TPMS. The right button, or so I said, was the SKS button. Wrong!

In the Gen2, that is the case. With the Gen3, though, the SKS was changed, to the benefit of most of us. Too many people had left their cars parked for weeks without disabling the SKS. The manual advised it, and the button was there, but people didn't read the manual and/or didn't get a good briefing from their sales people. In the end, the little 12V battery would be drained by the SKS's constant searching for the key fob.

This issue has been handled by an auto shut down of the SKS. I forget the "delay" time (it's in the manual), but I think it is about one week. If you don't bring the key fob to the car for the period of that "delay" the SKS automatically disables. I believe the SKS will restart as soon as you open the car using either the key or by pressing the unlock button on the key fob. It may scare some of us who had the Gen2 (and haven't read the manual), but I think most people would reach for the key fob as soon as they find the car doesn't open using the SKS.

The other button under the dash? The one to the right? That only exists in the Prius V, apparently. It is the "Off" switch for the Pre-Collision system (sometimes referred to as the Pre Crash system). If people are completely confused by the "buttons under the driver's dash" concept, here is a photo of the Prius V under dash:

 

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-modifications/57430-smart-key-system.html

 

man oh man!! every thread i go, you are talking about this!!... i have a tinge of regret every single time!!

now, i have to go out and play with my sunroof to get rid of that feeling!! so stop it already!!

 

Great

 

Great Post!

David (aka Blind Guy)

 

DaveinOlyWa;

You are ABSOLUTELY correct, there ARE over 100 pages in the 2010 Prius Owners Manual...matter of fact, there are 607!!! And, 330 in the Navigation Owners Manual...I know because I had to scan EACH page by hand so they could be read to me.

David (aka Blind Guy)

 

wow that many?? was guessing on size since i actually never read manuals

 

lol! What regret? You always wanted that moonroof with the great solar panels!

I'm going to have to remember THAT post!!

 

Yes I've had my Gen2 Prius programmed this way for 3 yrs.

But here's somethings I did learn about the SKS last year after the vehicle had been on the market for 5 years and I had owned it for 3-1/2 yrs.

1. I knew that the SKS normally can't be locked inside the vehicle by itself. I use this as part of the product demo and tell the prospective buyer that the SKS system should be renamed 'Brilliant' Key System. I throw the SKS fob on the front seat and then lock the doors and close them. The vehicle unlocks itself. Me: 'The fob knows that it doesn't belong inside the vehicle by itself .' Buyer: 'Cool'
2. But very smart and astute female buyers often ask, 'Well, what if I'm sitting in the front passenger seat and the driver gets out to get coffee or go to the bathroom and leaves the fob inside? Does that mean that the doors won't lock?'. Me: 'Actually No. Amazingly there is a weight sensor in both of the front seats! If anyone is sitting in either front seat then the doors can be locked for security whether the engine is running or not and whether the fob is present or not.' Buyer 'Really Cool.'
3. Me: 'But the SKS is even smarter than that!! If you have a pet that rides with you often and it's 100 deg outside you can leave the pet in the vehicle while you go inside to eat or to shop. You can leave the vehicle ON with the A/C set to 72 deg and lock the vehicle with the pet comfortable inside ( just leave a note in the window for the ASPCA that you aren't cooking your dog for dinner ) '. Buyer, confused: 'But I thought that if you locked the doors and took the key fob away that the doors unlocked themselves?' Me: 'Magic hidden key, voila.'. Buyer: 'Really, Really Cool.'

Just think about how much thought and brain power went into this one feature of the Gen 2 Prius ( Adding value ). There must have been a whole team of engineers and consumer specialists thinking up ways to use the SKS and ways to screw it up.

Brilliance in action!!

 

True. The initial iteration of SKS in the Gen 2 Prius had the 'KEY' button to shutdown the 5 proximity sensors in order to avoid draining the 12v battery. When the Gen 1 TCH arrived then the rest of upscale vehicles which also use SKS Toyota had revised the design to incorporate the auto shutdown function.

 

Does this only work for silver emblem keys or can it also work for Black emblem keys for the Gen 2?

 

I knew that! But forgot! Thanks for the reminder.

 

We've had two Prii for two years and still learn new things about our cars on PriusChat. Thank you PriusChat community, for improving our ownership experience.

 

Could you re-explain this 3rd point please? I did not understand neither the "problem" nor the clever solution. What do you mean by "magic hidden key"?

 

Silver emblem keys only.